Turkey - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Turkey. Strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link the Black and Aegean Seas; the 3% of Turkish territory north of the Straits lies in Europe and goes by the names of European Turkey, Eastern Thrace, or Turkish Thrace; the 97% of the country in Asia is referred to as Anatolia; Istanbul, which straddles the Bosporus, is the only metropolis in the world located on two continents; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country. Mother's mean age at first birth is 26.6 years (2020 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 17 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Turkey
Location Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of 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
Map references Middle East
Tarrain high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges
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
Natural Hazards

severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van; landslides; flooding

volcanism: limited volcanic activity; its three historically active volcanoes; Ararat, Nemrut Dagi, and Tendurek Dagi have not erupted since the 19th century or earlier

Irrigated Land 52,150 sq km (2020)
Major rivers (by length in km) Euphrates river source (shared with Syria, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris river source (shared with Syria, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 2,816 km
Border Countries Armenia 311 km; Azerbaijan 17 km; Bulgaria 223 km; Georgia 273 km; Greece 192 km; Iran 534 km; Iraq 367 km; Syria 899 km
Coastline 7,200 km
Climate temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Area
Total Area
Land Area 769,632 sq km
Water Area 13,930 sq km
comparative Area slightly larger than Texas
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 6 nm in the Aegean Sea
Exclusive economic zone in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Elevations
Highest point Mount Ararat 5,137 m
Lowest point Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Mean elevation 1,132 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 49.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 26.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 19% (2018 est.)
Forest 14.9% (2018 est.)
Other 35.4% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

The most densely populated area is found around the Bosporus in the northwest where 20% of the population lives in Istanbul; with the exception of Ankara, urban centers remain small and scattered throughout the interior of Anatolia; an overall pattern of peripheral development exists, particularly along the Aegean Sea coast in the west, and the Tigris and Euphrates River systems in the southeast

People and Society

In Turkey, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 19%, other minorities 6-11% (2016 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.61% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 13.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 4.6% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 2.9 beds/1,000 population (2018)
Total fertility rate 1.9 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.92 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 69.8% (2018)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 65.4% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 3.4% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate -1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Turkish | Turk(s)
Languages
Religions Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Age Structure
0-14 years 21.7% (male 9,358,711/female 8,933,673)
15-64 years 68.6% (male 29,219,389/female 28,494,315)
65 years and over 9.6% (2024 est.) (male 3,669,330/female 4,444,113)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 49.1
Youth dependency ratio 34.5
Elderly dependency ratio 12.3
Potential support ratio 8.1 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 34 years (2024 est.)
Male 33.4 years
Female 34.6 years
Urbanization
Urban population 77.5% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 1.11% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 15.848 million Istanbul, 5.397 million ANKARA (capital), 3.088 million Izmir, 2.086 million Bursa, 1.836 million Adana, 1.805 million Gaziantep (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.83 male(s)/female
Total population 1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 18.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 19.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 16.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 76.7 years (2024 est.)
Male 74.4 years
Female 79.2 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99.1% of population
Improved: rural rural: 98.7% of population
Improved: total total: 99% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.9% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 1.3% of population
Unimproved: total total: 1% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 99.8% of population
Improved: rural rural: 98.7% of population
Improved: total total: 99.6% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.2% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 1.3% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0.4% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 1.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 30.7% (2020 est.)
Male 42.1% (2020 est.)
Female 19.2% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 2%
Women married by age 18 14.7% (2018 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Turkey

Want to know more about Turkey? Check all different factbooks for Turkey below.

Turkey is found in Western Asia