Istanbul

Istanbul
İstanbul
Official logo of Istanbul
OpenStreetMap
Map
Turkey, with Istanbul pinpointed at the northwest along a thin strip of land bounded by water
Turkey, with Istanbul pinpointed at the northwest along a thin strip of land bounded by water
Istanbul
Location within Turkey
Turkey, with Istanbul pinpointed at the northwest along a thin strip of land bounded by water
Turkey, with Istanbul pinpointed at the northwest along a thin strip of land bounded by water
Istanbul
Location within Europe
Turkey, with Istanbul pinpointed at the northwest along a thin strip of land bounded by water
Turkey, with Istanbul pinpointed at the northwest along a thin strip of land bounded by water
Istanbul
Location within Asia
Coordinates: 41°00′49″N 28°57′18″E / 41.01361°N 28.95500°E / 41.01361; 28.95500
Country Turkey
RegionMarmara
ProvinceIstanbul
Provincial seat[a]Cağaloğlu, Fatih
Districts39
Government
 • TypeMayor–council government
 • BodyMunicipal Council of Istanbul
 • MayorEkrem İmamoğlu (CHP)
Area
 • Urban
2,576.85 km2 (994.93 sq mi)
 • Metro
5,343.22 km2 (2,063.03 sq mi)
Highest elevation537 m (1,762 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2023)[4]
 • Metropolitan municipality and province15,655,924
 • Rank1st in Europe
1st in Turkey
 • Urban
15,305,657
 • Urban density5,939/km2 (15,380/sq mi)
 • Metro density2,930/km2 (7,600/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Istanbulite
(Turkish: İstanbullu)
GDP Nominal (2022)
 • Total$276 billion
 • Per capita$17,349
Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)
Postal code
34000 to 34990
Area codes+90 212 (European side)
+90 216 (Asian side)
Vehicle registration34
HDI (2021)0.867[7] (very high) · 1st
GeoTLD.ist, .istanbul
Website
Official nameHistoric Areas of Istanbul
CriteriaCultural: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)
Reference356bis
Inscription1985 (9th Session)
Extensions2017
Area765.5 ha (1,892 acres)

Istanbul[b] (Turkish: İstanbul)[c] is the largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, cultural and historic hub. The city straddles the Bosporus Strait, lying in both Europe and Asia, and has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Turkey.[4] Istanbul is the most populous European city[d] and the world's 15th largest city.

The city was founded as Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον, Byzantion) in the 7th century BCE by Greek settlers from Megara.[10] In 330 CE, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great made it his imperial capital, renaming it first as New Rome (Greek: Νέα Ῥώμη, Nea Rhomē; Latin: Nova Roma)[11] and then as Constantinople (Constantinopolis) after himself.[11][12] In 1930, the city's name was officially changed to Istanbul, the Turkish rendering of εἰς τὴν Πόλιν (romanized: eis tḕn Pólin; 'to the City'), the appellation Greek speakers used since the 11th century to colloquially refer to the city.[11]

The city served as an imperial capital for almost 1600 years: during the Roman/Byzantine (330–1204), Latin (1204–1261), late Byzantine (1261–1453), and Ottoman (1453–1922) empires.[13] The city grew in size and influence, eventually becoming a beacon of the Silk Road and one of the most important cities in history. The city played a key role in the advancement of Christianity during Roman/Byzantine times, hosting four of the first seven ecumenical councils before its transformation to an Islamic stronghold following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE—especially after becoming the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1517.[14] In 1923, after the Turkish War of Independence, Ankara replaced the city as the capital of the newly formed Republic of Turkey.

Istanbul was chosen the 2010 European Capital of Culture. The city has surpassed London and Dubai to become the most visited city in the world, with more than 20 million foreign visitors in 2023.[15] The historic centre of Istanbul is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city hosts the headquarters of numerous Turkish companies, accounting for more than thirty percent of the country's economy.[16][17]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "YETKİ ALANI". Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesi. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  2. ^ İstanbul Province = 5,460.85 km2
    Land area = 5,343.22 km2
    Lake/Dam = 117.63 km2
    Europe (25 districts) = 3,474.35 km2
    Asia (14 districts) = 1,868.87 km2
    Urban (36 districts) = 2,576.85 km2 [Metro (39 districts) – (Çatalca+Silivri+Şile)]
    * According to the size of the population and the status of megacity, the limits of the Istanbul city correspond to the limits of the province, and the province is treated like as the metropolitan-city of Istanbul.
  3. ^ "İstanbul'un En Yüksek Tepeleri". Hava Forumu. Hava Durumu Forumu. 15 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "The Results of Address Based Population Registration System, 2023". www.tuik.gov.tr. Turkish Statistical Institute. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Ulusal Hesaplar - Kişi başına GSYH ($) [National Accounts - GDP per capita ($)]" (GDP calculated gdp per capita*population). www.tuik.gov.tr. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  6. ^ "GDP by Provinces, 2022 - İstanbul had the highest share of GDP with 30.4% (Tables 1 and 3)". www.tuik.gov.tr. Turkish Statistical Institute. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org.
  8. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  9. ^ Upton, Clive; Kretzschmar, William A. Jr. (2017). The Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 704. ISBN 978-1-138-12566-7.
  10. ^ Judith Herrin (28 September 2009). Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire. Princeton University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-691-14369-9. OCLC 1091569907.
  11. ^ a b c "Istanbul". Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 October 2023.
  12. ^ Mango, Cyril (1991). "Constantinople". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 508–512. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
  13. ^ Çelik 1993, p. xv.
  14. ^ Masters & Ágoston 2009, pp. 114–15
  15. ^ "2023's Top 100 City Destinations Ranking: Triumphs and Turmoil Uncovered". Euromonitor International. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference hisdic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ OECD Territorial Reviews: Istanbul, Turkey. Policy Briefs. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. March 2008. ISBN 978-92-64-04383-1.