Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire by reformer and national hero Mustafa KEMAL, known as Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." One-party rule ended in 1950, and periods of instability and military coups have since fractured the multiparty democracy, in 1960, 1971, 1980, 1997, and 2016. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and NATO in 1952. In 1963, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; it began accession talks with the EU in 2005. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a US-designated terrorist organization, began a separatist insurgency in Turkey in 1984, and the struggle has long dominated the attention of Turkish security forces. In 2013, the Turkish Government and the PKK conducted negotiations aimed at ending the violence, but intense fighting resumed in 2015. The Turkish Government conducted a referendum in 2017 in which voters approved constitutional amendments changing Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system.
Area: 783,562 km2
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
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
Groups: Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 19%, other minorities 6-11% (2016 est.)
Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languagesmajor-language sample(s): The World Factbook, temel bilgi edinmek için vazgeçilmez bir kaynak. (Turkish)
Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Capital: Ankara
Government type: presidential republic
Chief of state: President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 28 August 2014)
Head of government: President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 9 July 2018)cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the presidentelections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 14 May 2023 with a runoff on 28 May 2023 (next to be held in 2028)election results: 2023: Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN reelected president in second round - Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (AKP) 52.2%, Kemal KILICDAROGLU (CHP) 47.8%2018: Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN reelected president in first round - Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (AKP) 52.6%, Muharrem INCE (CHP) 30.6%, Selahattin DEMIRTAS (HDP) 8.4%, Meral AKSENER (IYI) 7.3%, other 1.1%
Description: legislature name: Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi (T.B.M.M))legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 600 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 5 yearsmost recent election date: 5/14/2023parties elected and seats per party: Justice and Development Party (AKP) (267); Republican People's Party (CHP) (130); Green and the Left Party of the Future (YSGP) (57); Nationalist Action Party (MHP) (50); Good Party (İyi Party) (44); Other (52)percentage of women in chamber: 19.9%expected date of next election: May 2028
Information derived by "The World Factbook 2021. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2021. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/"