Turkey (Turkiye) Environment - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; land degradation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic; conservation of biodiversity

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Environmental Modification

Climate

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

Land use

agricultural land: 49.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 26.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 19% (2018 est.)

forest: 14.9% (2018 est.)

other: 35.4% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 77.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.11% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

0.08% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0.05% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 41.97 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 372.72 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 57.53 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 31.283 million tons (2015 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Beysehir - 650 sq km; Lake Egridir - 520 sq km

salt water lake(s): Lake Van - 3,740 sq km; Lake Tuz - 1,640 sq km;

Major rivers (by length in km)

Euphrates river source (shared with Syria, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris river source (shared with Syria, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: (Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 6.91 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 1.03 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 54.27 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

211.6 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Turkey (Turkiye) on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Turkey (Turkiye) 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Turkey (Turkiye) 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.