- Country name
- conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey
local long form: Turkey Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkey
etymology: the name means "Land of the Turks" - Government type
- presidential republic
- Capital
- name: Ankara
geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 32 52 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: the name probably derives from the Indo-European root word ang, meaning "bend" and relating to the settlement's original location in a winding gorge; the city was referred to as Angora by the 13th century; the name was officially modified to Ankara in 1923 when the Republic of Turkey was founded - Administrative divisions
- 81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
- Legal system
- civil law system based on various European systems, notably the Swiss civil code
- Constitution
- history: several previous; latest ratified 9 November 1982
amendment process: proposed by written consent of at least one third of Grand National Assembly (GNA) of Turkey (TBMM) members; adoption of draft amendments requires two debates in plenary TBMM session and three-fifths majority vote of all GNA members; the president of the republic can request TBMM reconsideration of the amendment and, if readopted by two-thirds majority TBMM vote, the president may submit the amendment to a referendum; passage by referendum requires absolute majority vote - International law organization participation
- has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
- Citizenship
- citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Turkey
dual citizenship recognized: yes, but requires prior permission from the government
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years - Suffrage
- 18 years of age; universal
- Executive branch
- 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 president
election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term)
most recent election date: 14 May 2023, with a runoff on 28 May 2023
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%
expected date of next election: 2028 - Legislative branch
- legislature name: Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi (T.B.M.M))
legislative structure: unicameral
number of seats: 600 (all directly elected)
electoral system: proportional representation
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 5 years
most recent election date: 5/14/2023
parties elected and seats per party: Justice and Development Party (Ak Party) (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 - Judicial branch
- highest court(s): Constitutional Court or Anayasa Mahkemesi (consists of the president, 2 vice presidents, and 12 judges); Court of Cassation (consists of about 390 judges and is organized into civil and penal chambers); Council of State (organized into 15 divisions -- 14 judicial and 1 consultative -- each with a division head and at least 5 members)
judge selection and term of office: Constitutional Court members - 3 appointed by the Grand National Assembly and 12 by the president of the republic; court president and 2 deputy court presidents appointed from among its members for 4-year terms; judges serve 12-year, nonrenewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65; Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Board of Judges and Prosecutors, a 13-member body of judicial officials; Court of Cassation judges serve until retirement at age 65; Council of State members appointed by the Board and by the president of the republic; members serve renewable, 4-year terms
subordinate courts: regional appeals courts; basic (first instance) courts; peace courts; aggravated crime courts; specialized courts, including administrative and audit - Political parties
- Democracy and Progress Party or DEVADemocrat Party or DPDemocratic Regions Party or DBPFelicity Party (Saadet Party) or SPFree Cause Party or HUDA PARFuture Party (Gelecek Partisi) or GPGood Party or IYIGrand Unity Party or BBP Justice and Development Party or AKP Labor and Freedom Alliance (electoral alliance includes YSGP, HDP, TIP)Nationalist Movement Party or MHP New Welfare Party or YRP Party of Greens and the Left Future or YSGP People's Alliance (electoral alliance includes AKP, BBP, MHP, YRP)Peoples' Democratic Party or HDPRepublican People's Party or CHP Workers' Party of Turkey or TIP
- Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Sedat ÖNAL (since 17 June 2024)
chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700
FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744
email address and website: embassy.washingtondc@mfa.gov.trT.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı - Turkish Embassy In Washington, D.C. (mfa.gov.tr)
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco - Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas J. BARRACK (since 14 May 2025)
embassy: 1480 Sokak No. 1, Cukurambar Mahallesi, 06530 Cankaya, Ankara
mailing address: 7000 Ankara Place, Washington, DC 20512-7000
telephone: [90] (312) 294-0000
FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019
email address and website: Ankara-ACS@state.govhttps://tr.usembassy.gov/
consulate(s) general: Istanbul
consulate(s): Adana - International organization participation
- ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CERN (observer), CICA, CPLP (associate observer), D-8, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (candidate country), FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF (partner), SCO (dialogue member), SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
- Independence
- 29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed, succeeding the Ottoman Empire)
- National holiday
- Republic Day, 29 October (1923)
- Flag
- description: red with a vertical white crescent moon and five-pointed white star centered just outside the crescent's openingmeaning: the flag colors and designs closely resemble the Ottoman Empire's flag; the crescent moon and star serve as insignia for Turkic peoples; according to one interpretation, the flag represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors
- National symbol(s)
- vertical crescent moon with adjacent five-pointed star
- National color(s)
- red, white
- National anthem(s)
- title: "Istiklal Marsi" (The March of Independence)
lyrics/music: Mehmet Akif ERSOY/Zeki UNGOR
history: lyrics adopted 1921, music adopted 1932; the anthem's original music was adopted in 1924 - National heritage
- total World Heritage Sites: 22 (20 cultural, 2 mixed)
selected World Heritage Site locales: Archaeological Site of Troy (c); Ephesus (c); Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape (c); Hierapolis-Pamukkale (m); Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia (m); Göbekli Tepe (c); Historic Areas of Istanbul (c); Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex (c); Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük (c); Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire (c); Gordion (c); Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği (c); Hattusha: the Hittite Capital (c); Nemrut Dağ (c); Xanthos-Letoon (c); City of Safranbolu (c); Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape (c); Archaeological Site of Ani (c); Aphrodisias (c); Arslantepe Mound (c); Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia (c); Turkmenistan (c); Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe (c)