Turkey at a Glance

• Population: 71.2 million


• Capital city: Ankara, approx. 3.6 million inhabitants


• Language: Turkish


• Religions: approx. 99% Muslims


• Form of government: Republic / parliamentary Democracy

Economy

The 2.5 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany – nearly 700,000 now German nationals - are an important factor in bilateral relations in both directions. Added to this is the large German tourist contingent in Turkey (almost 4 million visitors from Germany in 2004 and more in 2005). Germany has long been Turkey's most important trading partner. In 2004, trade rose again sharply in both directions as compared with the previous year. The largest number of foreign companies investing in Turkey are also German. German subsidiaries in Turkey and German-Turkish joint ventures have risen to over 1,200 in recent years. Germany is the main outbound country for Turkish tourism.

Culture and Science

The Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir branches of the Goethe Institute offer language courses and cultural programmes, which are well attended. German-language teaching at Turkish universities and public schools is sponsored by the cultural institutes via the educational liaison offices, the Cologne Central Agency for Schools abroad, as well as by the German Embassy and consulates-general.

On the initiative of the Embassy in Ankara, a cultural foundation by German-Turkish business sponsors was established in October 2005, which will be devoted to promoting scholarships and exhibition and cultural projects for fostering cultural exchange. Various German cultural organizations are active in Turkey: The German Archaeological Institute has been engaged in excavations at various sites in Turkey. Since the researches of Heinrich Schliemann, Troy is one of the best-known excavation sites in Germany. The German Research Foundation sponsors archaeological research projects.

A total of approximately 2,100 pupils attend the German and German-language schools in Turkey. The Turkish Ministry of Education sends Turkish teachers to schools in Germany where they instruct Turkish children in their mother tongue. Of the 900,000 Turkish children attending school abroad, some 500,000 reside in Germany. Cooperation between Germany and Turkey is particularly intense in the academic field. The number of cooperation agreements between German and Turkish universities has increased from 54 in 1999 to 69 today. The German-language courses in business studies and business data processing at the Marmara University in Istanbul run with DAAD support are a showcase project of German-Turkish university cooperation. There is no country where more Turks study than in Germany. The 23,600 Turkish students make up the largest contingent of foreign students in Germany.

Links

www.tuerkischebotschaft.de (Official representation of Turkey in Germany)
www.ankara.diplo.de (German Embassy in Turkey)
www.dtr-ihk.de (German-Turkish Chamber of Industry and Commerce)
www.goethe.de/ankara (Goethe-Institute in Ankara)