Istanbul, Turkey, features a wide variety of free time activities. According to our city rankings, this is a good place to live with high ratings in housing, cost of living and startups.
Istanbul is one of the top ten city matches for 6.1% of Teleport users.
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Housing| Large apartment | $730.00 |
|---|---|
| Medium apartment | $600.00 |
| Rent index [score] | 0.90 |
| Small apartment | $460.00 |
Cost of Living| 5km taxi ride | $4.50 |
|---|---|
| A Cappuccino | $2.40 |
| A beer | $2.20 |
| A kilogram of Apples | $0.95 |
| Bread | $0.35 |
| Inflation [score] | 0.82 |
| Lunch | $6.00 |
| Monthly fitness club membership | $46.00 |
| Monthly public transport | $52.00 |
| Movie ticket | $5.00 |
| Price of a meal at a restaurant | $33.54 |
Startups| Average monthly increase in number of startups | 23 |
|---|---|
| Average monthly increase in number of startups [score] | 0.61 |
| Coworking spaces [score] | 0.56 |
| Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co | 13 |
| Meetups [score] | 0.66 |
| Meetups groups | 172 |
| Meetups members | 94997 |
| Number of investors | 87 |
| Number of startup events in the last 12 months | 317 |
| Number of upcoming meetup events | 27 |
| Startup climate scene [score] | 0.48 |
| Startup events | 18 |
| Startup events [score] | 0.44 |
| Startups [score] | 0.82 |
| Total number of startups | 911 |
Venture Capital| Funding accelerator names | Startupbootcamp Istanbul |
|---|---|
| Number of funding accelerators | 1 |
| Venture capital [score] | 0.44 |
Travel Connectivity| Airport hub | 242 |
|---|---|
| Airport hub [score] | 1.00 |
| Intercity train connectivity [score] | 0.18 |
Commute| Human city page | http://cities.human.co/details/Turkey/İstanbul |
|---|---|
| Traffic handling [score] | 0.14 |
Business Freedom| Business freedom | 65.40 |
|---|---|
| Business freedom [score] | 0.47 |
| Freedom from corruption | 45.00 |
| Freedom from corruption [score] | 0.38 |
| Lack of labor restrictions | 48.60 |
| Lack of labor restrictions [score] | 0.25 |
| Time to open a business | 6.50 |
| Time to open a business [score] | 0.94 |
Safety| Crime rate [score] | 0.46 |
|---|---|
| Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year | 2 |
| Guns per 100 residents | 13 |
| Lack of gun related deaths [score] | 0.95 |
| Lack of guns [score] | 0.94 |
| Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score] | 0.95 |
Healthcare| Healthcare expenditure [score] | 0.81 |
|---|---|
| Healthcare quality [score] | 0.71 |
| Life expectancy (years) | 75.75 |
| Life expectancy [score] | 0.54 |
Education| Best university in ranking | Koç University |
|---|---|
| Best university ranking | 275 |
| Country mean scores in PISA math test | 441.66 |
| Country mean scores in PISA reading test | 475.49 |
| Country mean scores in PISA science test | 463.41 |
| PISA math ranking (high school) | 40 |
| PISA ranking | 43 |
| PISA ranking (high school) [score] | 0.30 |
| PISA reading (high school) | 38 |
| PISA science (high school) | 42 |
| Percent of happy students | 0.82 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA math test | 0.42 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA reading test | 0.22 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA science test | 0.26 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA math test | 0.06 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA reading test | 0.04 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA science test | 0.02 |
| University quality [score] | 0.13 |
Environmental Quality| Air quality [score] | 0.41 |
|---|---|
| Cleanliness [score] | 0.49 |
| Drinking water quality [score] | 0.36 |
| Urban greenery [score] | 0.25 |
Economy| Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area | 3.58 |
|---|---|
| Currency for urban area | TRY |
| GDP growth rate | 0.03 |
| GDP growth rate [score] | 0.49 |
| GDP per capita | $19610.44 |
| GDP per capita [score] | 0.33 |
Taxation| Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score] | 0.59 |
|---|---|
| Income tax level [score] | 0.30 |
