The Turkish Statistical Institute announced on Friday that the number of museums in Türkiye increased by 7.1% in 2023, reaching a total of 606 museums across the country.

Of the total museums, 212 were operated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 376 were classified as private museums, and 18 were affiliated with the Directorate of National Palaces. Additionally, the number of archaeological sites and ruins across the country reached 144.

The report also noted a slight decline of 2.9% in the total number of artifacts housed in Turkish museums, bringing the figure to 3,900,331 in 2023. Museums affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism saw a modest increase of 0.5% in the number of works, totaling 3,341,162, while private museums experienced a sharp 32.5% decrease, housing 286,334 items. In contrast, the Directorate of National Palaces saw a 2.2% rise in its collection, which now holds 272,835 works.

Of the artifacts in museums operated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 60.1% were coins, 27.6% were archaeological materials, 6.6% were ethnographic items, and 3.6% were tablets.

The number of visitors to Turkish museums and archaeological sites increased by 6.2% in 2023, reaching 55,752,208. Of these, 54.7% visited museums and ruins affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The number of paid visitors to these sites amounted to 17,673,661, representing 31.7% of all visitors. Private museums also saw a notable 22.5% rise in visitors, welcoming 18,236,130 people, while museums under the Directorate of National Palaces had a 5.0% increase in visitors, reaching 7,027,103.

Revenue generated from paid visits to museums and ruins under the Ministry's jurisdiction totaled 2.67 billion TRY. Additionally, 4,214,303 museum cards were sold by the Ministry in 2023, highlighting the growing public interest in cultural heritage.

In 2023, the number of immovable cultural assets across Turkey increased by 2.1%, totaling 124,671. Istanbul held the largest share with 33,869 assets, followed by Izmir (7,976) and Muğla (4,948). The number of archaeological and natural sites also rose, with a 4.9% increase, reaching 24,786 sites—97% of which were classified as archaeological.

The report further detailed that Türkiye's number of national parks remained steady at 48, though the total national park area decreased slightly by 0.2% to 909,158 hectares. The number of nature parks increased by 1.9%, reaching 266, though the area of these parks dropped by 0.3% to 108,036 hectares. Meanwhile, the number of nature conservation areas remained at 31, and the number of nature monuments decreased by 2.7%, totaling 110. (ILKHA)