Facts and figures about your holiday destination
Turkey is a country with particularly hospitable people who are proud of their homeland and are happy to show visitors their country with all its sights and historical sites.
The 99 percent Islamic population on the Turkish Riviera, as well as the people of Turkey in general, are very hospitable and proud when they can show a visitor their country and explain the sights and historical sites. Turkey has almost 80 million inhabitants, with almost a third of the total population spread across the cities of Istanbul (14,80 million), Ankara (5,27 million) and Izmir (4,11 million).
Turkey's territory covers 814.578 km² - more than twice the size of Germany; 97% of the area belongs to Asia Minor (Anatolia) and 3% to Europe (Thrace). Turkey is surrounded by seas on the north, west and south; Europe and Asia are bounded by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and
separated the Dardanelles. The country is criss-crossed by many rivers and rich in lakes. The largest lake is Lake Van with an area of 3.738 km². The Anatolian Peninsula has over 8 km of coastline. Turkey has diverse resources, an emerging industrial sector and good trade relations with the West. Tobacco, cotton, sultanas, tea, figs and hazelnuts are mainly grown in the irrigated coastal areas.
Turkey's main industry is the production of textiles, food, chemicals, iron, plastic and steel, glass and furniture. Around 40% of the working population works in agriculture, 38% in services and 22% in industry.
The average income in Turkey is below that of a middle-income developing country. There are also significant income differences between eastern and western Turkey.
The official language is Turkish, while various Kurdish dialects are spoken in parts of the south-east and east of the country.
National holiday is October 29th. Ataturk proclaimed the republic on this day in 1923.
Today Turkey is a parliamentary democracy led by the President. It has been a member of NATO since 1952, and accession negotiations with the European Union have been underway since 2005.
