| Background: |
Turkey was
created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman
Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws
to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey
joined the UN and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. Turkey
occupied the northern portion of Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a
Greek takeover of the island; relations between the two
countries remain strained. Periodic military offensives
against Kurdish separatists have dislocated part of the
population in southeast Turkey and have drawn international
condemnation. |
| Location: |
southeastern
Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of
the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering
the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering
the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and
Syria |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
39 00 N, 35 00 E |
| Map
references: |
Middle East |
| Area: |
total:
780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km
water: 9,820 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly larger
than Texas |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
2,627 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9
km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499
km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive
economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime
boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
territorial sea: 6 NM in the Aegean Sea; 12 NM
in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea |
| Climate: |
temperate; hot,
dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
| Terrain: |
mostly mountains;
narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia) |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
| Natural
resources: |
antimony, coal,
chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable
land, hydropower |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
32%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 16%
forests and woodland: 26%
other: 22% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
36,740 sq km
(1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
very severe
earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc
extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
| Environment
- current issues: |
water pollution
from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution,
particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil
spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification |
| Geography
- note: |
strategic
location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of
Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas |
| Population: |
66,493,970 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
28.42% (male 9,620,291; female 9,276,347)
15-64 years: 65.45% (male 22,116,599; female
21,401,165)
65 years and over: 6.13% (male 1,878,571;
female 2,200,997) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.24% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
18.31
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
5.95 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
47.34
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 71.24 years
male: 68.89 years
female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.12 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.01% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Turkish 80%,
Kurdish 20% |
| Religions: |
Muslim 99.8%
(mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and Jews) |
| Languages: |
Turkish
(official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85%
male: 94%
female: 77% (2000) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey
local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkiye |
| Government
type: |
republican
parliamentary democracy |
| Administrative
divisions: |
80 provinces (iller,
singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray,
Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir,
Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu,
Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli,
Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir,
Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Igdir,
Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman,
Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli,
Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin,
Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya,
Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag,
Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat,
Zonguldak; note - there may be another province called Duzce |
| Independence: |
29 October 1923
(successor state to the Ottoman Empire) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day,
29 October (1923) |
| Constitution: |
7 November 1982 |
| Legal
system: |
derived from
various European continental legal systems; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Ahmed Necdet SEZER (since 16 May
2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Bulent
ECEVIT (since 11 January 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
president on the nomination of the prime minister
note: there is also a National Security Council
that serves as an advisory body to the president and the
cabinet
elections: president elected by the National
Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 5 May
2000 (next scheduled to be held NA May 2007); prime minister
and deputy prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected
president on the third ballot; percent of National Assembly
vote - 60%
note: president must have a two-thirds majority
of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a
simple majority on the third ballot |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral Grand
National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi
(550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 April 1999 (next to be
held NA 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - DSP 136, MHP 130, FP 110, DYP 86, ANAP
88; note - as of 7 March 2000 seating was DSP 136, MHP 127,
FP 103, DYP 85, ANAP 88 independents 6, vacancies 5 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Constitutional
Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of
Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges
and Prosecutors) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Democratic Left
Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut
YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI];
True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Virtue Party or FP [Recai
KUTAN]; note - in June 2001, Turkey's Constitutional Court
banned the party; its representatives (except for two) can
stay on in the Grand National Assembly as independents
note: Welfare Party or RP [Necmettin ERBAKAN]
was officially outlawed on 22 February 1998 |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Confederation of
Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK];
Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association or
MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim
USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association
or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of
Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish
Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish
Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or
TOBB [Fuat MIRAS] |
| International
organization participation: |
AsDB, Australia
Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE,
ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK,
UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Baki ILKIN
chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700
FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, and New York |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Robert PEARSON
embassy: Ataturk Bulvarii 110, Ankara
mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823
telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110
FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019
consulate(s) general: Istanbul (closed as of
December 2000 for security review)
consulate(s): Adana (closed as of December 2000
for security review) |
| Flag
description: |
red with a
vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the
hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just
outside the crescent opening |
| Economy
- overview: |
Turkey's dynamic
economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce
along with traditional agriculture that still accounts for
nearly 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly
growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major
role in basic industry, banking, transport, and
communication. The most important industry - and largest
exporter - is textiles and clothing, which is almost
entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic
situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and
serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in most
years, but this strong expansion was interrupted by sharp
declines in output in 1994 and 1999. Meanwhile the public
sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP -
due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments,
which now account for more than 40% of central government
spending - while inflation has remained in the high double
digit range. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign
direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1
billion annually. Prospects for the future are improving,
however, because the ECEVIT government since June 1999 has
been implementing an IMF-backed reform program, including a
tighter budget, social security reform, banking
reorganization, and accelerated privatization. As a result,
the fiscal situation is greatly improved and inflation has
dropped below 40% - the lowest rate since 1987. The country
experienced a financial crisis in late 2000, including sharp
drops in the stock market and foreign exchange reserves, but
is recovering rapidly, thanks to additional IMF support and
the government's commitment to a specific timetable of
economic reforms. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $444 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
6% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $6,800 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
15%
industry: 29%
services: 56% (1999) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
39% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
23 million (2000
est.)
