TURKEY
Basic Facts & Information
Official Name: Republic of Turkey
Capital: Ankara
Official Language: Turkish
- Area size: 769630 sq. km
- Area Comparison: Slightly larger than Norway and Sweden combined; slightly larger than Texas.
- 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.
- 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.
- Highest Point: 5166 m - Mount Ağrı / Mount Ararat
- Lowest Point: Mediterranean Sea
- Population: 71,517,100 (Estimated population in largest cities - Istanbul 9.4 million, Ankara 3.4 million, Izmir 2.4 million, Bursa 1.2 million, Adana 1.2 million).
- Ethnic Groups: Most descend from Central Asian ethnic groups that began to settle in Anatolia in the 11th century. There is a large (20 percent) Kurdish minority and smaller groups of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Georgians and Armenians. (Source: NI World Guide 2005/2006)
- Religion: Mainly Muslim (80 percent Sunni and 20 percent Shia, including the non-orthodox Alevi). There is a very small Christian minority. (Source: NI World Guide 2005/2006)
- Time Zone: GMT +2
- Climate Description: Low rainfall and very cold winters. Warm to hot summers in the interior. Milder winters with warm summers in coastal areas, with the Black Sea coast a little colder in winter than on the southern and western coast. Typical Mediterranean climate in Aegean and Mediterranean coastal areas.
- Currency: Turkish Lira (TL)
- Denominations: 5, 10, 20, 50 &100 TL (Banknotes) and 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 Kuruş & 1 TL (Coins)
- Telephone Dialing Code: (+) 90
- Driving (left/right): Right
- National Day: 29th of October
- National Colors: Red and White
