Turkey
Capital: Ankara · Western Asia
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a smaller part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe.
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Lake Köyceğiz and town of Köyceğiz in Turkey
Photo: George Chernilevsky, Public domain · source
Aerial view over Cappadocia, nearby Gorëme, Turkey. Features from very far top to bottom, the city of Avanos, its small village Çavusin and the rose and red valleys…
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Some of the statues near the peak of Mount Nemrut (Turkey). West Terrace: head of Apollo and head of Goddess of Kommagene (Tyche). Scene in the sunset sun.
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Did you know?
First inhabited by modern humans during the Late Paleolithic, present-day Turkey was home to various ancient peoples. The Hattians were assimilated by the Hittites and other Anatolian peoples. Classical Anatolia transitioned into cultural Hellenization after Alexander the Great's conquests, and later Romanization during the Roman and Byzantine eras. The Seljuk Turks began migrating into Anatolia in the 11th century, starting the Turkification process. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into Turkish principalities.
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Flock of wading Greater flamingos at the Hürmetçi Wetlands near Kayseri in central Turkey, with Mount Erciyes in the background
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Lake Burdur is one of the important lakes of Turkey, but has been drying up rapidly in recent years and has shrunk by 50% today. The water sources that give life to the…
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"The Gypsy Girl" mosaic of Zeugma , from Gaziantep Museum of Archeology.
Photo: Antep_1250575_cr.jpg : Nevit Dilmen ( talk ) derivative…, Public domain · source
Etymology
Turchia, meaning "the land of the Turks", had begun to be used in European texts for Anatolia by the end of the 12th century. As a word in Turkic languages, Turk may mean "strong, strength, ripe" or "flourishing, in full strength". It may also mean ripe as in for a fruit or "in the prime of life, young, and vigorous" for a person. As an ethnonym, the etymology is still unknown. In addition to usage in languages such as Chinese in the 6th century, the earliest mention of Turk (𐱅𐰇𐰺𐰜, türü̲k̲; or 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚, türk/tẄrk) in Turkic languages comes from the Second Turkic Khaganate.
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Boat Orkan 4 cruising towards Alanya harbour, Turkey.
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Aspendos or Aspendus (Greek Άσπενδος) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. It is located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) northeast of central Serik. It…
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"Castle" Uçhisar in Cappadocia Turkey
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History
Present-day Turkey has been inhabited by modern humans since the late Paleolithic period and contains some of the world's oldest Neolithic sites. Göbekli Tepe is close to 12,000 years old. Parts of Anatolia include the Fertile Crescent, an origin of agriculture. Other important Anatolian Neolithic sites include Çatalhöyük and Alaca Höyük. Neolithic Anatolian farmers differed genetically from farmers in Iran and Jordan Valley. These early Anatolian farmers also migrated into Europe, starting around 9,000 years ago. Troy's earliest layers go back to around 4500 BC.
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A man turns chili peppers laid out to dry using the traditional method in Turkey.
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Türk Yıldızları (Turkish Stars) at the 2011 NATO Days.
Photo: Łukasz Golowanow, Attribution · source
Geography
Turkey covers an area of 783,562 square kilometres (302,535 square miles). With Turkish straits and Sea of Marmara in between, Turkey bridges Western Asia and Southeastern Europe. Turkey's Asian side covers 97% of its surface, and is often called Anatolia. Another definition of Anatolia's eastern boundary is an imprecise line from the Black Sea to Gulf of Iskenderun. Eastern Thrace, Turkey's European side, includes around 15% of the population and covers 3% of the surface area.
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Cotton miller of Kültür Turkey
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Nemoptera sinuata , Nazilli, Turkiye
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A hot air balloon being inflated before air trip over Cappadocia, central Turkey, as seen from inside.
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG ( Flickr ), CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Government and politics
Turkey is a presidential republic within a multi-party system. Due to Erdoğan's judicial capture, imprisonment of opposition politicians and dissidents, and repression of protest movements, Turkey is not considered a democracy but rather as a competitive or fully authoritarian system. The current constitution was approved by referendum in 1982, which determines the government's structure, lays forth the ideals and standards of the state's conduct, and sets out the state's responsibility to its citizens.
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Many buffalos in Hürmetçi Wetlands
Photo: Ramazancirakoglu, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Türk Yıldızları (Turkish Stars) t the 2011 NATO Days in Ostrava.
Photo: Łukasz Golowanow, Attribution · source
Economy
Turkey is an upper-middle-income country and an emerging market. A founding member of the OECD and G20, it has the 16th-largest economy by nominal and 11th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP in the world. It is classified among newly industrialized countries. The service sector accounts for 61% of the economy, whereas industry accounts for 32% and agriculture contributes about 7%. According to IMF estimates, Turkey's GDP per capita by PPP is $43,790 in 2025, while its nominal GDP per capita is $18,200. Potential growth is weakened by long-lasting structural and macro obstacles, such as slow rates of productivity growth and high inflation.
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Demographics
According to the Address-Based Population Recording System, the country's population was 86 million in 2025, excluding Syrians under temporary protection. 94% lived in province and district centers. People within the 15–64 and 0–14 age groups corresponded to 69% and 20% of the total population, respectively. Those aged 65 years or older made up 11%. Between 1950 and 2020, Turkey's population more than quadrupled from 20.9 million to 83.6 million; however, the population growth rate was 0.1% in 2023. In 2023, the total fertility rate was 1.51 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.10 per woman.
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Culture
In the 19th century, Turkish identity was debated in the Ottoman Empire, with three main views: Turkism, Islamism and Westernism. In addition to Europe or Islam, Turkish culture was also influenced by Anatolia's native cultures. After the establishment of the republic, Kemalism emphasized Turkish culture, attempted to make "Islam a matter of personal conviction", and pursued modernization. Currently, Turkey has various local cultures. Things such as music, folk dance, or kebap variety may be used to identify a local area.
Wikipedia: Turkey – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0