Istanbul, with a population of 15 million, is Turkey’s largest urban city. Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Istanbul covers nearly 5,343 square kilometers. The city is Turkey’s economic center of gravity with exceptional strengths and a global outlook. Istanbul is energized, inspiring and enterprising.
The earliest known settlement in Istanbul dates back to the Neolithic Period (8,000 BC); hence, the city had been capital to several civilizations, including 3 big empires.
With its breath-taking history, the city has been a checkpoint for merchandise trade for centuries, all the way from Far East Asia to Europe.
Therefore, Istanbul is firmly connected to global markets, yet remains economically resilient.
Istanbul’s Moment Set to Last!
Istanbul’s cosmopolitan spirit –diverse and intercultural- is proved by the fact that nearly 37k international companies operate in the city. Businessmen choose Istanbul as an investment destination due to the facts that it has supportive, stable and competitive business environment.
Government
Turkey, which is a democratic, secular and social state governed by rule of law, adopts Presidential System. In order to gather and improve regional statistics; 12 NUTS-1 (Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics), 26 NUTS-2 and 81 NUTS-3 regions have been defined in Turkey. Istanbul is a distinguished region, having the same borders at all three levels: TR1, TR10 and TR100.
The City of Istanbul, comprising a metropolitan municipality and 39 district municipalities, accounts for close to one fifth of Turkey’s population and one third of economic output. Istanbul has 39 sister cities; 11 from Europe, 19 from Asia, 3 from America and 6 from Africa.
Additionally, Istanbul has signed bilateral cooperation protocol with 20 cities and memorandum of understanding with 22 citie
Population: 15 million
Area: 5,343 km2 (2,063 mi2)
Av. Temperature: 15.1oC (59.2 oF)
GDP: US$ 257 billion
GDP Per Capita: US$ 17.1 k
Major Airports: Istanbul (IST) Sabiha Gokcen (SAW)
Turkish Airlines becomes #1 in the world, flying to most countries worldwide: 121 countries & 301 destinations
Access to a market of US$30 trillion with 1.5 billion people in 4 hours of flight range
Turkish Airlines Picked up 3 awards in the 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards
9th Major European City regarding Business Friendliness (fDi Magazine – 2018)
US$257 billion GDP (Turkstat – 2017)
US$17.1 k GDP Per Capita (Turkstat – 2017)
Istanbul’s Economy is Larger Than Approx. 130 Countries
