TURKEY TODAY  Country Facts

Area: Approx 780,000 sq km (300,000 sq miles)
Population: 71.9m (July 2008 est)
Capital city: Ankara
People: Majority Turks. Minorities recognised under the Turkish Constitution: Jews, Armenians and Greeks. Other ethnic peoples include Kurds, Circassians and Bosnians.
Language: Turkish (official)
Religion: Muslim %96
Currency: Turkish Lira (TL)
Government: Parliamentary republic

 Membership of international groupings/organisations: UN, NATO, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an Associate Member of the Western European Union, and a candidate for accession to the European Union (negotiations started on 3 October 2005).
Land boundaries: total: 2,627km, border countries: Armenia 268km, Azerbaijan 9km, Bulgaria 240km, Georgia 252km, Greece 206km, Iran 499km, Iraq 331km, Syria 822km
Coastline: 8,333km
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m, highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166m