History of Turkey in Timeline

Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a transcontinental country located mainly in West Asia (Anatolia) and partly in Southeast Europe (East Thrace). It is bordered by the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, and Mediterranean Sea, and shares borders with several countries including Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Greece, and Bulgaria. With a population exceeding 85 million, Turkey's inhabitants are primarily ethnic Turks, with Kurds as the largest minority. While officially secular, Turkey has a Muslim-majority population. Ankara is the capital, while Istanbul serves as the largest city and economic hub. Other significant cities include İzmir, Bursa, and Antalya.

1914: Percentage of Non-Muslims

In 1914, the percentage of non-Muslims in Turkey was 19.1%.

1918: Start of Turkish Architecture Divisions

Since 1918, Turkish architecture can be divided into three parts.

1923: Reforms Instituted by Atatürk

After the proclamation of the republic in 1923, Atatürk instituted reforms such as the language reform and alphabet reform.

1927: Percentage of Non-Muslims

By 1927, the percentage of non-Muslims in Turkey had fallen to 2.5%.

1950: Second Part of Turkish Architecture Divisions

From 1950, the second part includes urbanization, modernization, and internationalization.

1950: Population Data

In 1950, Turkey's population was 20.9 million.

1965: Last Census Including Ethnicity Statistics

The 1965 Turkish census was the last to include statistics on ethnicity.

1973: First Nobel Prize in Literature Nominee

In 1973, Memed, My Hawk by Yaşar Kemal, was Turkey's first Nobel Prize in Literature nominee.

Memed, My Hawk

Check it on Amazon

1980: Third Part of Turkish Architecture Divisions

Since 1980, the third part is defined by consumer habits and international trends, such as shopping malls and office towers.

1991: Gulf War refugee influx

During the Gulf War in 1991, millions of Kurds fled to Turkey and Kurdish areas of Iran.

2003: Universal Public Healthcare System

Since 2003, the Ministry of Health has run a universal public healthcare system known as Universal Health Insurance (Genel Sağlık Sigortası).

2006: KONDA's estimation of ethnic Turks in Turkey

Based on a survey, KONDA's estimation was that 76% of the Turkish population was ethnic Turks in 2006.

2006: KONDA's Estimate for Non-Islamic Religions

In 2006, KONDA estimated that 0.18% of the Turkish population adhered to non-Islamic religions.

2006: Non-religious population

In 2006, KONDA estimated that 0.47% of the Turkish population had no religion.

2006: KONDA's Estimate for Muslims

In 2006, KONDA estimated that 99.4% of the Turkish population was Muslim.

2006: KONDA's Estimation of Non-Kurdish and Non-Zaza Ethnic Minorities

In 2006, KONDA estimated that non-Kurdish and non-Zaza ethnic minorities constituted 8.2% of the population.

2006: Interethnic Marriages Statistics

In 2006, an estimated 2.7 million ethnic Turks and Kurds were related through interethnic marriages.

2006: Nobel Prize in Literature

Orhan Pamuk won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature.

2009: Inaugural Contemporary Turkish Art Sale

The inaugural contemporary Turkish art sale by Sotheby's London was in 2009.

2011: Nonbelievers

According to KONDA, the share of adult citizens who identified as nonbelievers increased from 2% in 2011.

2011: Start of Syrian Civil War

Before the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the estimated number of Arabs in Turkey varied from 1 million to more than 2 million.

2011: Improvements in Education Access

From 2011, Turkey saw improvements in education access, including significant rise in the rates of upper secondary and tertiary education completion, and quadrupling of pre-school institutions.

2013: Court Ruling on Lausanne Treaty and Assyrians

In 2013, the Ankara 13th Circuit Administrative Court ruled that the minority provisions of the Lausanne Treaty should also apply to Assyrians in Turkey and the Syriac language.

2013: City Hospitals Plan

The government planned several hospital complexes, known as city hospitals, to be constructed since 2013.

2016: Turkish Television Dramas Air in South and Central America

After sweeping the Middle East's television market, Turkish shows have aired in more than a dozen South and Central American countries in 2016.

2016: Presidential Appointment of University Rectors

Since 2016, the president of Turkey directly appoints all rectors of all state and private universities.

2018: Health survey on Ideal Children

According to a health survey conducted in 2018, the ideal number of children per woman was 2.8, rising to 3 for married women.

2018: Health Expenditure as Share of GDP

Despite universal health care, total expenditure on health as a share of GDP in 2018 was the lowest among OECD countries at 6.3% of GDP.

2019: National Technology Initiative Launched

In 2019, Turkey launched its National Technology Initiative to boost the output of high-value-added products, focusing on areas like advanced materials, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology.

April 2020: Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world

As of April 2020, Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world.

November 2020: Syrian Refugees in Turkey

In November 2020, there were 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, including Syrian Kurds and Syrian Turkmens.

2020: Irreligious Generation Z

A 2020 Gezici Araştırma poll found that 28.5% of the Generation Z identified as irreligious.

2020: Population Data

By 2020, Turkey's population more than quadrupled to 83.6 million from 20.9 million in 1950.

2021: Nonbelievers

According to KONDA, the share of adult citizens who identified as nonbelievers increased to 6% in 2021.

2021: Improvements in Education Access

By 2021, improvements in education access included significant rise in the rates of upper secondary and tertiary education completion, and quadrupling of pre-school institutions since 2011.

2021: Ethnic Kurds Identification Survey

In 2021, 19% of adult citizens identified as ethnic Kurds in a survey.

2021: Survey on Non-Turk and Non-Kurd Identification

In 2021, 4% of adult citizens identified as non-ethnic Turk or non-ethnic Kurd in a survey.

2021: Russian Migration

Migration of Russian citizens to Turkey increased more than 218% in 2022 compared to 2021.

2022: Russian Migration

In 2022, nearly 100,000 Russian citizens migrated to Turkey, representing a 218% increase from 2021.

May 2023: Ukrainian Refugees

As of May 2023, approximately 96,000 Ukrainian refugees from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine had sought refuge in Turkey.

August 2023: Refugee Statistics

As of August 2023, the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey was estimated to be 3.3 million, a decrease of about 200,000 since the beginning of the year.

November 2023: Syrian Citizenship

By November 2023, the Turkish government had granted citizenship to 238,000 Syrians.

2023: Population Statistics

In 2023, Turkey's population was recorded as 85,372,377, excluding Syrians under temporary protection, with a population growth rate of 0.1% and a total fertility rate of 1.51 children per woman.

2023: Foreign Citizens in Turkey

In 2023, there were 1,570,543 foreign citizens in Turkey, excluding Syrians under temporary protection.

2024: Top Universities in Turkey

According to the 2024 Times Higher Education ranking, the top universities in Turkey were Koç University, Middle East Technical University, Sabancı University, and Istanbul Technical University.