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The Turkish Institute of Statistics TÜIK has published up-to-date data on the country's population. The population of Turkey was 85,372,377, which is 92,824 more than in 2022. The male population is 42.734.071 people, the female population is 42.638.306 people. The number of foreigners decreased by 253,293 people compared to the previous year and 1,570.543 foreigners currently live in the country. The share of the working-age population has reached 68.3%. The proportion of the population in the age group 0-14 years, defined as the child age group, decreased from 26.4 to 21.4%, and the proportion of the population aged 65 years and older increased from 7.1 to 10.2%. Population by province: Istanbul - 15,655,924 people Ankara - 5.803.482 people Izmir - 4,479,525 people Antalya - 2.696.249 people Mersin - 1,938,389 people Yalova - 304.780 people Gazipasha - 53.702 people The population of Alanya decreased from 364,180 in 2022 to 359,891 in 2023.

Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy reported on the record number of archaeological studies conducted in the country in 2023: "In 2023, we increased the number of archaeological studies to 720, which is an absolute world record. We plan to increase this figure to 750 in 2024 and to 800 in 2026. Over the next 4 years, the same amount of work will be done as in the last 60 years. The amount of funds allocated last year for various projects reached 1.1 billion liras. Speaking about the work of museums, the Minister announced the beginning of night museumification in tourist regions. To attract tourists, it is planned to extend the opening hours of museums in popular tourist locations until 12 a.m.

The first female astronaut from the UAE, mechanical engineer Nura Al Matroushi, will complete her training course at NASA in March 2024. Since childhood, the girl dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Together with her colleague Mohammed Al Mulla, she will receive the right to participate in space missions, including flights to the ISS and missions of the Artemis lunar project. The training included survival courses, flight training, wearing spacesuits and preparing for a spacewalk. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center has begun work on an airlock module for the lunar station, strengthening its partnership with NASA. The module is planned to be completed by 2028. The aim of the Artemis program is to create a base on the Moon and simplify manned flights to Mars. The Emirates is clearly striving to become one of the key players in the space industry.

According to the Reuters news agency, Putin will visit Turkey on February 12. It is reported that the presidents of the countries will discuss energy issues, the issue of grain supplies from Ukraine, the situation in Syria and other economic issues. This will be the first trip of the Russian leader to a NATO member country since the start of the special operation in Ukraine.

Hatice Duzer from Gaziantep, was buried under the rubble during the earthquake last year. She survived despite her advanced age, a cerebral hemorrhage and a fractured hip. Yesterday, Hatice celebrated her 111th birthday. She had to celebrate her birthday in the hospital, as she is recovering from a recent pneumonia.

Today, all residents of Turkey remember the tragedy that occurred exactly one year ago, pay tribute to the memory of the dead and express support to the victims and their relatives. There is probably no such person in the country who would not be affected by this common disaster. According to official data alone, 53 thousand 237 people were killed and 107 thousand 213 people were injured as a result of the tragedy. In monetary terms, the damage is estimated at more than $103 billion, which is almost 10% of Turkey's GDP. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to build 650,000 new housing units within a year and now citizens are already receiving the keys to their new apartments. Thousands of non-governmental organizations and international community groups also provided comprehensive assistance. The anniversary of the earthquake in Kahramanmarash is a time for memories, sadness and hope at the same time. Despite the hardships, the society has demonstrated its strength and cohesion.. In addition to pain and loss, this anniversary also reminds us of the importance of preparing for natural disasters and unity in the struggle for common well-being. All schools in Hatay are closed today, and a minute of silence will be held in all schools in other provinces of Turkey.

According to the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (T rkiye Iş i Sendikaları Konfederasyonu) in January 2024, the hunger threshold in Turkey for a family of 4 people (two adults and two children) was 15,048.89 liras (496 dollars), the poverty threshold was 49,019.19 liras (1616 dollars), and the minimum subsistence level for a single/unmarried person - 19,630.40 liras (647 dollars).

According to the Global Firepower 2024 rating, Turkey is recognized as the strongest army among the countries of the Middle East.The rating is calculated on the basis of more than 50 different indicators, such as: the size of the army, the number of tanks, ships, aircraft and other military equipment, the level of financing of the military sphere, the country's transport infrastructure, etc. The factor of nuclear weapons is not taken into account in the index. 1 - Turkey2 - Iran3 - Egypt4 - Israel5 - Saudi Arabia6 - Iraq7 - UAE8 - Series9 - Qatar10 - Kuwait

The Minister of Finance and Treasury, Mehmet Shimshek, said: "In 2023, we demonstrated the best ever performance in the tourism sector. The number of people who visited our country reached 57.1 million with an annual increase of 11.1%, exceeding the target for the end of the year (56.7 million)." Tourism revenues amounted to 54.3 billion US dollars. According to the Medium-term Program, we expect that in 2024 the number of visitors will increase to 59.4 million, and tourism revenues will reach 59.6 billion US dollars. Our goal for 2028 is to receive 82.3 million tourists and generate $100 billion in tourism revenue. In terms of the number of visitors, the Russian Federation took the first place with 6.3 million visitors, Germany with 6.2 million - the second place, and the United Kingdom with 3.8 million - the third. The average length of stay of tourists in the country was 9.8 nights. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy: "In 2024, we will continue to develop new directions. We plan 31% growth in the US market, 33% growth in North America, 41% growth in Canada, 64% growth in India, 102% growth in China, 30% growth in Australia.

Ercan became the head of the Central Bank of Turkey in the summer of 2023, becoming the first woman to hold this post. And so, after a little more than six months, Hafiz Gaye Ercan submitted her resignation. She explained her decision by public pressure. "A large-scale campaign to destroy my reputation was organized against me and my family. So that my family and especially my child, who has not yet turned one and a half years old, would not suffer even more from this process, I asked Mr. President to relieve me of my duties," 45-year-old Ercan wrote on social networks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Fatih Karakhan to fill the vacant seat. Karakhan was born in 1982 in the city of Eskisehir. He received a master's degree and a doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA, worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Columbia and New York Universities, and was chief economist at Amazon.

This was reported Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu. The decision was made within the framework of the Istanbul traffic relief program. Urologist: "We are working to relieve the traffic flow in Istanbul. In this regard, we have put into operation the Free Pass system in Istanbul. By removing dense islets and canopies on such road sections as Samandyr, Avdzhylar, Ispartakule, Khadymkey, we will ensure fast and safe passage of our citizens." Uraloglu also announced that the use of intelligent transport systems will be implemented in Istanbul. As an experiment, a test section of the road between Hasdal district and Istanbul airport was chosen for this purpose.

A new underground city has been discovered in the Sarayenu area, one kilometer north of the Roman underground city of Sarayini. Hassan Uguz, head of the excavation of the Sarayini underground city, said: "We have discovered a new underground city 1 kilometer north of the existing underground city. We have established that there are tunnel systems connecting these two underground cities. This is a harbinger of the fact that the underground city occupies a much larger area than we expected." A 63 m2 cistern was found in the underground city, which was discovered as part of the work carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Municipality of Sarayenu. Together with the wells feeding the cistern, the water supply will be enough for almost 20 thousand people! There are also workshops of various sizes, living quarters, a large winery, cellars, storerooms, warehouses, air vents and rooms whose nature has not yet been studied. The archaeologist of the Konya Museum Department and the head of the excavations, Hassan Uguz, said that thanks to the findings they were able to date the history of the underground city to the 8th century. "The discovery of a cistern, fortified premises and a winery suggests that this place had a wide range of uses beyond our assumptions," the archaeologist noted.