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The geographical regions of Turkey comprise seven regions (), which were originally defined at the country's First Geography Congress in 1941.Ali Yiğit, "Geçmişten Günümüze Türkiye'yi Bölgelere Ayıran Çalışmalar ve Yapılması Gerekenler", ''Ankara Üniversitesi Türkiye Coğrafyası Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi, IV. Ulural Coğrafya Sempozyumu, "Avrupa Birliği Sürecindeki Türkiye'de Bölgesel Farklılıklar"''
pp. 34–35.
The regions are subdivided into 31 sections (), which are further divided into numerous areas (), as defined by microclimates and bounded by local geographic formations. "Regions" as defined in this context are merely for
* 
* Black Sea Region
** Western Black Sea Section
*** Inner Black Sea Area
*** Küre Mountains Area
** Central Black Sea Section
*** Canik Mountains Area
*** Inner Central Black Sea Area
** Eastern Black Sea Section
*** Eastern Black Sea Coast Area
*** Upper
The geographical regions of Turkey comprise seven regions (), which were originally defined at the country's First Geography Congress in 1941.Ali Yiğit, "Geçmişten Günümüze Türkiye'yi Bölgelere Ayıran Çalışmalar ve Yapılması Gerekenler", ''Ankara Üniversitesi Türkiye Coğrafyası Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi, IV. Ulural Coğrafya Sempozyumu, "Avrupa Birliği Sürecindeki Türkiye'de Bölgesel Farklılıklar"''pp. 34–35.
The regions are subdivided into 31 sections (), which are further divided into numerous areas (), as defined by microclimates and bounded by local geographic formations. "Regions" as defined in this context are merely for
geographic
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
, demographic
Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration.
Demographic analy ...
, and economic
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
purposes and do not refer to an administrative division.
Regions and subregions
* Aegean Region
The Aegean region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya.
Located in w ...
**Aegean Section
*** Edremit Area
*** Bakirçay Area
*** Gediz Area
***İzmir
İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
Area
*** Küçük Menderes Area
***Büyük Menderes
Büyük means "big" in Turkic languages and may refer to:
People
Given name
* Büyük Jeddikar (1929–2013), Iranian retired footballer
* Büyük Vatankhah (born 1943), Iranian retired footballer
Surname
* Adem Büyük (born 1987), Turkish ...
Area
*** Mentese Area
** Inner Western Anatolia Section
* Black Sea Region
** Western Black Sea Section
*** Inner Black Sea Area
*** Küre Mountains Area
** Central Black Sea Section
*** Canik Mountains Area
*** Inner Central Black Sea Area
** Eastern Black Sea Section
*** Eastern Black Sea Coast Area
*** Upper Kelkit
Kelkit ( is a town in Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea Region, Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Kelkit District.Çoruh Gully Area
* Central Anatolia Region
** 
* 
* Marmara Region
** 
* Mediterranean Region
** 
* Southeastern Anatolia Region
** Middle Euphrates Section
***
The Black Sea Region has:
* highest annual precipitation
* largest forest area
* fewest sunshine hours
* most landslides
The Central Anatolia Region has:
* lowest annual precipitation,
* most erosion
The 
The Marmara Region has:
* smallest area
* lowest elevation
* most climate diversity
* highest energy consumption,
* coolest summers,
* largest population
The Mediterranean Region has:
* highest annual temperature
* mildest winters
* wettest winters,
* most greenhouse farming
The Southeastern Anatolia Region has:
* hottest summers
* driest summers
* smallest forest area
* most sunshine hours
* Central Anatolia Region
** Konya
Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...
Section
*** Plateau
*** Konya - Ereğli Vicinity
** Upper Sakarya Section
*** Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
Area
*** Porsuk Gully Area
*** Sündiken Mountain Chain Area
*** Upper Sakarya Area
*** Konya - Ereğli Vicinity
** Middle Kizilirmak Section
** Upper Kizilirmak Section
* Eastern Anatolia Region
The Eastern Anatolia region () is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ.
