Turkey

Turkey is a transcontinental country in Asia and Europe, has adopted the European model in the political, economic and cultural fields and is a candidate for the European union. The Constitution stipulates that Turkey is a country with democracy, separation of religion from government and the implementation of the rule of law. Turkey's diplomatic focus is in the west, while strengthening its relations with European countries and maintaining its traditional strategic partnership with the United states. Istanbul is the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.



Turkey is a member of NATO, as well as a founding member of the organization for economic cooperation and development and a member of the G20. With a strong industrial base, it is one of the world's the fastest growing countries in the world.

People: Turkey has a total population of 76.35 millions (2013). Turkish accounted for more than 80%, Kurd accounted for 15%; the city population is about 49.7 millions, accounting for 70.5% of the total population.

Climate:The climate types in Turkey vary greatly. The southeast area is dry and the Central Anatolia plateau is cooler. Generally speaking, Turkey's summer is long with high temperature and less rainfall; the winter is cold with cold rain and snow. The coastal areas bordering the Black Sea have a temperate oceanic climate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters.

Language: The country's official language is Turkish, which is spoken by 85.54 percent of the population a first language.

Economy: Turkey's economy is developing rapidly. Turkey is a leader in the production of agricultural products, textiles, automobiles, ships and other means of transportation, building materials and household electronic products. In recent years, Turkey has made remarkable progress in the private company sector, but state-owned enterprises still play an important role in banking, transportation and communications industries.

Turkey, the world's sixteenth largest economy of GDP (purchasing power parity), ranks sixty-fifth in per capita GDP (purchasing power parity). Turkey was a founding member of the organization for economic cooperation and development and member of the G20 (joined in 1999).

The world bank classified Turkey's per capita GDP in 2007 as a middle and high income country. The Central Intelligence Agency will classified Turkey as developed countries, economists and political scientists often identified Turkey as emerging industrialized country, however, the world bank and Merrill Lynch economist will classified it as an emerging market.

Time: FET (UTC+3)

Capital: Turkish lira ₺ (TRY)

How to get there: Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport is Turkey's primary international. Ankara's Esenboğa Airport handles a comparatively limited selection of international flights, and there are also direct charters to Mediterranean resort hot spots like Antalya in the peak summer and winter seasons.