Provinces of Turkey

Provinces of Turkey
Türkiye'nin illeri (Turkish)
CategoryUnitary state
Location Turkish Republic
Found inRegions
Number81
Populations83,645 (Tunceli) – 15,840,900 (Istanbul)
as at 31 December 2021
Areas850 km2 (327 sq mi) (Yalova) – 38,260 km2 (14,771 sq mi) (Konya)
Government
Subdivisions

Turkey is divided into 81 provinces (Turkish: il). Each province is divided into a number of districts (ilçe). Each provincial government is seated in the central district (merkez ilçe). For non-metropolitan municipality designated provinces, the central district bears the name of the province (e.g. the city/district of Rize is the central district of Rize Province). In the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the vilayet.

Each province is administered by an appointed governor (vali) from the Ministry of the Interior.