Country
Countries A-Z
Turkey
Republic of Turkey
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Political Status: Independent republic established in 1923; parliamentary democracy since 1946, save for military interregna from May 1960 to October 1961 and September 1980 to November 1983; present constitution approved by referendum of November 7, 1982.
Area: 300,948 sq. mi. (779,452 sq. km).
Population: 81,917,000 (2018E—World Bank); 81,257,239 (2018E—U.S. Census).
Major Urban Centers (2015E—World Population Review): ANKARA (3,517,182),İstanbul (14,804,116), İzmir (2,500,603), Bursa (1,402,701), Adana (1,248,988), Gaziantep (1,065,975), Konya (875,530).
Official Language: Turkish. A 1982 law banning the use of the Kurdish language was rescinded in early 1991.
Monetary Unit: Turkish Lira (Türk Lirası—TL) (market rate October 19, 2018: 5.60 Turkish New Liras = $1US).
President of the Republic: Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN (Justice and Development Party); elected in presidential elections on August 10, 2014, and inaugurated on August 28, ...