| Area Total | 783,562 sq km |
| Climate | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
| 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 |
| Imports | China 10%, Germany 9.1%, Russia 8.4%, US 5.1%, Italy 4.8% (2017) – machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment |
| Exports | Germany 9.6%, UK 6.1%, UAE 5.9%, Iraq 5.8%, US 5.5%, Italy 5.4%, France 4.2%, Spain 4% (2017) – apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment |
| Government | presidential republic |
| Capital | Ankara |
| Population | 81,257,239 (July 2018 est.) |
| Ethnicity | Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 19%, other minorities 7-12% (2016 est.) |
| Language | Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages |
News about Turkey
- Heavy snowfall leaves passengers stranded in Istanbul Airport – videoon January 25, 2022
Europe’s busiest airport shut down in Istanbul on Monday as a rare snowstorm blanketed swathes of the eastern Mediterranean, causing blackouts and traffic havoc.Flights were grounded for around 24 hours at Istanbul Airport, and hundreds of stranded passengers staged a protest asking for hotel rooms during the disruption Snowstorm blankets eastern […]
- Tales from the crypto: lira crisis fuels Bitcoin boom in Turkeyby Ruth Michaelson on January 25, 2022
Lack of trust in official currency has led to surging interest in cryptocurrencies – despite their volatility and government oppositionIn the offices of Altcointurk, a cryptocurrency hub tucked away in a sidestreet in Istanbul’s bustling Kadıköy neighbourhood, two wall-mounted TV sets showed the live value of currencies bitcoin and Ethereum, both […]
- Snowstorm blankets eastern Mediterranean closing airports, schools and vaccination centresby Agence France-Presse on January 25, 2022
Istanbul airport was forced to shut down while motorists were trapped in cars around Athens as rare heavy snow falls across southeast EuropeEurope’s busiest airport shut down in Istanbul on Monday while schools and vaccination centres closed in Athens as a rare snowstorm blanketed swathes of the eastern Mediterranean, causing blackouts and traffic […]
- Greek government blamed for hunger crisis in refugee campsby Helena Smith in Athens on January 24, 2022
Aid charity says 6,000 people, many of whom are children, believed to have no food allowance due to cuts in serviceHumanitarian groups have accused the Greek government of fomenting a hunger crisis in refugee camps with “conscious” policy choices that have left thousands unable to access food.Decisions aimed at deterring migrant flows had, they said, […]
- Turkish journalist held over alleged ox insult against Erdoğanby Associated Press in Istanbul on January 23, 2022
Sedef Kabaş faces trial over use of proverb on TV and in tweet comparing palace to a barnA Turkish journalist has been jailed pending a trial for allegedly insulting the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after she cited a proverb on television and social media referring to an ox.Sedef Kabaş was taken into custody on Saturday after tweeting a proverb that […]
- Turkey: prominent journalist detained for insulting president Erdoğanby Staff and agencies on January 23, 2022
Sedef Kabaş faces imprisonment for saying a proverb, with colleagues condemning arrest as attempt to intimidate mediaA prominent Turkish TV journalist has been detained and could face imprisonment after being charged with insulting the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.Police detained Sedef Kabaş at her home at 2am on Saturday and took her to a […]
- Greece receives six French fighter jets as part of €11.5bn military overhaulby Helena Smith in Athens on January 19, 2022
Government has announced a seven-fold increase in defence spending amid tensions with Turkey over gas reservesGreece has showcased its newly acquired defence capabilities by flying six Rafale fighter jets over the Acropolis hours after they arrived from France.The jets roared over the symbolic monument en route to the Tanagra airbase, highlighting the Greek […]
- Increased repression and violence a sign of weakness, says Human Rights Watchby Annie Kelly on January 13, 2022
Watchdog’s latest report argues autocrats around the world are getting desperate as opponents form coalitions to challenge themIncreasingly repressive and violent acts against civilian protests by autocratic leaders and military regimes around the world are signs of their desperation and weakening grip on power, Human Rights Watch says in its annual […]
- Ahmet Calik, former Turkey football international, dies in car crashby Reuters on January 11, 2022
27-year-old Konyaspor player won eight caps from 2015 to 2017‘He earned our city’s love since the first day he arrived’The former Galatasaray and Turkey defender Ahmet Calik has died in a car crash, aged 27, his club Konyaspor said on Tuesday.“We are in deep sorrow to have lost our player Ahmet Calik who earned our fans’ and city’s love since […]
- Nilüfer Yanya: ‘I wasn’t thinking: how am I going to make this a TikTok hit’by Rachel Aroesti on January 11, 2022
