Iran vs Turkey
Iran is 2.1 times larger than Turkey. Turkey would fit into Iran about 2.1 times.
IranTurkeyIran moved onto Turkey · Equal-area projection
2.1×
Iran is 2.1× the area of Turkey.
 Iran |  Turkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaIran: 2.1× the area | 1,648,195 km²#17 of 194 | 783,562 km²#36 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 7 | 8 |
| People | ||
| PopulationIran: 1.08× the population | 92,417,681#17 of 194 · 2025 | 85,878,556#18 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityTurkey: 1.95× the density | 56 / km²#130 of 194 | 110 / km²#80 of 194 |
| Urban populationTurkey: 1.16× the urban share | 77%#52 of 192 · 2025 | 90%#19 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateIran: 1.14× the births per woman | 1.68 per woman#119 of 192 · 2024 | 1.48 per woman#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthIran: 0.50 points higher | +0.92%#101 of 192 · 2025 | +0.42%#137 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateIran: 1.15× the birth rate | 12.6 per 1,000#107 of 192 · 2024 | 11.0 per 1,000#125 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateTurkey: 1.19× the death rate | 4.8 per 1,000#176 of 192 · 2024 | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Iran: 1.0 points higher | 22.0%#105 of 192 · 2025 | 21.0%#109 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Turkey: 2.0 points higher | 8.6%#87 of 192 · 2025 | 10.6%#75 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationIran: 4.3 per 1,000 higher | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 | −3.0 per 1,000#159 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadAbout as many refugees for its size | 1.71 per 1,000#48 of 190 · 2025 | 1.74 per 1,000#47 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyIran: 0.5 years longer | 77.9 years#56 of 192 · 2024 | 77.4 years#65 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityIran: 1.29× the infant mortality | 10.3 per 1,000 births#110 of 191 · 2024 | 8.0 per 1,000 births#122 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsTurkey: 1.24× the doctors per person | 1.81 per 1,000#87 of 178 · 2023 | 2.24 per 1,000#80 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentTurkey: 1.8× the university enrolment | 58.7%#59 of 145 · 2022 | 105.9%#8 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexTurkey: 0.054 higher | 0.799#74 of 190 · 2023 | 0.853#50 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaTurkey: 3.51× the income per person | $4,650#118 of 185 · 2025 | $16,300#62 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPTurkey: 4.4× the economy | $362.68B2025 | $1.6T2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Turkey: 2.3× the output per person | $19,699#95 of 184 · 2025 | $45,288#48 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthTurkey: 6.4 points higher | −2.8%#185 of 187 · 2025 | +3.6%#83 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationIran: 7.3 points higher | +42.2%#5 of 176 · 2025 | +34.9%#6 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentAbout the same unemployment | 8.3%#48 of 178 · 2025 | 8.5%#45 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyIran: 12.5× the share in extreme poverty | 2.5%#67 of 149 · 2023 | 0.2%#121 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Turkey: 7.8 higher | 35.9#65 of 149 · 2023 | 43.7#21 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureTurkey: 0.6 points higher | 13.6% of jobs#99 of 178 · 2025 | 14.2% of jobs#94 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryIran: 7.4 points higher | 34.7% of jobs#6 of 178 · 2025 | 27.3% of jobs#26 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesTurkey: 6.8 points higher | 51.7% of jobs#110 of 178 · 2025 | 58.5% of jobs#88 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentTurkey: 0.3 points higher | 0.5% of GDP#144 of 184 · 2025 | 0.8% of GDP#137 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsIran: 1.0 points higher | 25.8% of GDP#112 of 168 · 2025 | 24.8% of GDP#115 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingIran: 1.09× the military spending | 2.1% of GDP#57 of 155 · 2025 | 1.9% of GDP#69 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersTurkey: 1.05× the share online | 85%#77 of 184 · 2024 | 90%#55 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsIran: 1.61× the mobile subscriptions | 174 per 100#11 of 191 · 2024 | 108 per 100#114 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaTurkey: 4.47× the forest share | 7% of land#161 of 192 · 2024 | 30% of land#103 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personIran: 1.68× the CO₂ per person | 9.05 t a year#20 of 185 · 2024 | 5.38 t a year#45 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyTurkey: 11.1 points higher | 0.9%#179 of 190 · 2021 | 12.0%#134 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Iran: 1.52× the air pollution | 40.2 µg/m³#23 of 191 · 2023 | 26.4 µg/m³#58 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landIran: 0.8 points higher | 7.8% of land#154 of 191 · 2025 | 7.0% of land#160 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landTurkey: 16.6 points higher | 9.7% of land#103 of 190 · 2024 | 26.3% of land#37 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressIran: 1.7× the water stress | 81.3%#22 of 176 · 2022 | 47.9%#39 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationTurkey: 2.6× the rain and snow | 228 mm#161 of 180 · 2022 | 593 mm#132 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityTurkey: 0.81 higher | −1.69#176 of 193 · 2025 | −0.88#162 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionTurkey: 0.61 higher | −1.14#164 of 193 · 2025 | −0.53#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 3.2 per 100,000#62 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Theocracytheocratic republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | BRICS, OPEC | NATO, OECD, G20 |
| Capital | Tehran | Ankara |
| Currency | Iranian rial (IRR) | Turkish lira (TRY) |
| Official languages | Persian | Turkish |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3:30 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +98 | +90 |
| Region | Southern Asia, Asia | Western Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Iran sits at about 33° N and is stretched to 1.41× its true area; Turkey at 39° N is stretched to 1.66×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Iran bigger than Turkey?
- Yes. Iran is 2.1 times larger than Turkey. Iran covers 1,648,195 km² and Turkey covers 783,562 km².
- How many times does Turkey fit into Iran?
- About 2.1 times: Iran has 2.1× the area of Turkey.
- Why do Iran and Turkey look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iran is drawn about 1.41× its true area there and Turkey about 1.66×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Iran or Turkey?
- Iran: 92,417,681 people against 85,878,556. Density: Iran 56 per km², Turkey 110 per km².
- Which is richer, Iran or Turkey?
- By gross national income per person, Turkey: $16,300 against $4,650 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 3.51× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Iran or Turkey?
- In Iran: life expectancy at birth is 77.9 years, against 77.4 — 0.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Iran and Turkey have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Iran: theocracy; Turkey: presidential republic.