Türkiye Passport

[Country name] Republic of Türkiye.

【 Area 】 783600 square kilometers, of which 97% are located on the Asia Minor Peninsula in Asia and 3% are located on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe.

[Population] 85.37 million (2023), with Türkiye accounting for more than 80% and Kurdish accounting for about 15%. 99% of residents believe in Islam, of which 85% are Sunni and the rest are Shia (Alawite); A minority of people believe in Christianity and Judaism.

[Official language] Turkish.

【 Capital 】 Ankara, with a population of 5.8 million (2023), has an annual maximum temperature of 30 ℃ and a minimum temperature of -3 ℃.

[Currency] Türkiye Lira, 1 dollar ≈ 34 lira.

[Major Festivals] New Year: January 1st; National Sovereignty and Children's Day: April 23rd; Youth and Sports Festival: May 19th; Democracy and National Unity Day: July 15th; Victory Day: August 30th; Founding Day of the Republic: October 29th.

【 Natural Geography 】 Spanning across Asia and Europe, it is adjacent to Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Greece, and Bulgaria, and borders the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, and Black Seas. The coastline is 7200 kilometers long, and the land border is 2648 kilometers long. The southern coastal areas have a subtropical Mediterranean climate, while the inland areas have a continental climate.

In the late 13th century, the Ottoman Empire was established and reached its peak in the 16th century. In the early 20th century, it became a semi colony of countries such as Britain and France. In 1919, Kemal led the National Liberation War to resist aggression and win. On October 29, 1923, the Republic of Türkiye was established, and Kemal was elected the first president.

[Politics] Türkiye has long implemented a parliamentary system since its founding. In April 2017, Türkiye passed a constitutional referendum to change to a presidential system.

[Head of State] President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected President of Türkiye through direct popular election in August 2014. Re elected at the end of May 2023.

[Parliament] The full name is Türkiye's Grand National Assembly, which is the highest legislative body of Turkey. There are a total of 600 seats, and members are elected based on the population ratio of each province, with a term of 5 years. Implement a universal direct election system, where citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote and be elected. Only political parties or alliances with more than 7% of the national vote can hold parliamentary seats. This parliament will be elected in June 2023 and is the 28th parliament of Turkey.

The government, also known as the Council of Ministers. In June 2023, President Erdogan was re elected and formed a new government, becoming the 67th government of Turkey. There are a total of 17 departments, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Education, etc.

[Administrative divisions] The administrative divisions of Türkiye are divided into provinces, counties, townships and villages. The country is divided into 81 provinces.

The central level courts include the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Supreme Audit Court.

The main economic data for 2023 are as follows: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): 1.12 trillion US dollars, Per Capita GDP: 13110 US dollars.

【 Resources 】 Rich in mineral resources, mainly including granite, marble, boron ore, chromium, thorium, and coal, with a total value exceeding 2 trillion US dollars. Among them, granite and marble reserves account for 40% of the world's total, and the number of varieties ranks first in the world. Boron trioxide reserves of 70 million tons, valued at 356 billion US dollars; Thorium reserves account for 22% of the global total reserves; The chromium ore reserves are 100 million tons, ranking among the top in the world. In addition, the reserves of gold, silver, and coal are 516 tons, 1100 tons, and 15.5 billion tons, respectively. Oil and natural gas resources are scarce and require large imports. Water resources are scarce, with a per capita water capacity of only 1430 cubic meters.

The industrial foundation is relatively good, mainly including food processing, textiles, automobiles, mining, steel, petroleum, construction, wood and paper industries.

Agriculture has a good foundation, with main agricultural products including tobacco, cotton, rice, olives, sugar beets, kumquats, livestock, etc. The main agricultural and sideline products such as grain, cotton, fruits, vegetables, and meat have basically achieved self-sufficiency, with a self-sufficiency rate of 98.8% for grain. In recent years, the degree of agricultural mechanization has increased, and the area of machine farming has continued to expand. The wood processing industry is well-developed. The forest area is 220000 square kilometers.

Tourism is one of the important sources of foreign exchange income for Turkey. In 2023, the total number of foreign tourists reached 56.7 million, with tourism revenue of 54.3 billion US dollars. The main tourist cities include Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Bursa, etc. The ruins of ancient cities such as Troy and Ephesus, as well as Cappadocia and Cotton Castle, are major scenic spots.

With the rapid development of the national economy, the total value and quantity of foreign trade continue to increase. The main imported goods are crude oil, natural gas, chemical products, machinery and equipment, steel, etc. The main exported products are agricultural products, food, textiles, clothing, metal products, vehicles and spare parts, etc. In recent years, steel, automobiles, household appliances, and mechanical products have gradually entered the international market. In 2023, Türkiye's exports will reach 255.8 billion US dollars, up 0.6% over the same period; The import volume was 361.8 billion US dollars, a decrease of 0.5% during the same period. The trade deficit was 106 billion US dollars, a decrease of 3.2% during the same period.

In 1921, Kemal founded the National Army. In 1952, Turkey joined NATO. The Turkish armed forces include the army, navy (including naval aviation and marine corps), air force, coast guard, and gendarmerie. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The Supreme Military Council is the highest decision-making body for internal affairs of the armed forces. The General Staff Headquarters is the highest operational command structure of the armed forces. The National Security Council is the highest decision-making body for national defense. The Ministry of National Defense is the highest administrative agency that cooperates with the General Staff Department. Implement compulsory military service system, and since 1987, implement a paid exemption from military service system. Implement professionalization measures for the military, streamline command personnel, humanize technical personnel, and implement a contract system for officers and technical soldiers.

In March 2012, the Turkish parliament reformed the compulsory education system, which currently consists of four years of primary school, four years of junior high school, and four years of high school. There are nearly 60000 schools of various types in the compulsory education stage.

There are currently over 200 universities. Famous higher education institutions include Ankara University, Hajtep University, Middle East Technical University, Birkent University, Istanbul University, Straits University, and Aegean University.

The Liberty Daily, Morning Post, and Spokesperson's Daily are the newspapers with the largest circulation in Turkey. The Daily News and Daily Morning News are the main English newspapers.

Main news agency: Anadolu News Agency, semi official, founded in 1920.

[External relations] Türkiye attaches great importance to developing relations with the United States and Europe. It generally follows the direction of good neighborly development, actively participates in and mediates regional affairs, and at the same time attaches importance to developing relations with Asia Pacific, Central Asian, Balkan, African and Latin American countries, including China, Japan and South Korea, and focuses on diplomatic diversification.

Türkiye is a member of international and regional organizations such as NATO, the Group of 20, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Group of Eight Developing Countries, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, the Southeast European Cooperation Process, the Organization of Turkic Speaking Countries, and a dialogue partner of organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.