Türkiye
Asia · Capital: Ankara
How it is run: Türkiye is a member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly. Use the research links below to find out exactly who makes the laws there.
Türkiye is home to 85.9 million people in Western Asia, where people speak Turkish.
Numbers that tell a story 🔢
👥 People
85.9 million people
That is 1.1% of everybody alive (counted in 2025).
🗺️ Land
783,562 km²
Bigger than Texas — a long road trip from one side to the other.
🏙️ How crowded
About 110 people per square kilometre — busy towns with countryside in between.
📊 Size in its region
10th most people in Asia
9th largest by land in Asia.
🗣️ Official languages
Turkish
💰 Money
Turkish lira (₺)
Life here today 🩺
These come from World Bank open data — the same numbers governments use when they argue about budgets.
❤️ How long people live
77.4 years on average
Doctors, clean water and food supply all change this number over time.
💼 Money made per person each year
about US$18,599
An upper-middle-income country: growing cities, and more families joining the middle class.
🏢 Living in cities
89.5% of people
Mostly a city country — think buses, trains and apartment blocks.
🎒 Kids under 15
21% of the population
A fairly balanced mix of young and old.
Everyday details 🧭
📞 Phone code
+90
Dial this before the number to call from another country.
🌐 Websites end in
.tr
🧑 People here are called
Turkish
🏷️ Name at home
Türkiye
Also written: Turkiye, Republic of Turkey, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti.
🌊 Coast or inland
Has a coastline
🕊️ UN voting group
Western European and Others Group
Countries in the same group often plan votes together.
Neighbours & borders 🤝
Türkiye touches 8 neighbours by land. Neighbours share rivers, roads and usually a lot of trade.
Say its name around the world 🗣️
Countries have different names in different languages. Try these with a penpal.
Spanish
Turquía
French
Turquie
Arabic
تركيا
Chinese
土耳其
Japanese
トルコ
Russian
Турция
Portuguese
Turquia
German
Türkei
Put it in perspective 📏
- India — the most populated country in Asia — has about 17.0× as many people as Türkiye.
- Türkiye covers roughly 7,462 times the area of Hong Kong Island.
- If everyone in Türkiye lined up shoulder to shoulder, the line would stretch about 42,939 km.
Flags through time 🎏
A flag is a country telling you what it believes. Scroll the timeline and watch Türkiye change.
Ottoman Empire
The crescent and star flew over an empire on three continents.
Republic of Türkiye
The republic kept the crescent and fixed its exact size in law.
Fast facts 🧠
Fact of the day: Türkiye is an independent country, meaning it makes its own laws.
🏷️ Official name
Republic of Türkiye
🏙️ Capital
Ankara
🌍 Region
Asia · Western Asia
🔤 Country code
TR
🕊️ UN status
UN member state
🚩 Independence
Independent country
More about Türkiye 🔎
🧭 Where on the map
39.0° N, 35.0° E
🌐 Half of the world
Northern & Eastern hemisphere
🕰️ Clock check
Roughly UTC+2 — when it is noon in London it is about 14:00 in Ankara.
- The capital of Türkiye is Ankara — that's where the country's big decisions get made.
- Türkiye sits in Western Asia, in the northern and eastern half of the globe.
- Türkiye is an independent country, meaning it makes its own laws.
- Türkiye is close to the line of 0° longitude, so its clocks are near the world's reference time (UTC).
- Türkiye sits in the temperate zone, the belt where most of the world's farms and big cities are.
Countries nearby 🤝
Talk about it 💬
- Türkiye has 1 official language. How would your school day change if lessons were taught in more than one language?
- Türkiye can trade by sea. What should a country protect first: its ports, its fishing waters, or its beaches?
- If Türkiye spoke at the General Assembly tomorrow, what one problem should its delegate ask the world to help fix?
Quick quiz 🧪
Guess first, then tap to check your answer.
What is the capital of Türkiye?
Ankara
Which money do people spend in Türkiye?
Turkish lira (₺)
How many countries share a land border with Türkiye?
8 — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria.
Roughly how many people live in Türkiye?
85.9 million people
Keep researching 🔍
Everything here is a starting point. These trusted sites, databases and libraries will take you further — and they are the kind of sources a teacher will accept in a report.
Start here — kid-friendly encyclopedias 📚
Short articles written for students, with maps and photos you can use in a report.
Official data & government sources 🏛️
Primary sources. Cite these when your teacher asks for real data.
News & current policy 📰
Use two different outlets before you decide what you think.
Your library card 🏫
Libraries give you books, databases and librarians — all free.
Library tip: Ask your school or public librarian for their online databases (like Gale in Context or EBSCO Explora). Your library card unlocks them for free at home, and they are already checked by adults for school use.