It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in th ...
** Upper Euphrates Section
** Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...
- Kars Section
** Upper Murat - Van Section
*** Upper Murat Area
*** Van Area
** Hakkâri Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to:
* Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq
*Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey
*Hakkâri Province
Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province ...
Section
* Marmara Region
** Çatalca
Çatalca () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 1142 km2, making it the largest district in Istanbul Province by area. Its population is 77,468 (2022). It is in Eas ...
- Kocaeli Section
***Adapazarı
Adapazarı () is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Sakarya Province, Turkey. Its area is 324 km2, and its population 281,489 (2022). It covers the central and northern part of the agglomeration of Adapazarı and t ...
Area
***Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
Area
** Ergene
Ergene (; ; ''Eryinis'', , ''Agriánēs'') is a major left tributary of the Maritsa (Meriç) river, flowing entirely in the East Thrace region of Turkey.
The river rises from the southern part of Strandzha mountain, not far from the Black Sea and ...
Section
** Southern Marmara Section
***Biga
Biga may refer to:
Places
* Biga, Çanakkale, a town and district of Çanakkale Province in Turkey
* Sanjak of Biga, an Ottoman province
* Biga Çayı, a river in Çanakkale Province
* Biga Peninsula, a peninsula in Turkey, in the northwest part ...
- Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
Area
***Bursa
Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
Area
*** Karesi Area
*** Samanlı Area
** Yıldız Section
* Mediterranean Region
** Adana
Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...
Section
***Çukurova
Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...
- Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...
Area
***Antakya
Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...
- Kahramanmaras Area
** Antalya
Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
Section
***Antalya
Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
Area
*** Göller Area
*** Taseli - Mut Area
*** Teke Area
* Southeastern Anatolia Region
** Middle Euphrates Section
***Gaziantep
Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...
Area
***Şanlıurfa
Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain about east of the Eup ...
Area
** Tigris
The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...
Section
***Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province.
Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...
Area
***Mardin
Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
- Midyat
Midyat (, , , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022).
In the modern era, the town is populated by Kurds, Mhallami Arabs and Assyrians. The old Estel neighborho ...
Area
Distinctions of the regions
TheAegean Region
The Aegean region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya.
Located in w ...
has:
* the longest coastline
The Black Sea Region has:
* highest annual precipitation
* largest forest area
* fewest sunshine hours
* most landslides
The Central Anatolia Region has:
* lowest annual precipitation,
* most erosion
The Eastern Anatolia Region
The Eastern Anatolia region () is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ.
It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in th ...
has:
* largest area
* highest elevation
* lowest annual temperature
* coldest winters
* highest temperature difference between seasons
* most volcanic activity
* smallest population
* highest mineral resources
The Marmara Region has:
* smallest area
* lowest elevation
* most climate diversity
* highest energy consumption,
* coolest summers,
* largest population
The Mediterranean Region has:
* highest annual temperature
* mildest winters
* wettest winters,
* most greenhouse farming
The Southeastern Anatolia Region has:
* hottest summers
* driest summers
* smallest forest area
* most sunshine hours
See also
*Provinces of Turkey
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces (). Each province is divided into a number of districts of Turkey, districts (). Each provincial government is seated in the central district (). For non-Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan munic ...
* Districts of Turkey
The Provinces of Turkey, 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the Ottoman Empire and in the early Turkish Republic, the corresponding unit was the ''qadaa, kaza''.
Most provinces bear the s ...
* Villages of Turkey
A village (, ''karye'' in the Ottoman era) is the second smallest settlement unit in Turkey.
The 51 regular provinces of Turkey and 30 province-level Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipalities are divided into Districts o ...
* Metropolitan centers in Turkey
References
{{Europe topic, Regions of 1941 establishments in Turkey * Regions of TurkeyRegions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...