Hydropower has the largest share among renewable energy sources in the world, supplying more than 16.6% of total global electricity to over 160 countries around the world. Global hydropower capacity increased to approximately 1,096 GW with the addition of 25 GW of new hydropower capacity in 2016. With a 216 TWh per year generation capacity, Turkey’s hydropower potential is the largest in Europe. The increased rate of installed capacity in Turkey was ranked 7th in the world in 2016 with an annual installed hydroelectric capacity of 0.8 GW. The main objective of this paper is to review the developments of hydropower installations around the world and in Turkey with an emphasis on the potential of small scale hydropower systems such as waterwheels in utilizing low head water flow for household electricity usage. In the first part of this study, the growth of worldwide hydropower capacity is reviewed and the countries with the largest installed and new built hydropower capacities are reported. In the second part of this study, the current status of Turkey’s hydropower plants is discussed in detail with respect to annual regional rainfall, gross water mass flow and potential of Turkey’s major water basins to demonstrate the potential energy output that can be harnessed from small-scale systems implemented in low-head water sources. In addition, the most recent information on Turkey’s electricity generation and consumption rates are reported.