81 Cities in Turkey: the Full List and Where Foreigners Buy
Turkey has 81 provinces. Each is named after its main city, which is why people speak of the "81 cities of Turkey". Together they are home to 86,092,168 people (31 December 2025). Foreign buyers, however, choose only a few of them: of the 22,980 homes sold to foreigners in 2025, 71% were in just two provinces, Istanbul and Antalya.
This page lists all 81 with their plate number, region and population, and shows where foreigners actually buy, province by province. All figures are official data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
Key figures at a glance
- Provinces: 81, divided into 922 districts. 30 of them are metropolitan municipalities.
- Regions: 7 geographical regions.
- Population: 86,092,168 at the end of 2025. Istanbul alone has 15,754,053, about 18% of the country.
- Capital: Ankara (5,910,320 people), not Istanbul.
- Foreign residents: 1,519,515, of whom 607,276 live in Istanbul and 132,302 in Antalya.
- Homes sold to foreigners in 2025: 22,980, which is 1.3% of the 1,760,292 homes sold in Turkey.
- Where: Istanbul (9,101), Antalya (7,237) and Mersin (1,929). Fourteen provinces recorded no sale to a foreigner.
- January–August 2026: 13,141 homes, with the same three provinces in the lead.
Is it 81 cities or 81 provinces?
Both are used. A province (il in Turkish) is an administrative unit run by a governor, and it takes the name of its central city. Only three provinces are named differently from their centre: Kocaeli (İzmit), Sakarya (Adapazarı) and Hatay (Antakya).
Every province has a plate number, from 01 to 81, which you see on car number plates and at the start of postcodes. Numbers 01 to 67 follow the alphabetical order of the provinces that existed when the system began. Numbers 68 to 81 went, in order, to the provinces created between 1989 and 1999, from Aksaray to Düzce.
Where foreigners buy: the ten leading provinces
| Province | Sales to foreigners, 2025 | Share of total | Share of local sales | Jan–Aug 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Istanbul | 9,101 | 39.6% | 2.9% | 5,716 |
| 2 | Antalya | 7,237 | 31.5% | 8.3% | 4,029 |
| 3 | Mersin | 1,929 | 8.4% | 3.2% | 876 |
| 4 | Ankara | 772 | 3.4% | 0.5% | 532 |
| 5 | Yalova | 467 | 2.0% | 2.8% | 231 |
| 6 | Bursa | 438 | 1.9% | 0.7% | 183 |
| 7 | Izmir | 416 | 1.8% | 0.4% | 195 |
| 8 | Muğla | 388 | 1.7% | 1.6% | 202 |
| 9 | Sakarya | 352 | 1.5% | 1.3% | 154 |
| 10 | Aydın | 324 | 1.4% | 1.0% | 125 |
| Turkey | 22,980 | 100% | 1.3% | 13,141 |
Homes sold to foreigners. "Share of total" is the province's share of all homes sold to foreigners in Turkey; "share of local sales" is the share of foreigners in all homes sold in that province. Source: TÜİK, House Sales Statistics (revised series).
Three things stand out:
- The market is concentrated. Istanbul and Antalya account for 71.1% of all homes sold to foreigners, and the ten leading provinces for 93.2%.
- Antalya is the most international market. Foreigners bought 8.3% of all homes sold in Antalya, against 2.9% in Istanbul and 1.3% in Turkey as a whole.
- A big city is not always a big market for foreigners. Ankara (5,910,320 people) recorded 772 sales to foreigners and Izmir (4,504,185 people) only 416.
By nationality, the largest groups of buyers in 2025 were citizens of Russia (3,803 homes), Iran (2,076), Ukraine (1,604), Germany (1,419) and Iraq (1,354). For the yearly trend, read our page on foreign buyers of property in Turkey.
