Kocaeli Province (, ) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey and one of only three not to have the same official name as its capital, İzmit, which is thus also sometimes called Kocaeli. Its area is , and its population is 2,102,907 (2023). The province is the successor of the Ottoman-era Sanjak of Kocaeli. The largest towns in the province are İzmit and Gebze. The traffic code is 41.
The province is located at the easternmost end of the Sea of Marmara around the Gulf of İzmit. Kocaeli is bordered by the province of Istanbul and the Marmara Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the north, the province of Sakarya to the east, the province of Bursa to the south and the province of Yalova to the southwest. The metropolitan area of Istanbul extends to the Kocaeli-Istanbul provincial border.
The size and natural conditions of the Bay of İzmit allow for extensive port facilities, including the Gölcük Naval Base. The province is called the industrial capital of Turkey. Kocaeli has an airport named Cengiz Topel Naval Air Station which is used for military and civilian transport. Kocaeli has three universities: Kocaeli University, Gebze Technical University and Kocaeli Health and Technology University.
Districts
Kocaeli province is divided into 12 districts:Büyükşehir İlçe Belediyesi , Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory . Retrieved 19 September 2023.
Demographics
Data taken from Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality and Central Dissemination System. The information is for 31 December of each year. District 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Kocaeli 1,522,4081,560,1381,601,7201,634,6911,676,2021,722,7951,780,055 İzmit 313,964315,734322,588327,435332,754338,710347,074 Gebze 297,029305,557314,122319,307329,195338,412350,115 Derince 123,136124,452126,675128,810130,657133,739136,742 Darıca 140,302146,896152,542157,304164,385173,139182,710 Körfez 130,730132,779135,692139,220142,884146,210151,149 Gölcük 136,035137,637141,926143,867145,805149,238152,607 Çayırova 82,49488,52393,64098,367103,536109,698117,230 Karamürsel 50,88651,98752,50152,62153,03354,22555,169 Dilovası 44,25844,95845,06044,98145,61045,71446,099 Kandıra 46,98449,76949,55450,04250,04649,20348,937 Başiskele 66,18368,03770,83573,32776,60579,62584,235 Kartepe 90,40793,80996,58599,410101,692104,882107,988
Mayors of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality 1977-1980 Erol Köse CHP 1984-1989 Necati Gençoğlu ANAP 1989-2002 Sefa Sirmen SHP, CHP 2002-2004 Hikmet Erenkaya CHP 2004-2019 İbrahim Karaosmanoğlu AK Party 2019-present Tahir Büyükakın AK Party
Twin cities Kassel, Germany Novi Pazar, Serbia
See also East Marmara Region Kocaeli University Pişmaniye Provinces of Turkey
References
External links
Kocaeli municipality's official website Kocaeli Etkinlik