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Background:
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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 but have begun to improve over the
past three years. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a
Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in southeast
Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal
of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah
OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 - has observed a
unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have
been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some
of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are
encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan
Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002. |
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Location:
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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 |
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Geographic coordinates:
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39 00 N, 35 00 E |
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Map references:
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Middle East |
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Area:
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total: 780,580
sq km
water: 9,820 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than
Texas |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,648
km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria
240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km,
Syria 822 km |
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Coastline:
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7,200 km |
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Maritime claims:
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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 |
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Climate:
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temperate; hot, dry
summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
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Terrain:
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mostly mountains;
narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia) |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
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Natural resources:
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antimony, coal, chromium,
mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower
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Land use:
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arable land:
34.53%
permanent crops: 3.36%
other: 62.11% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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42,000 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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very severe earthquakes,
especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea
of Marmara to Lake Van |
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Environment - current issues:
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water pollution from
dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly
in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing
Bosporus ship traffic |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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strategic location
controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles)
that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing
place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country
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Population:
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67,308,928 (July 2002
est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
27.8% (male 9,520,030; female 9,178,423)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 22,552,253; female 21,827,002)
65 years and over: 6.3% (male 1,946,523; female 2,284,697)
(2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.2% (2002 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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17.95 births/1,000
population (2002 est.) |
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Death rate:
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5.95 deaths/1,000
population (2002 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2002 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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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 (2002 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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45.77 deaths/1,000
live births (2002 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population:
71.52 years
female: 74.01 years (2002 est.)
male: 69.15 years |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.07 children born/woman
(2002 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.01% (1999 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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NA |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA |
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Nationality:
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noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
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Ethnic groups:
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Turkish 80%, Kurdish
20% |
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Religions:
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Muslim 99.8% (mostly
Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) |
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Languages:
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Turkish (official),
Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85%
male: 94%
female: 77% (2000)
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Country name:
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conventional long
form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey
local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkiye |
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Government type:
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republican parliamentary
democracy |
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Capital:
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Ankara |
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Administrative divisions:
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81 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, Duzce, 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 |
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Independence:
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29 October 1923 (successor
state to the Ottoman Empire) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
29 October (1923) |
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Constitution:
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7 November 1982 |
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Legal system:
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derived from various
European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch:
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chief of state:
President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000)
elections: president elected by the National Assembly for
a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held
NA May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed
by the president
note: a National Security Council serves as an advisory body
to the president and the cabinet
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
on the nomination of the prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14
March 2003); note - Abdullah GUL resigned 11 March 2003; Recep Tayyip
ERDOGAN was given a mandate to form a government
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 |
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Legislative branch:
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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 3 November 2002 (next to be held NA
2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 34.3%, CHP
19.4%, DYP 9.6%, MHP 8.3%, ANAP 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and others; seats
by party - AKP 363, CHP 178, independents 9; note - all other parties
were under the 10% threshhold which entitles them to seats |
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Judicial branch:
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Constitutional Court
(judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals (judges
are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Democratic Left Party
or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep
Tayip ERDOGAN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist
Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party
or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Saadet Party [Recai KUTAN]; note - KUTAN
was head of the Virtue Party or FP which was banned by Turkey's
Constitutional Court in June 2001; Socialist Democratic Party or
TDP [Sema PISKINSUT]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Right
Path Party) or DYP [Tansu CILLER] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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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] |
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International organization participation:
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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, 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, ZC |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission:
Ambassador Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU
FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and
New York
chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission:
Ambassador Robert W. PEARSON
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara
mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823
telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555
FAX: [90] (312) 468-0019
consulate(s) general: Istanbul
consulate(s): Adana |
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Flag description:
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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
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Economy - overview:
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Turkey's dynamic economy
is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional
agriculture sector that in 2001 still accounted for 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 export
- 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 many years, but this strong expansion has been
interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001.
Meanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded
10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments,
which in 2001 accounted for more than 50% 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. In late 2000
and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in
the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Ankara
to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results
in 2002 were much better, because of strong financial support from
the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth
and serious political tensions in the Middle East cast a shadow
over growth prospects for 2003. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity
- $468 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.2% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity
- $7,000 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
13%
industry: 30%
services: 57% (2001) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage
share:
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lowest 10%:
2%
highest 10%: 32% (1994) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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42 (1994) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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45.2% (2002) |
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Labor force:
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23.8 million (2001
3rd quarter)
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (1999) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 40%, services
38%, industry 22% (2001) |
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Unemployment rate:
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10.8% (plus underemployment
of 6.1%) (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $42.4
billion
expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (2001) |
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Industries:
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textiles, food processing,
autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum,
construction, lumber, paper |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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8.5% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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119.18 billion kWh
(2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
74%
hydro: 26%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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114.19 billion kWh
(2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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437 million kWh (2000)
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Electricity - imports:
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3.791 billion kWh
(2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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tobacco, cotton, grain,
olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
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Exports:
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$37.6 billion f.o.b.
(2002) |
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Exports - commodities:
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apparel, foodstuffs,
textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment |
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Exports - partners:
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Germany 17.2%, US
10.0%, Italy 7.5%, UK 6.9%, France 6.0%, Russia 2.9% (2001) |
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Imports:
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$43.9 billion c.i.f.
(2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery, chemicals,
semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment |
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Imports - partners:
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Germany 12.9%, Italy
8.4%, Russia 8.3%, US 7.9%, France 5.5%, UK 4.6% (2001 est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$118.3 billion (September
2001 ) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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ODA, $300 million
(1993) (2000) |
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Currency:
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Turkish lira (TRL)
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Currency code:
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TRL |
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Exchange rates:
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Turkish liras per
US dollar - 1,223,140 (January 2002), 1,223,140 (2001), 625,219
(2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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19.5 million (1999)
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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17.1 million (2001)
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Telephone system:
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general assessment:
undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially with 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; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite
terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 16, FM 107, shortwave
6 (2001) |
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Radios:
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11.3 million (1997)
|
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Television broadcast stations:
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635 (plus 2,934 repeaters)
(1995) |
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Televisions:
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20.9 million (1997)
|
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Internet country code:
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.tr |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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50 (2001) |
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Internet users:
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2.5 million (2002)
|
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Railways:
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total: 8,607
km
standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131 km electrified)
(2001) |
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Highways:
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total: 382,059
km
paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of expressways)
unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.) |
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Waterways:
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1,200 km (approximately)
|
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Pipelines:
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crude oil 1,738 km;
petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km |
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Ports and harbors:
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Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun,
Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon
|
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Merchant marine:
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total: 553
ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,674,099 GRT/9,108,819 DWT
ships by type: bulk 138, cargo 239, chemical tanker 45, combination
bulk 5, combination ore/oil 2, container 27, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo
1, petroleum tanker 45, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 27,
short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as
a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 2, Greece 1,
Italy 1, Thailand 1, United Kingdom 11 (2002 est.) |
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Airports:
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120 (2001) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 86
over 3,047 m: 16
2,438 to 3,047 m: 30
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 5 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 34 34
over 3,047 m: 1 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 8 24 (2002)
914 to 1,523 m: 1 8 |
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Heliports:
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8 (2002)
|
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Military branches:
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Land Forces, Navy
(includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard,
Gendarmerie |
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Military manpower - military age:
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20 years of age (2002
est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age 15-49:
19,219,177 (2002 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age 15-49:
11,623,675 (2002 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
|
males: 674,805
(2002 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$8.1 billion (2002
est.) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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4.5% (2002 est.)
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