The full list: the 81 cities of Turkey
The number in the first column is the plate number of the province.
| No. | Province | Region | Population, 2025 | Sales to foreigners, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Adana | Mediterranean | 2,283,609 | 21 |
| 02 | Adıyaman | Southeastern Anatolia | 617,821 | 2 |
| 03 | Afyonkarahisar | Aegean | 751,808 | 10 |
| 04 | Ağrı | Eastern Anatolia | 491,489 | 2 |
| 05 | Amasya | Black Sea | 342,242 | 1 |
| 06 | Ankara | Central Anatolia | 5,910,320 | 772 |
| 07 | Antalya | Mediterranean | 2,777,677 | 7,237 |
| 08 | Artvin | Black Sea | 167,531 | — |
| 09 | Aydın | Aegean | 1,172,107 | 324 |
| 10 | Balıkesir | Marmara | 1,284,517 | 30 |
| 11 | Bilecik | Marmara | 228,995 | 4 |
| 12 | Bingöl | Eastern Anatolia | 282,299 | — |
| 13 | Bitlis | Eastern Anatolia | 360,423 | — |
| 14 | Bolu | Black Sea | 327,173 | 23 |
| 15 | Burdur | Mediterranean | 277,226 | 5 |
| 16 | Bursa | Marmara | 3,263,011 | 438 |
| 17 | Çanakkale | Marmara | 573,976 | 6 |
| 18 | Çankırı | Central Anatolia | 200,549 | 3 |
| 19 | Çorum | Black Sea | 519,590 | 3 |
| 20 | Denizli | Aegean | 1,060,975 | 27 |
| 21 | Diyarbakır | Southeastern Anatolia | 1,852,356 | 6 |
| 22 | Edirne | Marmara | 422,438 | 14 |
| 23 | Elazığ | Eastern Anatolia | 605,678 | 2 |
| 24 | Erzincan | Eastern Anatolia | 239,625 | 6 |
| 25 | Erzurum | Eastern Anatolia | 736,877 | 7 |
| 26 | Eskişehir | Central Anatolia | 927,956 | 61 |
| 27 | Gaziantep | Southeastern Anatolia | 2,222,415 | 32 |
| 28 | Giresun | Black Sea | 455,074 | 5 |
| 29 | Gümüşhane | Black Sea | 138,807 | — |
| 30 | Hakkâri | Eastern Anatolia | 279,681 | — |
| 31 | Hatay | Mediterranean | 1,577,531 | — |
| 32 | Isparta | Mediterranean | 445,303 | 5 |
| 33 | Mersin | Mediterranean | 1,956,428 | 1,929 |
| 34 | Istanbul | Marmara | 15,754,053 | 9,101 |
| 35 | Izmir | Aegean | 4,504,185 | 416 |
| 36 | Kars | Eastern Anatolia | 268,991 | 4 |
| 37 | Kastamonu | Black Sea | 379,934 | 3 |
| 38 | Kayseri | Central Anatolia | 1,458,991 | 51 |
| 39 | Kırklareli | Marmara | 379,595 | 12 |
| 40 | Kırşehir | Central Anatolia | 242,777 | 5 |
| 41 | Kocaeli | Marmara | 2,161,171 | 266 |
| 42 | Konya | Central Anatolia | 2,343,409 | 62 |
| 43 | Kütahya | Aegean | 570,478 | 11 |
| 44 | Malatya | Eastern Anatolia | 755,854 | 3 |
| 45 | Manisa | Aegean | 1,477,756 | 21 |
| 46 | Kahramanmaraş | Mediterranean | 1,146,278 | 3 |
| 47 | Mardin | Southeastern Anatolia | 903,576 | — |
| 48 | Muğla | Aegean | 1,099,547 | 388 |
| 49 | Muş | Eastern Anatolia | 389,127 | 2 |
| 50 | Nevşehir | Central Anatolia | 320,150 | 8 |
| 51 | Niğde | Central Anatolia | 374,492 | 2 |
| 52 | Ordu | Black Sea | 768,087 | 12 |
| 53 | Rize | Black Sea | 346,947 | 9 |
| 54 | Sakarya | Marmara | 1,123,693 | 352 |
| 55 | Samsun | Black Sea | 1,392,403 | 143 |
| 56 | Siirt | Southeastern Anatolia | 332,369 | — |
