Government and power in Türkiye
Who leads Türkiye, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary presidential republic.
Who leads Türkiye?
- Head of state: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (President of the Republic of Türkiye)
- Head of government: No Prime Minister
- Foreign minister: Hakan Fidan (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye)
Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.
Governance scores
The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.
- Voice and accountability
- Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.
- Political stability and absence of violence
- Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.
- Government effectiveness
- Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.
- Regulatory quality
- Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.
- Rule of law
- Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.
- Control of corruption
- Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.
How does Türkiye score on voice and accountability?
Voice and accountability: 37.3 out of 100 in 2025, 148th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 74.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 48.6.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Türkiye score on political stability?
Political stability and absence of violence: 50.2 out of 100 in 2025, 162nd highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 73.5). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 46.5.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Türkiye score on government effectiveness?
Government effectiveness: 52.9 out of 100 in 2025, 97th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 69.4). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 60.4.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Türkiye score on regulatory quality?
Regulatory quality: 52.5 out of 100 in 2025, 100th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 66.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 59.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Türkiye score on the rule of law?
Rule of law: 45.2 out of 100 in 2025, 140th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 70.8). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 51.3.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Türkiye score on control of corruption?
Control of corruption: 37.4 out of 100 in 2025, 122nd highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 60.7). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 45.3.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many women are in Türkiye's parliament?
Women held 19.9% of seats in the national parliament (single or lower chamber) in 2025, 122nd highest of 184 countries with data. Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union, via the World Bank.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many of Türkiye's ministers are women?
Women held 5.9% of ministerial posts in 2025, 172nd highest of 190.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much does the government of Türkiye spend?
Central government spending (expense) was 33.0% of GDP in 2023.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much tax does the government of Türkiye collect?
Central government tax revenue was 17.6% of GDP in 2024, 50th highest of 92.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much does Türkiye spend on the military?
Military spending was 1.9% of GDP in 2025, 65th highest of 149 (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, via the World Bank).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow big are the armed forces of Türkiye?
Armed forces personnel numbered 512,000 in 2020.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow good are Türkiye's official statistics?
The World Bank's Statistical Performance Indicator, which scores how well a country's official statistics system works, was 79.3 out of 100 in 2024, 68th highest of 187.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many births are registered in Türkiye?
98.4% of births of children under 5 were registered with a civil authority (2018).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many people in Türkiye use the internet?
89.8% of people used the internet in 2025.
Source: World Bank · saved copyOfficial bodies that hold power in Türkiye
Government
- Presidency of the Republic of TürkiyePresidential speeches, decrees, statements and news.
Parliament
- Grand National Assembly of TürkiyeBills, plenary minutes, laws adopted and members' information.
Courts
- Court of CassationInformation on the highest court of appeal for civil and criminal cases and its decisions.
- Council of StateDecisions of the highest administrative court.
- Constitutional CourtNorm-review decisions, individual application judgments and the court's statistics.
Public audit
- Turkish Court of AccountsAudit reports on public administrations and the general conformity statement on the central government budget.
Ombudsman
- Ombudsman InstitutionRecommendation decisions and annual reports on complaints about the public administration.
Access to information
- Presidential Communication Centre (CİMER)An online channel for information requests, complaints and petitions to public bodies.
Public contracts
- Public Procurement AuthorityProcurement legislation, complaint decisions, prohibited bidders and the EKAP electronic procurement platform.
Laws and the official gazette
- Legislation Information SystemConsolidated texts of laws, presidential decrees and regulations in force.
- Official GazetteThe official gazette publishing laws, presidential decrees, regulations and court decisions.
Government below the national level
- Provinces (81): Governor (vali) appointed by the President
- Metropolitan municipalities (30) and special provincial administrations (51): Metropolitan mayor and council elected for five years; in other provinces a directly elected provincial council, with the appointed governor heading the executive
- Districts (973) and municipalities (about 1,390): District governor (kaymakam) appointed; district and town mayors and councils directly elected
- Villages (köy, about 18,200) and neighbourhoods (mahalle): Muhtar and council of elders elected every five years
How local power works in Türkiye
Places in Türkiye
Sources
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.