Istanbul Province Istanbul Province Istanbul Province (), also the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality ("İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi") is a province of Turkey. It has an area of and is located in the Marmara region in the north-west of the country, bordered by Tekirdağ Province to the west and Kocaeli Province to the east. The Bosphorus Strait between the Black Sea to the north and the Sea of Marmara to the south divides Istanbul Province into European and Asian sides, which makes it one of only two transcontinental provinces in Turkey, along with Çanakkale Province. Istanbul Province has a population of 14,804,116 as of 2016,
Economy of Istanbul Economy of Istanbul Economy of Istanbul covers the issues related to the economy of the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Historically, Istanbul has been the center of the country's economic life because of its location as an international junction of land and sea trade routes. In 2012 the City of Istanbul had a GDP of $332,4 billion. In 2008, companies based in Istanbul made exports worth $41,397,000,000 and imports worth $69,883,000,000; which corresponded to 56.6% and 60.2% of Turkey's exports and imports, respectively, in that year. In 2006 Turkey's exports grew a further +16.1% while imports grew +17.6% because of a