This statistic shows the ten biggest cities in Turkey in 2021. At the end of 2021, approximately 15.2 million people lived in Istanbul, making it the biggest city in Turkey.

The urban population of Turkey

The total population of Turkey is on its way to reaching 80 million inhabitants, which is about the same amouint as the population of Germany. Slightly more than half of the Turkish population live in urban areas, with Istanbul being home to the largest portion of this urban population with close to 14 million inhabitants. This is about 20 percent of the entire population.

Istanbul is located at the entrance to the Black Sea, between Europe and Asia. It is attractive to both the people of Turkey as a place to live and work and foreign tourists who take advantage of its cultural and historic center. Due to its attractiveness and its location at the crossroads of the east and the west, the city has been investing in transportation infrastructure to support its strategic location and increasing growth.

Ankara, the capital of Turkey, is the second largest city and home to about 4.5 million people. Izmir is the third largest, with almost 3 million inhabitants. A vast amount of the country’s population is located in these three metropolises.

In 2023, the major city of Istanbul had almost 15.7 million inhabitants and was the province with the highest population in Turkey. The Turkish capital, Ankara, was the second-largest province, with 5.8 million people residing there in the same year. Characteristics of the Turkish population The population of Turkey has been following a continuously increasing trend for a long time. As of 2023, there were approximately 85.4 million people living in the country. That year, the male population was slightly higher than the female population, amounting to over 42.7 million. When it comes to the gender distribution among the age groups, the gender gap was the highest among the 90-year-olds and older. In 2023, women constituted 70 percent of that age group, whereas the share of men was slightly higher among 0-to-59-year-olds. Structure of the Turkish households The demand for living alone has been increasing in many communities. The case is not much different in Turkey, where the proportion of single households has been on the rise steadily. The share of households with one person peaked in 2023 at nearly 20 percent in the country. However, one-family households still registered the highest number of residents as of 2023, with roughly 16.7 million. In comparison, one-person households counted 5.2 million individuals.

Population in largest city in Turkey was reported at 16047350 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Turkey - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Turkey was reported at 24.09 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Turkey - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

İstanbul was by far the most populated city in Turkey in 2023, with almost 15.7 million inhabitants. The capital city of Turkey, Ankara became the second most populated settlement, reaching a population of 5.8 million.

Turkey TR: Population in Largest City data was reported at 14,556,884.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 14,365,329.000 Person for 2016. Turkey TR: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 6,188,484.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14,556,884.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 1,453,353.000 Person in 1960. Turkey TR: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Turkey – Table TR.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

As of 2024, the leading city for startups in Turkey was Istanbul, with a total score of 15.07 The capital city, Ankara, followed as second in the ranking, obtaining a score of 1.6 points.

Turkey TR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 24.244 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.452 % for 2016. Turkey TR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 21.399 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25.077 % in 2011 and a record low of 16.786 % in 1960. Turkey TR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Turkey – Table TR.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted Average;

In 2023, Konya became the leading agricultural city in Turkey, outnumbering all the other 80 cities with over 18.8 million hectare of agricultural land. This was followed by Ankara, with approximately 11.6 million hectares of agricultural land.

As of January 31, 2021, the population of Turkey was almost 85 million. Istanbul had the highest number of residents, with roundabout 16 million comprising 19 percent of the whole population. The second most populated city was Ankara, the capital of Turkey, which had nearly six million residents. In 2021, there were 24 cities in Turkey with a population of over one million.

This horizontal bar chart displays rural population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Turkey. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays female population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Turkey. The data is about countries per year.

Graph and download economic data for Geographical Outreach: Number of Branches in 3 Largest Cities, Excluding Headquarters, for Other Deposit Takers for Turkey (TURFCBODDLNUM) from 2007 to 2015 about branches and Turkey.

Overview This comprehensive weather dataset contains daily meteorological observations for 5 major Turkish cities spanning from 2020 to 2025. The data has been systematically collected from official meteorological stations and processed into analysis-ready format, making it ideal for climate analysis, machine learning projects, and research applications.

Data Collection & Processing The dataset was created using a custom Python pipeline that:

• Extracts hourly weather data from Meteostat API
• Aggregates hourly observations into meaningful daily statistics
• Applies statistical functions (mean, max, min, sum, mode) to derive insights
• Ensures data quality through systematic cleaning and validation

Cities Covered

• Istanbul (Station ID: 17060) - Turkey's largest city and economic hub
• Ankara (Station ID: LTAB0) - Capital city with continental climate
• Izmir (Station ID: 17218) - Major Aegean coastal city
• Bursa (Station ID: 17116) - Industrial city in northwestern Turkey
• Adana (Station ID: 17352) - Mediterranean region's major city

Data Sources Primary data sourced from official meteorological stations via Meteostat API, ensuring reliability and accuracy of observations. Station selection based on data availability, geographic coverage, and measurement quality.

Dataset Columns

The generated CSV files contain the following columns:

• date: Date
• daily_avg_temp: Daily average temperature (°C)
• daily_max_temp: Daily maximum temperature (°C)
• daily_min_temp: Daily minimum temperature (°C)
• daily_avg_wind_speed: Daily average wind speed
• daily_max_wind_speed: Daily maximum wind speed
• daily_min_wind_speed: Daily minimum wind speed
• wind_direction: Dominant wind direction
• avg_relative_humidity: Average relative humidity (%)
• avg_dew_point: Average dew point (°C)
• avg_pressure: Average pressure (hPa)
• precipitation_sum: Total precipitation amount (mm)
• rainy_hour_sum: Number of rainy hours

The prime office yields in Turkey did not show any significant change since June 2019 in most of the major cities. As of March 2024, prime office yields equaled 9.5 percent in Izmir, the highest of any major Turkish cities. This was followed by Ankara, which amounted to 9.25 percent.

This horizontal bar chart displays hospital beds (per 1,000 people) by capital city using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Turkey. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays life expectancy at birth (year) by capital city using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Turkey. The data is about countries per year.

This statistic displays the total rentable area per one thousand persons in shopping centers in Turkey in the fourth quarter of 2017, by major cities. In the last quarter of 2017, shopping centers in Istanbul had highest total rentable area, equaling 299 square meters per thousand persons. This was only five square meters more than the total rentable area per person in Ankara.

The share of urban population in Turkey saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 77.46 percent. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the share in Turkey. A country's urbanization rate refers to the share of the total population living in an urban setting. International comparisons of urbanization rates may be inconsistent, due to discrepancies between definitions of what constitutes an urban center (based on population size, area, or space between dwellings, among others).Find more key insights for the share of urban population in countries like North Macedonia and Montenegro.

Residential Real Estate In Turkey Market size was valued at USD 64.32 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 98.63 Billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 7.8% from 2026 to 2032.

Key Market Drivers:

Rising Demand for Housing Due to Urbanization: The rising urbanization in Turkey is one of the primary drivers of the residential real estate market. According to a 2023 report by Turkey’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, over 75% of the population now lives in urban areas, contributing to a strong demand for housing. Major cities like Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir are experiencing high population growth, pushing the demand for residential real estate. Companies like Emlak Konut are responding with large-scale development projects to meet this growing need for urban housing.