Geography

Location: southwestern Asia (that part west of the Bosporus is sometimes included with 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 the Black Sea and in the 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

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, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
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

 

People

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Population: 64,566,511 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (male 10,165,804; female 9,802,232)
15-64 years: 63% (male 20,790,422; female 20,106,320)
65 years and over: 6% (male 1,706,939; female 1,994,794) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.6% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 21.38 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 5.35 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 38.27 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.82 years
male: 70.38 years
female: 75.39 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.47 children born/woman (1998 est.)

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

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.3%
male: 91.7%
female: 72.4% (1995 est.)

 

Government

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Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey
local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkiye

Data code: TU

Government type: republican parliamentary democracy

National 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, 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; the US Board on Geographic Names is awaiting an official Turkish administrative map for verification of the boundaries

Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 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 Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Mesut YILMAZ (since 12 July 1997) and Deputy Prime Ministers Bulent ECEVIT (since 12 July 1997) and Ismet SEZGIN (since 12 July 1997)
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 16 May 1993 (next scheduled to be held NA 2000); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Suleyman DEMIREL elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54%

Legislative branch: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 December 1995 (next to be held by December 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party—RP 21.38%, DYP 19.18%, ANAP 19.65%, DSP 14.64%, CHP 10.71%, independent 0.48%; seats by party—RP 158, DYP 135, ANAP 133, DSP 75, CHP 49; note—seats held by various parties are subject to change due to defections, creation of new parties, and ouster or death of sitting deputies; seating by party as of 4 May 1998: FP 142, ANAP 139, DYP 92, DSP 62, CHP 56, DTP 22, BBP 8, MHP 2, DP 1, DEPAR 1, independents 16, vacant 9

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

Political parties and leaders: Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Welfare Party or RP [Necmettin ERBAKAN] (officially outlawed on 22 February 1998); Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Workers' Party or IP [Dogu PERINCEK]; Nation Party or MP [Aykut EDIBALI]; Democratic Party or DP [Korkut OZAL]; Grand Unity Party or BBP [Muhsin YAZICIOGLU]; Rebirth Party or YDP [Hasan Celal GUZEL]; People's Democracy Party or HADEP [Murat BOZLAK]; Main Path Party or ANAYOL [Gurcan BASER]; Democratic Target Party or DHP [Abdulkadir Yasar TURK]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Besim TIBUK]; New Democracy Movement or YDH [Huseyin ERGUN]; Labor Party or EP [Ihsan CARALAN]; Democracy and Peace Party or DBP [Refik KARAKOC]; Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP [Ufuk URAS]; Peace Party or BP [Mehmet ETI]; Democratic Mass Party or DKP [Serafettin ELCI]; Democratic Turkey Party or DTP [Husamettin CINDORUK]; Virtue Party or FP [Ismail ALPTEKIN]; Changing Turkey Party or DEPAR [Gokhan CAPOGLU]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]

International organization participation: AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, OECD, OIC, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Baki ILKIN
chancery: 1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 659-8200
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mark PARRIS
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara
mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823
telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110
FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019
consulate(s) general: Istanbul
consulate(s): Adana

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

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Economy—overview: Turkey's dynamic economy 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 the largest source of exports—is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. The current economic situation is marked by strong growth coupled with serious imbalances. Real GDP expanded by about 7% in 1997 but inflation rose to 99% at yearend, and the public sector fiscal deficit probably remained near 10% of GDP. To some extent, Ankara is caught in a vicious fiscal circle because about half of all central government revenue is going to pay interest on the national debt. The government that took office in July 1997—headed by Prime Minister YILMAZ's Motherland Party—enacted a 1998 budget that includes substantial tax increases and cuts in non-interest spending but these gains will be offset by a jump in interest payments. The government also is planning to overhaul the social welfare and tax systems and to speed up privatization, although these reforms will face tough political opposition. Ankara is trying to increase trade with other countries in the region but most of Turkey's trade is still with OECD countries. Despite the implementation in January 1996 of customs union with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country remains low—about $0.5 billion annually—perhaps because potential investors are concerned about high inflation and the unsettled political situation. Economic growth will slow in 1998 to perhaps 4%, and inflation should decline, although the government's 50% target appears overoptimistic. The current account deficit probably will remain small—1% to 1.5% of GDP - when Turkey's unrecorded "suitcase" exports are included.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$388.3 billion (1997 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 7.2% (1997)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$6,100 (1997 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 15%
industry: 28.4%
services: 56.6% (1996)

