1988 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1988 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Boundary disputes
none; complex maritime and air (but not territorial) disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Greece; Hatay question with Syria; potential dispute with downstream riparians (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Climate
temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Coastline
7,200 km
Comparative area
about twice the size of California
Environment
subject to severe earthquakes, especially along major river valleys in west; air pollution; desertification
Ethnic divisions
85% Turkish, 12% Kurd, 3% other
Extended economic zone
200 nm in Black Sea only
Fiscal year
calendar year
Infant mortality rate
15.3/1,000 (1984)
Labor force
18.5 million (1986); 58.3% agriculture, 28.7% service, 13.0% industry and energy; about 1 million Turks work abroad (1986); effective unemployment rate estimated to be over 20% (1986)
Land boundaries
2,574 km total
Land use
30% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures; 26% forest and woodland; 28% other; includes 3% irrigated
Language
Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic
Life expectancy
57
Literacy
70%
Monetary conversion rate
1.14 Tunisian dinars (TD)=US$1 (7 May 1986)
Nationality
noun — Turk(s); adjective — Turkish
Organized labor
10-15% of labor force
Population
52,987,778 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.23%
Religion
98% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 2% other (mostly Christian and Jewish)
Special notes
strategic location controlling Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Turkey and Norway only NATO members having a boundary with USSR
Terrain
mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; central plateau (Anatolia)
Territorial sea
6 nm (12 nm in Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
Total area
780,580 km2; land area: 770,760 km2
Government
Administrative divisions
67 provinces
Branches
executive — President empowered to call new elections, promulgate laws (elected for a seven-year term); unicameral legislature (400-member Grand National Assembly); independent judiciary
Capital
Ankara
Communists
strength and support negligible
Elections
according to the 1982 Constitution, elections to the Grand National Assembly to be held every five years; most recent election 6 November 1983; byelection held 28 September 1986 Political parties and leaders: military leaders banned all traditional parties from taking part in the parliamentary election of November 1983 and banned many prominent party leaders from taking part in politics for five to 10 years; three new parties allowed to take part in the election—Motherland Party (ANAP), Turgut Ozal; Populist Party (PP), Necdet Calp; Nationalist Democracy Party (NDP), Ulk Soylemezoglu; additional parties permitted to take part in local elections in March 1984— Social Democratcy Party (SODEP), Erdal Inon; Correct Way Party (CWP), Husamettin Cinderuk; SODEP and PP merged in 1985 to form the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) now headed by Erdal In8n; Democratic Left Party (DLP) founded in 1985 under Rahsan Ecevit
Government leaders
Gen. Kenan EVREN, President (since 1982); Turgut OZAL, Prime Minister (since 1983)
Legal system
derived from various continental legal systems; constitution adopted in November 1982; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Member of
ASSIMER, Council of Europe, EC (associate member), ECOSOC, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDE — Islamic Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITC, ITU, NATO, OECD, QIC, Economic Cooperation Organization, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
National holiday
Republic Day, 29 October
Official name
Republic of Turkey
Suffrage
universal over age 21 Turkey (continued)
Type
republican parliamentary democracy
Voting strength
(1983 election) Grand National Assembly — Motherland Party, 211 seats; Populist Party, 117 seats; Nationalist Democracy Party, 71 seats; as of March 1987, Grand National Assembly — Motherland Party, 251 seats; Social Democratic Populist Party, 65 seats; Correct Way Party, 35 seats; Democratic Left Party, 24 seats; independents, 24 seats; vacant, 2 seats
Economy
Agriculture
main products — cotton, tobacco, cereals, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, and livestock products; self-sufficient in food in average years; a legal producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade
Crude steel
3.5 million tons produced, 70 kg per capita (1984)
Electric power
9,765,000 kW capacity; 38,490 million kWh produced (1986), 740 kWh per capita (1986)
Exports
$7,958 million (f.o.b., 1985); cotton, tobacco, fruits, nuts, metals, livestock products, textiles, clothing, cement, leather, glass, ceramics
GNP
$52.9 billion, $1,020 per capita; 7.8% real growth, 6.3% average annual real growth (1984-86); inflation rate 33.7% (1986)
Imports
$11,344 million (c.i.f., 1985); crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, metals, Pharmaceuticals, dyes, plastics, rubber, mineral fuels, fertilizers, chemicals
Major industries
textiles, food processing, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron minerals), steel, petroleum, construction
Major trade partners
(1986) exports — 18.2% FRG, 11.7% Iran, 10.7% Iraq, 6.6% Italy, 5.4% US; imports— 15.9% FRG, 10.6% US, 8.4% Iraq, 7.7% Italy, 5.6%
Natural resources
antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, oil
Communications
Airfields
31 total, 29 usable; 13 with permanent-surface runways; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 8 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force
Civil air
15 major transport aircraft
Highways
17,700 km total; 9,100 km bituminous; 8,600 km improved and unimproved earth
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1986, $303.5 million; 10.6% of central government budget 400km Black Sea Mediterranean Set? Sec regional map VI
Military manpower
males 15-49, 1,800,000; 1,036,000 fit for military service; 83,000 reach military age (20) annually
Pipelines
797 km crude oil; 86 km refined products; 742 km natural gas
Ports
5 major, 14 minor; 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants terminal
Railroads
2,089 km total; 503 1. 435-meter km standard gauge; 1,586 km 1.000-meter gauge, 18 km 1.000-meter gauge double track
Telecommunications
the system is above the African average; facilities consist of open-wire lines, multiconductor cable, and radio relay; key centers are §af5qis, Susah, Bizerte, and Tunis; 233,000 telephones (3.1 per 100 popl.); 18 AM, 4 FM, 14 TV stations; 4 submarine cables; ARABSAT satellite back-up control station; coaxial cable to Algeria; radio-relay to Algeria, Libya, and Italy Defense Forces