|
| 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; Mount Ararat, the
legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is
in the far eastern portion of the country |
| 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 W.
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 (2,131 km electrified)
(2001) |
| 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.) |
| 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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