Turkey - Administrative Divisions

Administrative Divisions

Further information: List of regions of Turkey, Provinces of Turkey, and Districts of Turkey

The capital city of Turkey is Ankara. The territory of Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces for administrative purposes. The provinces are organized into 7 regions for census purposes; however, they do not represent an administrative structure. Each province is divided into districts, for a total of 923 districts.

Provinces usually bear the same name as their provincial capitals, also called the central district; exceptions to this custom are the provinces of Hatay (capital: Antakya), Kocaeli (capital: İzmit) and Sakarya (capital: Adapazarı). Provinces with the largest populations are Istanbul (13 million), Ankara (5 million), İzmir (4 million), Bursa (3 million) and Adana (2 million).

The biggest city and the pre-Republican capital Istanbul is the financial, economic and cultural heart of the country. An estimated 75.5% of Turkey's population live in urban centers. In all, 19 provinces have populations that exceed 1 million inhabitants, and 20 provinces have populations between 1 million and 500,000 inhabitants. Only two provinces have populations less than 100,000.

Ankara Kırklareli Edirne Tekirdağ Çanakkale Balıkesir Bursa Yalova Istanbul Kocaeli Sakarya Düzce Zonguldak Bolu Bilecik Eskişehir Kütahya Manisa İzmir Aydın Muğla Denizli Burdur Uşak Afyon Isparta Antalya Konya Mersin Karaman Aksaray Kırşehir Kırıkkale Çankırı Karabük Bartın Kastamonu Sinop Çorum Yozgat Nevşehir Niğde Adana Hatay Osmaniye K. Maraş Kayseri Sivas Tokat Amasya Samsun Ordu Giresun Erzincan Malatya Gaziantep Kilis Şanlıurfa Adıyaman Gümüşhane Trabzon Rize Bayburt Erzurum Artvin Ardahan Kars Ağrı Iğdır Tunceli Elâzığ Diyarbakır Mardin Batman Siirt Şırnak Bitlis Bingöl Muş Van Hakkâri