| 57 | Sinop | Black Sea | 225,848 | 1 |
| 58 | Sivas | Central Anatolia | 631,401 | 4 |
| 59 | Tekirdağ | Marmara | 1,208,441 | 204 |
| 60 | Tokat | Black Sea | 614,141 | 3 |
| 61 | Trabzon | Black Sea | 823,323 | 321 |
| 62 | Tunceli | Eastern Anatolia | 85,083 | — |
| 63 | Şanlıurfa | Southeastern Anatolia | 2,265,800 | 12 |
| 64 | Uşak | Aegean | 374,405 | 9 |
| 65 | Van | Eastern Anatolia | 1,112,013 | 5 |
| 66 | Yozgat | Central Anatolia | 413,208 | 2 |
| 67 | Zonguldak | Black Sea | 585,203 | 3 |
| 68 | Aksaray | Central Anatolia | 441,136 | 12 |
| 69 | Bayburt | Black Sea | 82,836 | 1 |
| 70 | Karaman | Central Anatolia | 262,355 | 4 |
| 71 | Kırıkkale | Central Anatolia | 282,830 | 11 |
| 72 | Batman | Southeastern Anatolia | 662,626 | 5 |
| 73 | Şırnak | Southeastern Anatolia | 573,666 | — |
| 74 | Bartın | Black Sea | 206,663 | — |
| 75 | Ardahan | Eastern Anatolia | 90,392 | — |
| 76 | Iğdır | Eastern Anatolia | 205,071 | — |
| 77 | Yalova | Marmara | 311,635 | 467 |
| 78 | Karabük | Black Sea | 249,614 | 2 |
| 79 | Kilis | Southeastern Anatolia | 157,363 | — |
| 80 | Osmaniye | Mediterranean | 564,123 | 3 |
| 81 | Düzce | Black Sea | 415,622 | 62 |
| Turkey | 86,092,168 | 22,980 |
Sales to foreigners are homes sold to foreigners; "—" means none was recorded in 2025. Sources: TÜİK, Address Based Population Registration System, 2025; TÜİK, House Sales Statistics (revised series).
The fourteen provinces with no recorded sale to a foreigner in 2025 are Ardahan, Artvin, Bartın, Bingöl, Bitlis, Gümüşhane, Hakkâri, Hatay, Iğdır, Kilis, Mardin, Siirt, Şırnak and Tunceli.
The seven regions of Turkey
The regions are geographical, not administrative: they have no governor and no budget, but they are how Turks describe their country.
| Region | Provinces | Population, 2025 | Sales to foreigners, 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marmara | 11 | 26,711,525 | 10,894 | 47.4% |
| Mediterranean | 8 | 11,028,175 | 9,203 | 40.0% |
| Aegean | 8 | 11,011,261 | 1,206 | 5.2% |
| Central Anatolia | 13 | 13,809,574 | 997 | 4.3% |
| Black Sea | 18 | 8,041,038 | 592 | 2.6% |
| Southeastern Anatolia | 9 | 9,587,992 | 57 | 0.2% |
| Eastern Anatolia | 14 | 5,902,603 | 31 | 0.1% |
- Marmara (11): Istanbul, Bursa, Kocaeli, Balıkesir, Tekirdağ, Sakarya, Çanakkale, Edirne, Kırklareli, Yalova, Bilecik.
- Mediterranean (8): Antalya, Adana, Mersin, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye, Isparta, Burdur.
- Aegean (8): Izmir, Manisa, Aydın, Muğla, Denizli, Afyonkarahisar, Kütahya, Uşak.
- Central Anatolia (13): Ankara, Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, Aksaray, Yozgat, Niğde, Nevşehir, Kırıkkale, Karaman, Kırşehir, Çankırı.
- Black Sea (18): Samsun, Trabzon, Ordu, Tokat, Zonguldak, Çorum, Giresun, Düzce, Kastamonu, Rize, Amasya, Bolu, Karabük, Sinop, Bartın, Artvin, Gümüşhane, Bayburt.
