In 2024, the number of museums across Türkiye rose by 5% compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 636. Visitor numbers to museums and archaeological sites also increased by 10.6%, totaling over 61.6 million visits.
The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) released its "Cultural Heritage Statistics" for 2024, revealing significant growth in the country’s cultural heritage sector.
Out of the 636 museums nationwide, 217 operate under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 401 are classified as private museums and 18 fall under the jurisdiction of the Directorate of National Palaces. Additionally, there are 147 registered archaeological sites.
The total number of artifacts held in museums increased by 2.4% to nearly 4 million items. Within this figure, museums affiliated with the Ministry saw a 0.9% rise to 3.37 million pieces, private museums recorded a 1.7% increase to 291,089 artifacts, and museums under the Directorate of National Palaces experienced a notable 22.1% jump, housing 333,163 items.
Among artifacts in Ministry-affiliated museums, coins constitute the majority at 60.1%, followed by archaeological materials at 27.8%, ethnographic items at 6.5% and tablets at 3.5%.
The combined visitor count for museums and archaeological sites reached nearly 61.7 million, marking a 10.6% increase from 2023. More than half (51.7%) of these visitors explored sites managed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Paid visits to Ministry-operated museums and sites accounted for approximately 19 million visitors, representing 30.8% of total visitors. Private museums attracted nearly 19.8 million visitors, an 8.4% increase, while museums under the Directorate of National Palaces saw a remarkable 42.3% rise, welcoming 10 million visitors.
Revenue from paid entries to Ministry-run museums and archaeological sites totaled over 5.1 billion Turkish Lira. The Ministry also sold nearly 6 million museum cards, facilitating access to multiple cultural venues.
Istanbul led the nation in museum visits with over 18 million visitors, followed by İzmir with nearly 4.7 million and Nevşehir with approximately 4.5 million visits.
The number of immovable cultural heritage assets increased by 2.1% to 127,285 in 2024. Istanbul again ranked highest with 34,258 such assets, trailed by İzmir (8,061) and Muğla (5,030).
The number of protected archaeological sites grew by 5.4% to 26,127, with archaeological zones comprising 97% of these areas.
The number of national parks rose to 49 in 2024, up 2.1% from the previous year, covering an area of 913,160 hectares, a slight 0.4% increase. Nature parks saw a marginal growth in number to 268, though their total area shrank by 12.9% to 94,088 hectares.
Protected nature reserves increased by 3.2% to 32, while the number of nature monuments also saw a modest rise of 0.9%, reaching 111.
