Turkish facts and statistics (all about turkey)

FLAG -->>Red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening.

Geographic location

Geography location: South-western Asia (that part west of the Bosphorus is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria.

Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E
 Area


total area: 780,580 sq km
land area: 770,760 sq km
water area: 9,820 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Texas, or larger than France and UK put together, or 2.5 times bigger than Italy.

Land boundaries

total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km.
Coastline: 7,200 km

Names

Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Turkish long form); Türkiye (Turkish short form); Republic of Turkey (formal English); Turkey (English short form); Turchia (Italian); Türkei (German); Turkiet (Swedish); Turkije (Dutch); Turkki (Finnish); Turquia (Portuguese); Turquia (Spanish); Turquie (French); Tyrkia (Norwegian); Tyrkiet (Danish); Tyrkland (Icelandic)
 Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only - to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea, 12 nm in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea.

Climate

Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.

Terrain

Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
largest lake: Lake Van 3,713 square km
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower.

Land use

arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 66% (2006)

Environment

International agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Environmental Modification.
Current issues are: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosphorus ship traffic.

Geographic note

strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link BlackAegean Seas. Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country, in the city of Agri. The country is divided into 7 fictional geographic regions.

Population

Officially 72,561,312 as of 1st January 2010 (was 67,803,927 in 2000), effectively is around 75 million, average of 94 inhabitants live per square kilometer, 75.5% of the total population live in the cities and 24.5% in villages or small towns in the countryside.
Istanbul: 12,915,158 as of January 2010 (10,033,478 in 2000), 17.8 % of the total population, 2444 people per square kilometer
Ankara: 4,650,802 as of January 2010 (4,007,860 in 2000), 6.4 % of the total population
Izmir:  3.868.308 as of January 2010 (3,387,908 in 2000), 5.3 % of the total population, 316 people per square kilometer
Bayburt has the lowest population in Turkey: 74,710 (as of January 2010)

Age structure

total population: male 36,462,470 (50.3%); female 36,098,842 (49,7%) (as of January 2010)
0-14 years: 26,3% (male 9,570,773; female 9,071,618) (January 2009)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 23,655,657; female 23,288,033) (January 2009)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 2,150,103; female 2,850,072)
Median age: total 28.8 years (male: 28,2 years; female: 29,3 years). More than half of the population is under the median age (as of January 2010)
Population growth rate: 1.45% (2009)
Birth rate: 18.7 births/1,000 population (2006)
Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.008 male(s)/female (2008)
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.5 years
male: 69.1 years
female: 74.0 years (2006)
Total fertility rate: 2.18 children born/woman (2006)

Nationality

noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish
Ethnic divisions: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%
Religions: Muslim 99% (mostly Sunni), other 1% (Christian and Jews)
Languages: Turkish (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87%
male: 94.3%
female: 78.7% (2006 est.)

Government

( more on government )
Conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
Conventional short form: Turkey
Local long form: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Local short form: Türkiye
Data code: TU or TR
Type of government: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ankara