Türkiye

In brief

Türkiye is a country in Western Asia. Its capital is Ankara. With 85.9 million inhabitants in 2025, it ranks 18th in the world by population, out of the 195 countries recognised by the UN. Its area is 783,562 km². It shares land borders with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

GDP per capita stands at $18,599 (2025), 62nd in the world. Life expectancy at birth is 77.4 years (2024). 89% of the population lives in cities.

History of Türkiye

Anatolia saw Hittites, Trojans, Greek cities and the Byzantine Empire, whose capital was Constantinople. The Seljuk Turks settled there after 1071; the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453 and built an empire on three continents. After defeat in 1918 and a war of independence, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk proclaimed the Republic on 29 October 1923, made Ankara the capital and launched sweeping secular reforms. Turkey joined NATO in 1952. In February 2023 an earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in the south of the country.

Geography of Türkiye

Turkey spans Anatolia, in Asia, and East Thrace, in Europe, on either side of the Bosphorus. It borders the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. Mount Ararat (5,137 m) is its highest point; the Tigris and Euphrates rise here.

Map of Türkiye

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Flag of Türkiye

The flag of Türkiye is red and white. Its official proportions are 2:3 (height to width).

• Red94%
• White6%

Share of the flag’s surface taken by each colour.

What the flag stands for

Red, with a white crescent and star inherited from the Ottoman flag. A legend sees in it the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood after a battle. Its design was fixed by law in 1936.

Sources: Wikipedia, articles “Turkey” and “Flag of Turkey”.

See also: flags with a star, flags with a crescent moon.

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Fact file

Economy and society