The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 2005 to 2025 Middle East

Military - note Turkiye, in 21 editions.

The entry for Turkiye published Military - note in 21 editions of 36, from 2005 to 2025. The text changed in 12 editions. Each is shown as published. Military - note in every entry.

editions changed the text
12
the first edition with it
2005
the latest edition with it
2025

Published as “Military - note” (2005 to 2025).

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe edition shownChoose an edition on the strip beside the text, or step through them with the arrows. Mark changes compares it with the edition before: the marks are ours, words added and words removed.

2025 edition

Changed since 2024

Open the 2025 entry

Entry published as “Turkey (Turkiye)”.

the responsibilities of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) include protecting the country's territory and sovereignty, participating in international peacekeeping operations, fulfilling Türkiye’s military commitments to NATO, providing disaster/humanitarian relief and assistance to domestic law enforcement if requested by civil authorities, and supporting the country's overall national security interests; it also has overall responsibility for the security of Türkiye’s borders

  • Türkiye is active in international peacekeeping and other military/security operations under NATO and the UN, as well as under bilateral agreements with some countries, such as Azerbaijan, Libya, Somalia, and Qatar;
  • Türkiye has been a member of NATO since 1952 and hosts the headquarters for a NATO Land Command and a Rapid Deployment Corps, multiple airbases for NATO and US aircraft, NATO air/missile defense systems, and training centers;
  • the TAF is the second-largest military in NATO behind the US
  • the military traces its history back to 200 B.C., although the modern TAF was formed following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the conclusion of the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923);
  • the TAF traditionally has been viewed as the “guardian” of Turkish politics, but its political role was diminished after the failed 2016 coup attempt;
  • the military has a stake in Türkiye's economy through a holding company that is involved in the automotive, defense, energy, finance, and logistics sectors, as well as iron and steel production (2025)

the responsibilities of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) have a range of responsibilities, including include protecting the country's territory and sovereignty, participating in international peacekeeping operations, fulfilling Türkiye’s military commitments to NATO, providing disaster/humanitarian relief and assistance to domestic law enforcement if requested by civil authorities, and supporting the country's overall national security interests; the TAF it also has overall responsibility for the security of Türkiye’s borders; borders
Türkiye is active in international peacekeeping and other security military/security operations under the EU, NATO, NATO and the UN, as well as under bilateral agreements with some countries; the TAF has established expeditionary military bases in northern Cyprus, Qatar, countries, such as Azerbaijan, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan
Qatar; Türkiye has been a member of NATO since 1952 and hosts a considerable NATO and US military presence, including the headquarters for a NATO Land Command and a Rapid Deployment Corps, multiple airbases for NATO and US aircraft, NATO air/missile defense systems, and training centers; the TAF is the second-largest military in NATO behind the US and exercises regularly with NATO partners; Türkiye's geographic location at the southeastern flank of the Alliance give it and the TAF a critical role in regional security
the TAF is a large, well-equipped force comprised of a mix of professionals and conscripts; it has considerable operational experience; in addition to peacekeeping and military assistance operations in recent years in such places as Afghanistan (NATO), Bosnia and Herzegovina (EU), Kosovo (NATO), Lebanon (UN), and Somalia (bilateral), it has conducted combat missions of varying duration and scale in Iraq, Libya, and Syria; ; in Syria, it occupies a large swatch of territory and maintain thousands of troops; since the 1980s, the TAF has been involved in a protracted counterinsurgency campaign against the US-designated terrorist group the Kurdistan Worker’s Party or PKK, a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Türkiye and northern Iraq; other key areas of concern for the TAF include tensions with fellow NATO member Greece over territorial disputes and Cyprus, tensions between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan, conflict in the Middle East, threats from the terrorist groups al-Qa’ida and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham, and the Russia-Ukraine war; under a long-range (2033) strategic plan, the TAF continues an effort to modernize traces its equipment and force structure
Türkiye’s military has a rich
history that it traces back to 200 B.C., although the modern TAF was formed following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the conclusion of the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923); the TAF has traditionally had a significant influence in the country has been viewed as the “guardian” of Turkish politics, but its political role was diminished after the failed 2016 coup attempt; the military has a substantial stake in Türkiye's economy through a holding company that is involved in the automotive, defense, energy, finance, and logistics sectors, as well as iron and steel production (2024) (2025)

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Central Intelligence Agency. “Turkiye: Military - note.” The World Factbook, 2005–2025 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/turkiye/military-note.

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