- 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.
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Turkey factbook
Background
Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the
defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later
honored with the title Ataturk, or "Father of the Turks." Under his
authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal,
and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with
multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition
Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish
political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by
periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980),
which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to
civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster -
popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented
government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a
Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the
"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus". Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in
1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member
of the European Community; over the past decade, it has undertaken many
reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy, enabling it to begin
accession membership talks with the European Union.
Geography of 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.
- Area: total - 780,580 sq km, land: 770,760 sq km, water: 9,820 sq km.
- 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: territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea; 12 nm in Black
Sea and in Mediterranean Sea exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to
the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR.
- 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: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury,
gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone,
magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land,
hydropower.
- Land use: arable land: 30.93%, permanent crops: 3.31%, other: 65.76%
(2001).
- Irrigated land: 42,000 sq km (1998 est.).
- 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 of Turkey
- Population: 68,893,918 (July 2004 est.).
- Age structure: 0-14 years: 26.6% (male 9,328,108; female 8,990,742), 15-64
years: 66.8% (male 23,394,465; female 22,650,532), 65 years and over: 6.6%
(male 2,078,881; female 2,451,190) (2004 est.).
- Median age: total: 27.3 years, male: 27.1 years, female: 27.5 years (2004
est.).
- Population growth rate: 1.13% (2004 est.).
- Birth rate:17.22 births/1,000 population (2004 est.).
- Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 (2004 est.).
- Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.08 years, male: 69.68
years, female: 74.61 years (2004 est.).
- Total fertility rate: 1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.).
- 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 of 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, Afyonkarahisar, 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: Republic Day, 29 October (1923).
- Constitution: 7 November 1982.
- Legal system: civil law system derived from various European continental
legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; note
- member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey
claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human
Rights.
- Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal.
Executive branch:
- Chief of state: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000).
- Head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14 March 2003).
- Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination
of the prime minister.
- 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 appointed by the president from among members of parliament.
- 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 14 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; seats by party as of 1 December 2004 - AKP
368, CHP 171, DYP 4, LDP 1, independents 5, vacant 1.
Judicial branch:
- Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of
State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of
Appeals; Military High Administrative Court.
Political parties and leaders:
- Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Justice and
Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN]; Liberal Democratic Party or
LDP [Emin SIRIN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [leader NA]; Nationalist Action
Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP (includes
the New Turkey Party) [Deniz BAYKAL]; Felicity Party (sometimes translated
as Contentment Party) or SP [Necmettin ERBEKAN]; Social Democratic People's
Party or SHP [Murat KARAYALCIN]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as
Correct Way Party) or DYP [Mehmet AGAR]
Note: the parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49
parties that Turkey had on 1 December 2004.
- International organization participation: AsDB, Australia Group, BIS,
BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNOMIG,
UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC.
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 largest industrial
sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for one-third of industrial
employment; it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end
of the global quota system. However, other sectors, notably the automotive
and electonics industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export
mix. 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 accounted for more than 40% of central
government spending in 2003. Inflation, in recent years in the high
double-digit range, fell to 11.3% in 2004. Perhaps because of these
problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1
billion annually. Results in 2002-04 improved, because of strong financial
support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. A major political and
economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a
member of the EU.
- GDP: purchasing power parity - $458.2 billion (2003 est.)
- GDP - real growth rate: 5.8% (2003 est.)
- GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2003 est.)
- GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11.7%, industry: 29.8%,
services: 58.5% (2003 est.), Investment (gross fixed):15.5% of GDP (2003)
- Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3%,
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
- Distribution of family income - Gini index: 44 (2002)
- Labor force: 23.79 million. Note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad
(2003)
- Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 39.7%, industry 22.4%, services
37.9% (3rd quarter, 2001)
- Unemployment rate: 10.5% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2003 est.)
- Budget: revenues: $66.79 billion, expenditures: $93.31 billion, including
capital expenditures of NA (2003)
- Public debt: 78.7% of GDP (2003)
- Agriculture - products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets,
pulse, citrus; livestock
- Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite,
copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
- Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (2003 est.)
- Electricity - production: 116.6 billion kWh (2001)
- 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 (1 January 2002)
- 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 (1 January 2002)
- Exports - commodities: apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures,
transport equipment
- Exports - partners: Germany 15.8%, US 8%, UK 7.8%, Italy 6.8%, France 6%
(2003)
- Imports: $62.43 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
- Imports - commodities: machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels,
transport equipment
- Imports - partners: Germany 13.6%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.8%, France 6%, UK
5%, US 5%, Switzerland 4.3% (2003)
- Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $35.55 billion (2003)
- Debt - external: $147.3 billion (2003)
- Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $300 million (2000)
- Currency: Turkish lira (TRL)
- Currency code: TRL
- Exchange rates: http://www.tcmb.gov.tr
- Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Turkey
- Telephones - main lines in use: 18,916,700 (2003)
- Telephones - mobile cellular: 27,887,500 (2003)
- 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: country code - 90; 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)
- Television broadcast stations: 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995)
- Internet country code: .tr
- Internet hosts: 355,215 (2004)
- Internet users: 5.5 million (2003)
Transportation Turkey
- Railways: total: 8,671 km, standard gauge: 8,671 km 1.435-m gauge
(2,122 km electrified) (2003)
- Highways: total: 385,960 km, paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of
expressways), unpaved: 254,734 km (1999)
- Waterways: 1,200 km (2003)
- Pipelines: gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2004)
- Ports and harbors: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli
(Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon
- Merchant marine: total: 508 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,666,895
GRT/7,311,504 DWT.
- By type: bulk 111, cargo 229, chemical tanker 46, combination bulk 1,
combination ore/oil 2, container 34, liquefied gas 6, passenger 1,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 36, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll
off 26, short-sea/passenger 8, specialized tanker 3.
- Foreign-owned: Belize 1, Cambodia 1, China 1, Cyprus 4, Greece 1, Italy 3,
Liberia 1, Monaco 1, Switzerland 1, Thailand 1, United Kingdom 9
- Registered in other countries: 243 (2004 est.)
- Airports: 120 (2003 est.)
- Airports - with paved runways: total: 87, over 3,047 m: 16, 2,438 to 3,047
m: 30, 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20, 914 to 1,523 m: 17, under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
- Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 32, over 3,047 m: 1, 2,438 to
3,047 m: 1, 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2, 914 to 1,523 m: 8, under 914 m: 20 (2004
est.)
- Heliports: 14 (2003 est.)
Military Turkey
- Military branches: Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Naval
Forces Command (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast
Guard Command, Gendarmerie (Jandarma)
- Military manpower - military age and obligation: 20 years of age (2004
est.)
- Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 19,828,702 (2004 est.)
- Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 11,965,262
(2004 est.)
- Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 680,673 (2004
est.)
- Military expenditures - dollar figure: $12.155 billion (2003)
- Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 5.3% (2003)
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