| Profit tax (% of profit) | 0.41 |
| Time overhead to file company taxes | 217 |
| VAT (Sales Tax) | 0.18 |
Internet Access| Download speed (Mbps) | 21.61 |
|---|---|
| Internet access (download) [score] | 0.48 |
| Internet access (upload) [score] | 0.16 |
| Upload speed (Mbps) | 3.78 |
Leisure & Culture| Art galleries | 234 |
|---|---|
| Art galleries [score] | 1.00 |
| Cinemas | 202 |
| Cinemas [score] | 1.00 |
| Comedy clubs | 191 |
| Comedy clubs [score] | 1.00 |
| Concert venues | 220 |
| Concerts [score] | 1.00 |
| Historical sites | 175 |
| Historical sites [score] | 1.00 |
| Museums | 129 |
| Museums [score] | 1.00 |
| Performing art venues | 194 |
| Performing arts [score] | 1.00 |
| Sport venues | 257 |
| Sports [score] | 1.00 |
| Zoos | 119 |
| Zoos [score] | 0.99 |
Tolerance| Homosexuality acceptance (percent of the surveyed population in favor) | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| LGBT Equality Index | 35.73 |
| LGBT Equality Index [score] | 0.34 |
| LGBT adoption rights | Ambiguous |
| LGBT age of consent | ✔ Equal |
| LGBT blood donation regulations | ✖ Banned (indefinite deferral) |
| LGBT conversion therapy regulations | ✖ Not banned |
| LGBT discrimination legality | ✖ No protections |
| LGBT employment discrimination legality | Unknown |
| LGBT gender changing rights | ✔ Legal, but requires surgery |
| LGBT homosexuality rights | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT housing discrimination legality | Unknown |
| LGBT marriage rights | ✖ Unrecognized |
| Tolerance towards minorities [score] | 0.44 |
Outdoors| Elevation (hills or mountains) [score] | 0.21 |
|---|---|
| Median peak in meters | 451.00 |
| Presence of hills in city | 1.00 |
| Presence of mountains in city | 1.00 |
| Seaside access | 1.00 |
| Urban area elevation (meters) | 55.00 |
| Water access [score] | 0.89 |
Costs of living in İstanbul are in the least expensive 20 percent of all 250 Teleport cities. Moving to İstanbul will very likely decrease your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.
 Monthly fitness club membership | $46 |
|---|---|
 Movie ticket | $5 |
 Broadband internet connection | $18 |
 Monthly public transport | $52 |
 Lunch | $6 |
Software Engineer salaries in Istanbul are below average. For this job type, Istanbul ranks 157th for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Istanbul.
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The overall crime rate puts Istanbul in position 190 of 264 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.
Cumhuryet Cad : Umac Apt NO: 93, Kat: 5 Elmadag- Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey
Phone: +902 12 343 87 22,+902 12 343 87 22
Shah Mahmoud Ghazi Khan Street No.134, Kabul, Afghanistan
Phone: (+93) (20) 210 1581,3253
Legal
Legal
But Requires Surgery
No Protections
Unrecognized
Ambiguous
"Should Society Accept Homosexuality?" (9% Yes, 91% No)
9%
12.7“Istanbul was Constantinople. Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople” — Jimmy Kennedy, Istanbul (Not Constantinople), 1953
As the above, profound lyrics demonstrate, Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is not Constantinople. It is however a city of fantastic history, culture and beauty. Called Byzantium in ancient times, the city's name was changed to Constantinople when it was rebuilt by the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine. It was renamed once again in 1928, becoming Istanbul, a name which had already been in use for centuries.
The most populous city in Europe, Istanbul forms the financial centre of Turkey and confidently straddles the borders between Asia and Europe as it has for millennia: this is the result when you mix ancient Christendom, a medieval metropolis and the modern Middle East. Situated on either side of the Bosphorus, Istanbul still retains its metropolitan status: the city's population is estimated to be between 12 and 19 million people, making it one of the largest cities in the world.
Read moreEvery city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.
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