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Introduction | Turkey

Background: | Present-day 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 intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to protect Turkish Cypriots and prevent a Greek takeover of the island; the northern 37 percent of the island remains under Turkish Cypriot control. Relations between the two countries remain strained, but have begun to improve over the past few 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.

Geography | Turkey

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 water: 9,820 sq km land: 770,760 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries: | 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
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: | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges
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: 34.53% permanent crops: 3.36% other: 62.11% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 42,000 sq km (1998 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

People | Turkey

Population: | 68,109,469 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 27.2% (male 9,422,242; female 9,082,840) 15-64 years: 66.4% (male 22,978,251; female 22,243,477) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 2,013,926; female 2,368,733) (2003 est.)
Median age: | total: 26.8 years male: 26.7 years female: 27 years (2002)
Population growth rate: | 1.16% (2003 est.)
Birth rate: | 17.59 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 47.91 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 71.8 years male: 69.41 years female: 74.3 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 2.03 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | less than 0.1% - note: no country specific models provided (2001 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% (estimated)
Religions: | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Languages: | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.)

Government | Turkey

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: | 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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
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 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 government composed of top military and cabinet officials and presided over by the president 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 new 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
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 3 November 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); note - a special rerun of the General Election in the province of Siirt on 9 March 2003 resulted in the election of Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN to a seat in parliament, a prerequisite for becoming prime minister on 13 March 2003 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 - parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats
Judicial branch: | Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals and Council of State (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors)
Political parties and leaders: | Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Ahmet Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party) or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Young Party or GP [Cem UZAN]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Sami EVREN]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; 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 Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]
International organization participation: | AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, 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, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: | 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
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Eric S. EDELMAN embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir
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 | Turkey

Economy - overview: | 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 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 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 account for more than 50% of central government spending. Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 26% in 2003. 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 Turkey to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in 2002-03 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 could result in negative growth in 2004.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $489.7 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 7.8% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 12.9% industry: 30.4% services: 56.7% (2001)
Population below poverty line: | NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 41.5 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 45.2% (2002 est.)
Labor force: | 23.8 million note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2001 3rd quarter)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 39.7%, services 37.9%, industry 22.4% (3rd quarter, 2001)
Unemployment rate: | 10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $42.4 billion expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
Industries: | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Industrial production growth rate: | 8.5% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production: | 116.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 79.3% hydro: 20.4% other: 0.3% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 112.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 433 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 4.579 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 48,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 619,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | 46,110 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: | 616,500 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: | 288.4 million bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production: | 312 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 15.94 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 15.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 8.685 billion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products: | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock
Exports: | $35.1 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities: | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment
Exports - partners: | Germany 16.6%, US 9.2%, UK 8.5%, Italy 6.4%, France 6% (2002)
Imports: | $50.8 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment
Imports - partners: | Germany 13.7%, Italy 8.1%, Russia 7.6%, US 6%, France 5.9%, UK 4.8%, Switzerland 4.1% (2002)
Debt - external: | $118.3 billion (Yearend 2001)
Economic aid - recipient: | ODA, $300 million (2000)
Currency: | Turkish lira (TRL)
Currency code: | TRL
Exchange rates: | NA (2002), 1,225,590 (2001), 625,218 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Turkey

Telephones - main lines in use: | 19.5 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 17.1 million (2001)
Telephone system: | 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)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001)
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): | 50 (2001)
Internet users: | 2.5 million (2002)

Transportation | Turkey

Railways: | total: 8,607 km standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131 km electrified) (2002)
Highways: | total: 385,960 km paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of expressways) unpaved: 254,734 km (1999)
Waterways: | 1,200 km (approximately)
Pipelines: | gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2003)
Ports and harbors: | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon
Merchant marine: | total: 525 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,306,506 GRT/8,424,837 DWT ships by type: bulk 125, cargo 229, chemical tanker 44, combination bulk 3, combination ore/oil 3, container 34, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 35, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 26, 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, UK 11 (2002 est.)
Airports: | 120 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: | 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
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 34 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 24 (2002) 914 to 1,523 m: 8
Heliports: | 8 (2002)

Military | Turkey

Military branches: | Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie
Military manpower - military age: | 20 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 19,534,455 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 11,801,267 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 679,882 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $8.1 billion (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 4.5% (2002 est.)

Transnational Issues | Turkey

Disputes - international: | complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question remains with Greece; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh
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

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003