- Southeastern Anatolia (9): Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Batman, Adıyaman, Şırnak, Siirt, Kilis.
- Eastern Anatolia (14): Van, Malatya, Erzurum, Elazığ, Ağrı, Muş, Bitlis, Bingöl, Hakkâri, Kars, Erzincan, Iğdır, Ardahan, Tunceli.
Marmara and the Mediterranean together took 87% of all homes sold to foreigners in 2025.
What is the same in every province
The rules for foreign buyers are national. They do not change from one city to another:
- Citizenship by investment: property worth at least USD 400,000, anywhere in Turkey, with a commitment in the title deed not to sell for three years. Your spouse and your children under 18 are included, and the process takes about 180 days. See our citizenship guide.
- Residence permit: property worth at least USD 200,000, in every province. It is not automatic, and some neighbourhoods are closed to new residence permits. Read about the USD 200,000 rule and the districts open for residence permits in Istanbul.
- Where you can buy: in most of the country, except military and security zones. A foreigner can own up to 30 hectares in Turkey, and foreigners together up to 10% of the private land of a district.
- Documents: a currency exchange document is required when a foreigner buys, in every province, and a valuation report when the purchase is for citizenship.
- VAT: a foreign buyer who does not live in Turkey can be exempt from VAT on a new home bought from the developer, under conditions. See VAT exemption for foreign buyers.
Our Buyer Guide explains the whole process step by step.
What this means if you are choosing a city
- Istanbul has the deepest market. 310,453 homes changed hands there in 2025, 18% of all sales in Turkey, and 9,101 of them went to foreigners. If you are still choosing an area, read in which district you should buy in Istanbul.
- Antalya and Mersin are the coastal choices. Together they recorded 9,166 sales to foreigners in 2025.
- In most other provinces, foreign buyers are rare. 49 of the 81 provinces recorded fewer than ten sales to foreigners in the whole year. That is worth knowing if you expect to sell to another foreign buyer one day.
CCT Investments is based in Istanbul, and most of the projects we market are there. You can see our properties in Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir and Bodrum, or contact us to talk about the city that fits your plans. Buyers pay us no commission on new-build projects.
Frequently asked questions
How many cities are there in Turkey?
Turkey has 81 provinces, each named after its main city, and 922 districts. In everyday language the 81 provincial capitals are "the 81 cities of Turkey".
What are the largest cities in Turkey?
By population at the end of 2025: Istanbul (15,754,053), Ankara (5,910,320), Izmir (4,504,185), Bursa (3,263,011) and Antalya (2,777,677). 24 provinces have more than one million people. The smallest is Bayburt, with 82,836.
What is the capital of Turkey?
Ankara, since 13 October 1923. Istanbul is the largest city, but it is not the capital.
In which city do foreigners buy the most property?
Istanbul. Foreigners bought 9,101 homes there in 2025 and 5,716 in the first eight months of 2026. Antalya is second, with 7,237 and 4,029.
Can foreigners buy property in every city of Turkey?
The rules are the same in all 81 provinces: a foreigner can buy outside military and security zones, within the limits of 30 hectares per person and 10% of the private land of a district. The land registry checks each property before the sale.
What are the seven regions of Turkey?
Marmara, the Aegean, the Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, the Black Sea, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia.
Sources and method
- TÜİK: Population of provinces by years (Address Based Population Registration System, 2025)
- TÜİK: Foreign population by provinces, 2025
- TÜİK: Sales to foreigners by provinces and districts
- TÜİK: House sales by provinces
- TÜİK: Sales to foreigners by nationality
The figures were taken from TÜİK's data portal on 13 October 2026. Population is as of 31 December 2025. House sales come from the series TÜİK revised in early 2026, back to 2013. In that series, sales to foreigners in 2025 are 22,980; the first figure, announced in January 2026 before the revision, was 21,534. Each province is listed under the geographical region where most of it lies.
