2000 Edition

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 1949 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 terrorists have dislocated part of the population in southeast Turkey and have drawn international condemnation.

Area

land

770,760 sq km

total

780,580 sq km

water

9,820 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than Texas

Climate

temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior

Coastline

7,200 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Mount Ararat 5,166 m

lowest point

Mediterranean Sea 0 m

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

Geographic coordinates

39 00 N, 35 00 E

Geography - note

strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas

Irrigated land

36,740 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

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

total

2,627 km

Land use

arable land

32%

forests and woodland

26%

other

22% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

4%

permanent pastures

16%

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

Map references

Middle East

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

Natural hazards

very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van

Natural resources

antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower

Terrain

mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)

Age structure

0-14 years: 29% (male 9,722,217; female 9,375,920) 15-64 years: 65% (male 21,671,638; female 20,966,110) 65 years and over: 6% (male 1,811,599; female 2,119,193) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

18.65 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

5.96 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%

Infant mortality rate

48.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek

Life expectancy at birth

female

73.41 years (2000 est.)

male

68.63 years

total population

70.97 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

72.4% (1995 est.)

male

91.7%

total population

82.3%

Nationality

adjective

Turkish

noun

Turk(s)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

65,666,677 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.27% (2000 est.)

Religions

Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and Jews)

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 (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.16 children born/woman (2000 est.)

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, Gazi Antep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahraman Maras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanli Urfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak

note

Karabuk, Kilis, Osmaniye and Yalova are the four newest provinces (there may be a fifth - Duzce); the US Board on Geographic Names is awaiting an official Turkish administrative map for verification of the boundaries

Capital

Ankara

Constitution

7 November 1982

Country name

conventional long form

Republic of Turkey

conventional short form

Turkey

local long form

Turkiye Cumhuriyeti

local short form

Turkiye

Data code

TU

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Robert PEARSON

embassy

110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara

mailing address

PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823

telephone

(312) 468-6110

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Baki ILKIN

telephone

(202) 612-6700

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister

chief of state

President Ahmed Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000)

election results

Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 60%

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

head of government

Prime Minister Bulent ECEVIT (since 11 January 1999)

note

there is also a National Security Council that serves as an advisory body to the president and the cabinet

FAX

(202) 612-6744

(312) 467-0019

consulate(s)

Adana

consulate(s) general

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

consulate(s) general

Istanbul

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

Government type

republican parliamentary democracy

Independence

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

International organization participation

AsDB, 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, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the president; Court of Appeals, judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors

Legal system

derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

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)

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

elections

last held 18 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)

National holiday

Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)

Political parties and leaders

Changing Turkey Party or DEPAR [Gokhan CAPOGLU]; Democracy and Peace Party or DBP ; Democratic Left Party or DSP ; Democratic Party or DP ; Democratic Turkey Party or DTP ; Enlightened Turkey Party or ATP ; Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP ; Grand Unity Party or BBP [Muhsin YAZICIOGLU]; Labor Party or EP ; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP ; Motherland Party or ANAP ; My Turkey Party or TP ; Nation Party or MP [Aykut EDIBALI]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP ; New Democracy Movement or YDH ; Peace Party or BP [Ali Haydar VEZIROGLU]; People's Democracy Party or HADEP ; Republican People's Party or CHP ; Revolutionary People's Party ; Socialist Power Party or SIP ; True Path Party or DYP ; Virtue Party or FP ; Workers' Party or IP

note

Welfare Party or RP was officially outlawed on 22 February 1998

Political pressure groups and leaders

Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK ; Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD ; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is ; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD ; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK ; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is ; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock

Budget

expenditures

$66.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.4 billion (1999)

revenues

$45.2 billion

Currency

Turkish lira (TL) = 100 kurus (theoretical)

Debt - external

$104 billion (1999)

Economic aid - recipient

ODA, $195 million (1993)

Economy - overview

Turkey has a dynamic economy that is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with traditional village agriculture and crafts. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. Its most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. The economic situation in recent years has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. After a sharp drop in 1994, real GNP averaged 6.5% annual growth in 1995-98; it then fell about 5% in 1999 as Turkey was adversely affected by Russia's economic crisis and two major earthquakes. The already-large public sector fiscal deficit widened in 1999 to perhaps 14% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments which accounted for 42% of central grovernment spending. Despite the implementation in January 1996 of a customs union with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country remains low - less than $1 billion annually - perhaps because potential investors are concerned about economic and political stability. Prospects for the future are brighter - including prospects for foreign investment - because the ECEVIT government is implementing a major economic reform program, including a tighter budget, social security reform, banking reorganization, and greatly accelerated privatization.

Electricity - consumption

118.5 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports

209 million kWh (1999 est.)

Electricity - imports

2.3 billion kWh (1999 est.)

Electricity - production

116.5 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

69.4%

hydro

30.5%

nuclear

0%

other

0.1% (1999 est.)

Exchange rates

Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 545,584 (January 2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997), 81,405 (1996), 45,845.1 (1995)

Exports

$26 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities

apparel 28%, foodstuffs 17%, textiles 12%, metal manufactures 9% (1998)

Exports - partners

Germany 21%, US 9%, UK 7%, Italy 6%, France 6% (1999)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $409.4 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

18%

industry

29%

services

53% (1998)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $6,200 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

-5% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$40 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery 29%, semi-finished goods 16%, chemicals 14%, transport equipment 11%, fuels 8% (1998)

Imports - partners

Germany 14%, Italy 8%, US 8%, France 8%, Russia 6%, UK 5% (1999)

Industrial production growth rate

-5.2% (1999 est.)

Industries

textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

65% (1999 est.)

Labor force

23.8 million (April 1999)

note

about 1.5 million Turks work abroad (1994)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 45.8%, services 33.7%, industry 20.5% (April 1999)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

7.3% plus underemployment of 6.9% (April 1999 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

24 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 16, FM 72, shortwave 6 (1998)

Radios

11.3 million (1997)

Telephone system

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

Telephones - main lines in use

17.244 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular

3.2 million (1998)

Television broadcast stations

69 (plus 476 low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

20.9 million (1997)

Airports

118 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

82 over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 5 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 26 (1999 est.)

Heliports

2 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

95,599 km (including 1,726 km of expressways)

total

382,397 km

unpaved

286,798 km (1999 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

bulk 155, cargo 244, chemical tanker 37, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 6, container 20, liquified gas 5, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 35, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off 22, short-sea passenger 9, specialized tanker 5 (1999 est.)

total

547 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,935,173 GRT/9,771,421 DWT

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

Railways

standard gauge

8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (1,524 km electrified) (1999)

total

8,607 km

Waterways

about 1,200 km

Military branches

Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$6.737 billion (FY97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

4.3% (FY97)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 18,523,950 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 11,227,922 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

20 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

664,024 (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

TURKMENISTAN