The Londoner reflects on her old-school ascent to jazzy indie greatness, her Turkish heritage and reaching out to refugee kidsNilüfer Yanya may have grown up in Chelsea, but hers is not the world of the Sloane Ranger 2.0: pristine Georgian townhouses and endless champagne brunches. Instead, it is the manic, deadening, claustrophobic side of the city that […]
- Rising anger with Turkey drives calls for reunification in crisis-hit northern Cyprusby Helena Smith in North Nicosia on January 9, 2022
With the economy in freefall and allegations of political interference, people have taken to the streets to advocate for federal futureIn his sun-filled office in north Nicosia, Şener Elcil is plotting his next protest. Anger, he says, is in the air in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus.The economy is in freefall, thanks to the self-declared republic’s […]
- ‘Waste colonialism’: world grapples with west’s unwanted plasticby Ruth Michaelson on December 31, 2021
Germany and UK are big exporters of plastic, much of which lies rotting in ports in Turkey, Vietnam and other countriesOne hundred and 41 containers filled with rotting plastic waste have been on a journey for more than a year. Scattered between Turkey, Greece and Vietnam, far from their origins in Germany, the containers’ voyage sheds light on the hidden […]
- At least 16 dead after third migrant boat in three days sinks in Greek watersby Associated Press in Athens on December 25, 2021
People still missing despite major rescue effort as smugglers switch to more perilous route from TurkeyAt least 16 people have died after a migrant boat capsized in the Aegean Sea late Friday, bringing to at least 30 the combined death toll from three accidents in as many days involving migrant boats in Greek waters.The sinkings came as smugglers […]
- Mixed reactions to chancellor’s £1bn bailout for hospitality - as it happenedby Joanna Partridge on December 21, 2021
Rolling live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as US and European stock markets rose following the previous session’s falls, despite investor fears about the spread of the Omicron variantUK public borrowing surged in November as Covid cases rose againUK retail sales slowed after the government’s move to Covid plan B measuresAnalysis […]
- ‘There’s jobs but no money’: Turkey’s economic crisis begins to biteby Ruth Michaelson in Istanbul on December 19, 2021
As the value of the lira plummets and inflation soars, Turkish citizens are struggling to adapt and surviveIn a jewellery shop close to Istanbul’s Taksim Square, Seda unzips an elegant black leather pouch and piles her gold jewellery on the counter to discuss selling it all. The shop owner gently places gold chains, rings and a pendant on a small scale, […]
- Erdoğan intervenes after Turkish lira sinks to lowest level against dollarby Larry Elliott Economics editor on December 16, 2021
Turkey’s president to hike minimum wage by 50% with other measures to come in attempt to stabilise currencyTurkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has vowed to take on the currency markets after a fresh cut in his country’s interest rates sent the lira plunging to its lowest ever level against the US dollar.Erdoğan said Turkey’s destiny would […]
- Dining across the divide: ‘He’s such a nice guy but supports Brexit. He’s young; it’s not normal’by Zoe Williams on December 16, 2021
Both have experienced being treated as outsiders in the UK, but can they broach one of Britain’s most divisive topics?Click here if you’d like to dine across the divideBatuhan, 25, BournemouthOccupation Support worker and neuropsychology research assistantVoting record Batuhan is not eligible to vote in the UK. In the last Turkish local government […]
- Roma rely on festive bouquet cash as Turkey’s economy floundersby Elif İnce, Istanbul on December 16, 2021
Colourful kokina heralds the holiday season – and a financial lifeline for those facing runaway inflation and discrimination When flower vendors put out the red and green kokina on the streets, holiday season has arrived in Istanbul.Widely believed to have begun as a Christmas tradition of Turkey’s Greek community, kokina is made by tying together two […]
- From the archive: Unlearning the myth of American innocence – podcastby Written by Suzy Hansen, read by Kelly Burke, produced by Simon Barnard with additions by Esther Opoku-Gyeni on December 15, 2021
We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.This week, from 2017:When she was 30, Suzy Hansen left the US for Istanbul – and began to realise that Americans will never understand their own country until they see it as the rest of the world does. By Suzy Hansen […]
- Turkey faces threat of financial crisis after lira plunges against dollarby Larry Elliott Economics editor on December 13, 2021
Central bank forced to defend currency as traders respond to interest rate cut with sharp selloff Fears that Turkey is on course for a full-scale financial crisis have intensified after the lira plunged to fresh lows against the US dollar.Turkey’s central bank was forced to step in to defend the ailing currency – selling US dollars for lira – after […]
