Turkiye

Radio broadcast stations

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

Radios

9.4 million (1992 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)

Telephones

14.3 million (1995 est.)

Television broadcast stations

15 national, 15 regional, 229 local

Televisions

10.53 million (1993 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $32.9 billion expenditures: $50.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.8 billion (1996)

Currency

Turkish lira (TL)

Debt - external

$75.8 billion (1996)

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $195 million (1993) note: aid for Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991), $4.1 billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund, $2.5 billion

Economy - overview

Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with traditional village agriculture and crafts. The economy has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The current economic situation is marked by strong growth coupled with worsening imbalances. Real GDP expanded by about 7% in 1996 but inflation rose to 80%, the current account deficit reached about 3% of GDP, and the public sector fiscal deficit probably topped 10% of GDP, leading to speculation that the country could be headed toward a repeat of its 1994 financial crisis. To some extent, Ankara is caught in a vicious circle because half of all central government revenue in 1996 went to pay interest on the national debt. The government that took office in July 1996 - an unusual coalition of Prime Minister ERBAKAN's Islamic Welfare Party and Deputy Prime Minister CILLER's conservative True Path Party - is trying to solve the fiscal problem by greatly accelerating Turkey's privatization program. It has proposed a balanced budget for 1997, although this is widely regarded as over optimistic because it is based on earning more privatization revenue in one year than Turkey has earned over the last decade. 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 a customs union with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country totaled only about half a billion dollars, perhaps because potential investors were concerned about the prospects for economic stability.

Electricity - capacity

20.86 million kW (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita

1,206 kWh (1995 est.)

Electricity - production

86.3 billion kWh (1995)

Exchange rates

Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 110,119 (January 1997), 81,405 (1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992)

Exports

total value : $22 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: textiles and apparel 40%, steel products 9%, foodstuffs 20% (1995) partners: Germany 23%, Russia 6%, US 7%, Italy 7% (1995)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $379.1 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture : 15% industry: 33% services: 52% (1995)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $6,100 (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

7% (1996 est.)

Imports

total value: $42 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities : machinery 23%, fuels 13%, raw materials 11%, foodstuffs 7% (1995) partners: Germany 16%, US 10%, Italy 9%, France 6%, UK 5% (1995)

Industrial production growth rate

6.5% (1996)

Industries

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

Inflation rate - consumer price index

80% (1996)

Labor force

total: 21.3 million by occupation: agriculture 47%, services 33%, industry 20% (1995) note: about 1.5 million Turks work abroad (1994)

Unemployment rate

6.3% (April 1996); another 6.3% officially considered underemployed

Area

total: 780,580 sq km land: 770,760 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

lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m

Environment - current issues

water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Desertification, 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

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

Land use

arable land: 32% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 16% forests and woodland : 26% other: 22% (1993 est.)

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

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 the Black Sea and in the 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

Terrain

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

Administrative divisions

79 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, Iggdir, 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, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanli Urfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak note: Karabuk, Kilis, and Yalova are three new Turkish provinces mentioned in the 24 December 1995 election results; the Turkish press has mentioned another province called Osmaniye

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 Marc GROSSMAN embassy : 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Nuzhet KANDEMIR chancery : 1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 659-8200 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

Executive branch

chief of state: President Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993) head of government : Prime Minister Necmettin ERBAKAN (since 8 July 1996) and Deputy Prime Minister Tansu CILLER (since 8 July 1996) 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 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%

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

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), 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, NACC, NATO, NEA, OECD, OIC, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, 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 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 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; current seats by party are as follows: RP 160, DYP 120, ANAP 127, DSP 68, CHP 49, BBP 7, DTP 7, independents 10, vacant 2

National capital

Ankara

National holiday

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

Political parties and leaders

True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Welfare Party or RP [Necmettin ERBAKAN]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Tugrul TURKES]; New Party or YP [Yusuf Bozkurt OZAL]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Workers' Party or IP [Dogu PERINCEK]; Nation Party or MP [Aykut EDIBALI]; Democrat Party or DP [Murat UZMAN]; 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 [Abdullah Levent TUZER]; 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]; Democrat Turkey Party or DTP [Husamettin CINDORUK]

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]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Military branches

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

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)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 17,352,876 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males: 10,553,157 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - military age

20 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 649,336 (1997 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 31% (male 10,180,631; female 9,820,505) 15-64 years: 63% (male 20,326,169; female 19,648,647) 65 years and over : 6% (male 1,638,048; female 1,914,225) (July 1997 est.)

Birth rate

21.83 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate

5.43 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Ethnic groups

Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%

Infant mortality rate

40.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Languages

Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.37 years male : 69.95 years female: 74.91 years (1997 est.)

Literacy

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

Nationality

noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Population

63,528,225 (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate

1.64% (1997 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: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.52 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Disputes - international

complex maritime, air and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Greece; Hatay question with Syria; dispute with downstream riparians (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 TURKMENISTAN

Airports

104 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 94 over 3,047 m : 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 20 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 28 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total : 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 8 (1996 est.)

Heliports

2 (1996 est.)

Highways

total: 381,300 km paved : 87,699 km (including 1,246 km of expressways) unpaved: 293,601 km (1995 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 515 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,986,328 GRT/10,157,071 DWT ships by type: bulk 155, cargo 232, chemical tanker 24, combination bulk 7, combination ore/oil 11, container 6, liquefied gas tanker 4, livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 43, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 20, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 2 note: Turkey owns an additional 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 163,512 DWT operating under the registries of The Bahamas, Malta, and Panama (1996 est.)

Pipelines

crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km

Ports and harbors

Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Mersin, Samsun, Trabzon

Railways

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

Waterways

about 1,200 km