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad
(1999) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 38%,
services 38%, industry 24% (2000) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
5.6% (plus
underemployment of 5.6%) (2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$54.5 billion
expenditures: $75.2 billion, including capital
expenditures of $3.3 billion (2000) |
| Industries: |
textiles, food
processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron),
steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
6.2% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
125.3 billion kWh
(2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
71%
hydro: 29%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
119.5 billion kWh
(2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
350 million kWh
(2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
3.35 billion kWh
(2000 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
tobacco, cotton,
grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
| Exports: |
$26.9 billion
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
apparel 25.6%,
foodstuffs 15.4%, textiles 12.3%, metal manufactures 8.6%,
transport equipment 8.1% (1998) |
| Exports
- partners: |
Germany 18.7%, US
11.4%, UK 7.4%, Italy 6.3%, France 6.0% (2000 est.) |
| Imports: |
$55.7 billion
(c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery 28.3%,
chemicals 15.2%, semi-finished goods 14.5%, fuels 11%,
transport equipment 9.5% (1999) |
| Imports
- partners: |
Germany 13.1%,
Italy 7.9%, US 7.2%, Russia 7.0%, France 6.6%, UK 5.0% (2000
est.) |
| Debt
- external: |
$109 billion
(2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
ODA, $195 million
(1993) |
| Currency: |
Turkish lira (TRL) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Turkish liras per
US dollar - 677,621 (December 2000), 625,219 (2000), 418,783
(1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997), 81,405 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
19.5 million
(1999) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
12.1 million
(1999) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: undergoing rapid modernization and
expansion, especially cellular telephones
domestic: additional digital exchanges are
permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction
of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk
lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave
radio relay is facilitating communication between urban
centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite
system; the number of subscribers to mobile cellular
telephone service is growing rapidly
international: international service is
provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the
Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy,
Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia, by 12
Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite
terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 16, FM 72,
shortwave 6 (1998) |
| Radios: |
11.3 million
(1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
635 (plus 2,934
repeaters) (1995) |
| Televisions: |
20.9 million
(1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.tr |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
22 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
2 million (2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
8,607 km
standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (1,524
km electrified) (1999) |
| Highways: |
total:
382,059 km
paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
1,200 km
(approximately) |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 1,738
km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Gemlik, Hopa,
Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin),
Samsun, Trabzon |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
548 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,617,302 GRT/9,088,451
DWT
ships by type: bulk 140, cargo 242, chemical
tanker 41, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 6,
container 21, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum
tanker 43, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 25,
short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
121 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
86
over 3,047 m: 16
2,438 to 3,047 m: 29
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 26 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Land Force, Navy
(includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast
Guard, Gendarmerie |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
20 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 18,882,272 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 11,432,438 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males:
674,805 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$10.6 billion
(FY99) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
5.6% (FY99) |
| Disputes
- international: |
complex maritime,
air, and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea;
Cyprus question with Greece; dispute with downstream
riparian states (Syria and Iraq) over water development
plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; traditional
demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have
subsided |
| Illicit
drugs: |
key transit route
for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far
lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major
Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking
organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to
convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote
regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul; government
maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy
cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate |
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