Turkey Government

The politics of Turkey can be classified as a democratic, secular parliamentary representative system. The Prime Minister of Turkey is the head of the government, and the President of Turkey retains a mostly ceremonial role, with powers reserved for times of crisis. The current Constitution of Turkey, adopted in 1982, vests legislative power in the country to the Grand National Assembly. The Turkish Constitution is based on secularism and modernisation, and this extends into the political realm of the nation.

Elections in the country are held every four years, and the multi-party system of the country usually sees two or three strong parties as well as a fourth minority party garnering a small share of the vote. General elections in Turkey have been held every four years without interruption since 1923. The President of Turkey is elected every seven years by the Parliament of Turkey, and these five-year terms are now limited to two consecutive terms for any one individual.

The house of parliament, known as the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, is located in the centre of the capital city Ankara. This parliament was founded in 1920 in an attempt to forge a state out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. Currently, the parliament houses 544 seats, but this number will increase to 600 in the 2019 national elections. The AKP party now holds the majority of 317 seats and the opposition, the CHP, holds 134 seats. The political landscape of Turkey is dominated by socially conservative political parties and ideologies.

Turkey has a multi-party system. Major parties include the Justice and Development Party, the Republican People's Party, and the Peoples' Democratic Party.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Ankara
Languages	Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages
Ethnic Groups	Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 19%, other minorities 7-12% (2016 est.)
Religion	Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Government	Parliamentary republic
Independance	29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed succeeding the Ottoman Empire)
Area	783,562.00 km²
Water Area	13,930.00 km²
Land Area	769,632.00 km²
Population	80,274,604.00 The most densely populated area is found around the Bosporus in the northwest where 20% of the population lives in Istanbul; with the exception of Ankara, urban centers remain small and scattered throughout the interior of Anatolia; an overall pattern of peripheral development exists, particularly along the western Mediterranean coast, and the Tigris and Euphrates River systems in the southeast
Location	Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria
No. Bordering Countries	8
Bordering Countries	Armenia 311 km, Azerbaijan 17 km, Bulgaria 223 km, Georgia 273 km, Greece 192 km, Iran 534 km, Iraq 367 km, Syria 899 km
GDP(PPP)	$1,700,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$21,100.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are Germany, the United Kingdom, and Iraq.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, and transport equipment.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are China, Germany, and Russia.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include machinery, chemicals, and fuels.
Climate	Subtropical desert
Terrain	High central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges
Learn More	Turkey

Turkey Government

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