| Turkey |
Introduction Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues

Turkey | Introduction | Top of Page

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.

Turkey | Geography | Top of Page

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

Coastline: | 7,200 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

Turkey | People | Top of Page

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 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)

Turkey | Government | Top of Page

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

Capital: | Ankara

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

Turkey | Economy | Top of Page

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)

Currency code: | 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

Turkey | Communications | Top of Page

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)

Turkey | Transportation | Top of Page

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.)

Heliports: | 2 (2000 est.)

Turkey | Military | Top of Page

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)

Turkey | Transnational Issues | Top of Page

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