Inflation rate—consumer price index: 99% (1997)

Labor force:
total: 21.6 million
by occupation: agriculture 43.1%, services 30.1%, industry 14.4%, construction 6.0% (1996)
note: about 1.5 million Turks work abroad (1994)

Unemployment rate: 5.9% another 5.1% officially considered underemployed (April 1997)

Budget:
revenues: $38.5 billion
expenditures: $52.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.2 billion (1997)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 10.8% (1997 est.)

Electricity—capacity: 21.83 million kW (1997)

Electricity—production: 103 billion kWh (1997)

Electricity—consumption per capita: 1,636 kWh (1997)

Agriculture—products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus; livestock

Exports:
total value: $26 billion (f.o.b., 1997); note—substantial unrecorded exports estimated at $5.8 billion
commodities: textiles and apparel 37%, iron and steel products 10%, foodstuffs 17% (1997)
partners: Germany 20%, US 8%, Russia 8%, UK 6%, Italy 5% (1997)

Imports:
total value: $46.7 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: machinery 26%, fuels 13%, raw materials 10%, foodstuffs 4% (1997)
partners: Germany 16%, Italy 9%, US 9%, France 6%, UK 6% (1997)

Debt—external: $84.5 billion (September 1997)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $195 million (1993)

Currency: Turkish lira (TL)

Exchange rates: Turkish liras (TL) per US$1—212,500 (January 1998), 151,600 (1997), 81,405 (1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993)

Fiscal year: calendar year

 

Communications

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Telephones: 14.3 million (1995 est.)

Telephone system: fair domestic and international systems
domestic: trunk microwave radio relay network; limited open-wire network
international: 12 satellite earth stations—Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), Eutelsat, and Inmarsat (Indian and Atlantic Ocean regions); 3 submarine fiberoptic cables (1996)

Radio broadcast stations: national broadcast stations 36, regional broadcast stations 108, local broadcast stations 1,058 (1996)

Radios: 9.4 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 15 national, 15 regional, 229 local

Televisions: 10.53 million (1993 est.)

 

Transportation

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Railways:
total: 10,386 km
standard gauge: 10,386 km 1.435-m gauge (1,093 km electrified)

Highways:
total: 381,631 km
paved: 95,408 km (including 1,405 km of expressways)
unpaved: 286,223 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: about 1,200 km

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: 528 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,205,399 GRT/10,400,716 DWT
ships by type: bulk 169, cargo 232, chemical tanker 26, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 10, container 5, liquefied gas tanker 5, oil tanker 40, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 21, short-sea passenger 9, specialized tanker 2
note: Turkey owns an additional 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 313,523 DWT operating under the registries of The Bahamas, Malta, and Panama (1997 est.)

Airports: 114 (1997 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 80
over 3,047 m: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 21
1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 19
under 914 m: 5 (1997 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 25 (1997 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1997 est.)

 

Military

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Military branches: Land Forces, 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: 17,761,347 (1998 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males: 10,789,134 (1998 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 658,946 (1998 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $4.3 billion (1996); note—figures do not include about $7 billion for the government's counterinsurgency effort

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 3.5% (1996)

 

Transnational Issues

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Disputes—international: complex maritime, air and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Greece; Hatay question with Syria; dispute with downstream riparian states (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; traditional demands on former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided

Illicit drugs: major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe and 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

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