Turkey

Republic of Türkiye Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Turkish)
Flag
Anthem:  İstiklal Marşı (Turkish) "The Independence March" 1:17
Capital	Ankara 39°N 35°ECoordinates: 39°N 35°E
Largest city	Istanbul 41°1′N 28°57′E
Official languages	Turkish[1][2]
Spoken languages[3]	Predominantly Turkish
Other languages	show List
Ethnic groups  (2016)[4]	70–75% Turks 19% Kurds 6–11% Others
Religion	See religion in Turkey
Demonym(s)	Turkish Turk
Government	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
• President	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
• Vice President	Fuat Oktay
• Assembly Speaker	Mustafa Şentop
Legislature	Grand National Assembly
Establishment
• Ottoman Empire	c. 1299
• War of Independence	19 May 1919
• Government of the Grand National Assembly	23 April 1920
• Treaty of Lausanne	24 July 1923
• Republic declared	29 October 1923
• Current constitution	9 November 1982[5]
Area
• Total	783,356 km2 (302,455 sq mi) (36th)
• Water (%)	2.03 (as of 2015)[6]
Population
• 2022 estimate	84,680,273[7] (18th)
• Density	110[8]/km2 (284.9/sq mi) (107th)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$3.54 trillion[9] (11th)
• Per capita	$40,883[9] (46th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$942 billion[9] (20th)
• Per capita	$10,863[9] (79th)
Gini (2019)	41.9[10] medium
HDI (2021)	0.838[11] very high · 48th
Currency	Turkish lira (₺) (TRY)
Time zone	UTC+3 (TRT)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+90
ISO 3166 code	TR
Internet TLD	.tr

Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye [ˈtyɾcije]), officially the Republic of Türkiye (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti [ˈtyɾcije dʒumˈhuːɾijeti] (listen)), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It shares borders with the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is located off the south coast. Turks form the vast majority of the nation's population and Kurds are the largest minority.^[4] Ankara is Turkey's capital, while Istanbul is its largest city and financial centre.

One of the world's earliest permanently settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe, and was inhabited by ancient civilisations including the Hattians, Hittites, Anatolian peoples, Mycenaean Greeks, Persians and others.^{[12][13][14][15]} Following the conquests of Alexander the Great which started the Hellenistic period, most of the ancient regions in modern Turkey were culturally Hellenised, which continued during the Byzantine era.^[13][16] The Seljuk Turks began migrating in the 11th century, and the Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into small Turkish principalities.^[17] Beginning in the late 13th century, the Ottomans united the principalities and conquered the Balkans, and the Turkification of Anatolia increased during the Ottoman period. After Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, Ottoman expansion continued under Selim I. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became a global power.^[12][18][19] From the late 18th century onwards, the empire's power declined with a gradual loss of territories.^[20] Mahmud II started a period of modernisation in the early 19th century.^[21] The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 restricted the authority of the Sultan and restored the Ottoman Parliament after a 30-year suspension, ushering the empire into a multi-party period.^[22][23] The 1913 coup d'état put the country under the control of the Three Pashas, who facilitated the Empire's entry into World War I as part of the Central Powers in 1914. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Greek and Assyrian subjects.^[24][25] After its defeat in the war, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned.^[26]

The Turkish War of Independence against the occupying Allied Powers resulted in the abolition of the Sultanate on 1 November 1922, the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne (which superseded the Treaty of Sèvres) on 24 July 1923 and the proclamation of the Republic on 29 October 1923. With the reforms initiated by the country's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey became a secular, unitary and parliamentary republic. Turkey played a prominent role in the Korean War and joined NATO in 1952. The country endured several military coups in the latter half of the 20th century. The economy was liberalised in the 1980s, leading to stronger economic growth and political stability. The modern political system has been dominated by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, under whom the country has experienced democratic backsliding^[27] and a shift towards a competitive authoritarian system;^[28][27] especially after the parliamentary republic was replaced by a presidential system with a referendum in 2017.^[29]

Turkey is a regional power and a newly industrialized country,^[30] with a geopolitically strategic location.^[31] Its economy, which is classified among the emerging and growth-leading economies, is the twentieth-largest in the world by nominal GDP, and the eleventh-largest by PPP. In addition to being an early member of NATO, Turkey is a charter member of the United Nations, the IMF, and the World Bank, and a founding member of the OECD, OSCE, BSEC, OIC, OTS and G20. After becoming one of the early members of the Council of Europe in 1950, Turkey became an associate member of the EEC in 1963, joined the EU Customs Union in 1995, and started accession negotiations with the European Union in 2005. Turkey has a rich cultural legacy shaped by centuries of history and the influence of the various peoples that have inhabited its territory over several millennia; it is home to 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is among the most visited countries in the world.