Türkiye’s population is 74.7 million people by 2011 December and is growing rapidly with 1.54% growth p.a. in 2010. 23.7% of the total population or approximately 17.5 million people are considered rural residents living in settlements of less than 2,000 inhabitants.
Türkiye`s agriculture production was worth 65 billion USD and ranked seventh in the world according to 2010 figures. Agriculture is a very important part of the Turkish economy: although the share of agriculture in GDP is only 8.4%, the sector employs 25.9% of the workforce. With more than USD 17 billion yearly export volume, agriculture sector constitutes 14.1% of total Turkish exports.
The sheer number of small farms is impressive: according to a TurkStat 2006 research, there are about 3 million agricultural enterprises and small farmers in Türkiye.
However, the size of these enterprises varies widely: the absolute majority of Turkish farms have a land size between 1 and 20 hectares and only 5.7% of farms have land exceeding 20 hectares.
Türkiye is the largest producer of hazelnuts, apricots, cherry and sour cherry in the world and a very important producer of pulses and a number of vegetables and fruits. In addition to crop production, animal husbandry contributes significantly to the Turkish economy.
