Turkey Online Business Education. Administration. Economy. Politics. Culture. Religion. Media

Turkey
Online Business Education. Economy. Politics. Culture. Religion. Media

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Turkey

Country Profile

Capital City: Ankara (pop. 3.7 million)

Other Cities: Istanbul (9.2 million), Izmir (3.2 million), Bursa (1.9 million), Adana (1.7 million)

Local Time: UTC+2h

Geography:
Location: southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia
Area: 766 640 sq. km. (296 000 sq. mi.)
Terrain: Narrow coastal plain surrounds Anatolia, an inland plateau becomes increasingly rugged as it progresses eastward. Turkey includes one of the more earthquake-prone areas of the world.
Border countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria

Climate: Moderate in coastal areas, harsher temperatures inland.

Government:
Type: Republic
Independence: 29 October 1923
Constitution: 7 November 1982

People:
Nationality: Noun--Turk(s). Adjective--Turkish
Population (1999): 65.5 million
Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other
Religions: Muslim 98%, Christian, Bahai and Jewish
Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, and Arabic
Literacy: 82%.

Business

Currency: Turkish Lira (TRL)

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.

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.

Exports partners: Germany 15.8%, USA 8%, UK 7.8%, Italy 6.8%, France 6% (2003)

Imports partners: Germany 13.6%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.8%, France 6%, UK 5%, USA 5%, Switzerland 4.3% (2003)

Internet Links

Official Sites of Turkey

Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaskanligi

Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi

T.C. Disisleri Bakanligi

Diplomatic Missions
Mission of Turkey to the United Nations

Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in the U.S.

Türkische Botschaft Berlin

List of Turkish Embassies in the World

Statistics
State Institute of Statistics

Maps
Turkey map

Map of Turkey

Map of the Middle East region

Introduction

Turkey

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 1952 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 but have begun to
improve over the past three 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 and sentenced to death by a Turkish
court - 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: 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, arable land, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 35% permanent crops: 3% other: 62% (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: 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: 67,308,928 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:   27.8% (male 9,520,030; female 9,178,423) 15-64 years:
(male 1,946,523; female 2,284,697) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.2% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 17.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 45.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:   74.01 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.07 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 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%

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: 85% male: 94% female: 77% (2000)

Government Turkey

Country name:   Republic of Turkey conventional short form: 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, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir,
Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis,
Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya,
Manisa, Mardin, 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 president and the cabinet cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by
the president on the nomination of the prime minister head of government:
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 18 April 1999 (next
to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - DSP 136, MHP 130, FP 110, DYP 86, ANAP 88; note -
as of 11 January 2002 seating was DSP 129, MHP 127, DYP 84, ANAP 79,
AK 53, Saadet 48, independents 20, vacancies 10

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the
president); Court of Appeals (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 AK [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN];
Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or
MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Saadet Party [Recai KUTAN]; note - KUTAN was head
of the Virtue Party or FP which was banned by Turkey's Constitutional
Court in June 2001; Socialist Democratic Party or TDP [Sema PISKINSUT];
True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Revolutionary
Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; 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 Union of Chambers of Commerce and
Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS]

International organization participation: AsDB, Australia Group,
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, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA,
UNTAET, UPU, 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
2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Robert W. PEARSON embassy: Ataturk Bulvari
PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: 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 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 most years,
but this strong expansion was 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 in 2001 accounted for more than 50% of
central government spending - while inflation has remained in the high
double digit range. 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 Ankara
to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Prospects for
2002 are much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF,
tighter fiscal policy, a major bank restructuring program, and the
enactment of numerous other economic reforms.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $443 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -6.5% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14.5% industry: 28.4% services:
57.1% (2000)

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): 69% (2001)

Labor force: 23.8 million (2001 3rd quarter) note: about 1.2 million
Turks work abroad (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 39.7%, services 37.9%, industry
22.4% (2001 3rd quarter)

Unemployment rate: 10.6% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2001 4th
quarter)

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: -8.9% (2001)

Electricity - production: 119.18 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 74.09% hydro: 25.65%
other: 0.26% (2000) nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption: 114.192 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports: 437 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports: 3.791 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets,
pulse, citrus; livestock

Exports: $33.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Exports - commodities: apparel 24.8%, foodstuffs 12.8%, textiles 12.7%,
metal manufactures 8.8%, transport equipment 8.5% (2000)

Exports - partners: Germany 17.4%, US 10.2%, Italy 7.5%, UK 7.0%,
France 6.1% (2001 est.)

Imports: $39.7 billion (c.i.f., 2001 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery 25.4%, chemicals 13.4%, semi-finished
goods 13.7%, fuels 14.0%, transport equipment 12.4% (2000)

Imports - partners: Germany 13.3%, Italy 8.6%, Russia 8.4%, US 8.1%,
France 5.7%, UK 4.5% (2001 est.)

Debt - external: $118.8 billion (September 2001)

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

Currency: Turkish lira (TRL)

Currency code: TRL

Exchange rates: Turkish liras per US dollar - 1,223,140 (January 2002),
1,223,140 (2001), 625,219 (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: 4 million (2001)

Transportation Turkey

Railways: total: 8,607 km standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131
km electrified) (2001)

Highways: total: 382,059 km paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of
expressways) unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.)

Waterways: 1,200 km (approximately)

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: 553 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,674,099
GRT/9,108,819 DWT ships by type: bulk 138, cargo 239, chemical tanker 45,
combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 2, container 27, liquefied gas 6,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 45, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll
off 27, 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, United Kingdom 11
(2002 est.)

Airports: 120 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 86 over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to
3,047 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 6 (2001) 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 (2001) 914 to 1,523 m: 8

Heliports: 6 (2001)

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 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 19,219,177 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 11,623,675
(2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 674,805
(2002 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 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; Turkey is quick to rebuff any
perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province; border with Armenia remains
closed over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute

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 1 January 2002

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