The modern Republic of Turkey is comprised of 780,000 square km, of which 97% is found in Asia and 3% in Europe - separated by the Sea of Marmara. Of the 60 million Turkish people, 99% of the population are Muslim. However, since Ataturk's reformations in 1923, there has been no official state religion. Approximately 40% of the people live rurally with the rest residing in the major cities of Ankara (the nation's capital), Istanbul, Izmir, Adana, Bursa, and Antalya.

Geography

Location: southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia. (The portion of Turkey that lies west of the Bosphorus River is geographically part of Europe.) Turkey borders Bulgaria, Greece, the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, and the Black Sea.

Geographic Coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E

Map References: Middle East

Total area: 780,50 sq km
Land area: 770,760 sq km
Water area: 9,820 sq km

Comparative: slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries (total): 2,627 km

Coastline: 7,200 km

Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior

Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)

Elevation extremes:

Lowest point: Mediterranean Sea: 0 m
Highest point: Mount Ararat: 5,166 m

Natural resources: antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower

Environment

International agreements: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Depletion, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

Signed but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification