Location: Southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria. Strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country.

Area: total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km
water: 9,820 sq km
Coastline: 72,000km.

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

Terrain: high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges.

Extreme Elevations: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m.

Natural Resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower.

Natural Hazards: very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van.

Environmental Issues: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic.

Population: 68,893,918 (July 2004 est.)
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 26.6% (male 9,328,108; female 8,990,742)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 23,394,465; female 22,650,532)
65 years and over: 6.6% (male 2,078,881; female 2,451,19 (2004 est.).

Growth Rate: 1.13% (2004 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated).

Religion: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews).

Language: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.

source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tu.html