Turkiye

Internet country code

.tr

Internet hosts

355,215 (2004)

Internet users

5.5 million (2003)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (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: 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)

Telephones - main lines in use

18,916,700 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular

27,887,500 (2003)

Television broadcast stations

635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995)

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $66.79 billion expenditures: $93.31 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)

Currency

Turkish lira (TRL)

Currency code

TRL

Current account balance

$-6.806 billion (2003)

Debt - external

$147.3 billion (2003)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

44 (2002)

Economic aid - recipient

ODA, $300 million (2000)

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.

Electricity - consumption

112.6 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

433 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

4.579 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production

116.6 billion kWh (2001)

Exchange rates

Turkish liras per US dollar - NA (2003), 1,507,230 (2002), 1,225,590 (2001), 625,218 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 151,865 (1997)

Exports

$49.12 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

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)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $458.2 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 11.7% industry: 29.8% services: 58.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

5.8% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)

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)

Industrial production growth rate

8.5% (2003 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

25.3% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

15.5% of GDP (2003)

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)

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 - production

312 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

8.685 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Oil - consumption

619,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports

46,110 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports

616,500 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - production

48,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

288.4 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Population below poverty line

18% (2001)

Public debt

78.7% of GDP (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold

$35.55 billion (2003)

Unemployment rate

10.5% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2003 est.)

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; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: 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; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country

Irrigated land

42,000 sq km (1998 est.)

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

Land use

arable land: 30.93% permanent crops: 3.31% other: 65.76% (2001)

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

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

Natural hazards

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

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

Terrain

high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges

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

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Eric S. EDELMAN embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

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

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, 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

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

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

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

National holiday

Republic Day, 29 October (1923)

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic People's Party or DEHAP [Tuncer BAKIRHAN]; 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

Political pressure groups and leaders

Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Sami EVREN]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Omer BOLAT]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Omer SABANCI]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Salih KILIC]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the People's Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives, but after the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey, mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. 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.

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 expenditures - dollar figure

$12.155 billion (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

5.3% (2003)

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 - military age and obligation

20 years of age (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 680,673 (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.)

Birth rate

17.22 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate

5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Ethnic groups

Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

less than 0.1% - note: no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

Infant mortality rate

total: 42.62 deaths/1,000 live births male: 46.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 38.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.08 years male: 69.68 years female: 74.61 years (2004 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 27.3 years male: 27.1 years female: 27.5 years (2004 est.)

Nationality

noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Population

68,893,918 (July 2004 est.)

Population growth rate

1.13% (2004 est.)

Religions

Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians 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 (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Disputes - international

complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question remains with Greece; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

IDPs: 350,000-1,000,000 (fighting from 1984-1999 between Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs in southeastern provinces) (2004)

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.)

Highways

total: 385,960 km paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of expressways) unpaved: 254,734 km (1999)

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.)

Pipelines

gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2004)

Ports and harbors

Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon

Railways

total: 8,671 km standard gauge: 8,671 km 1.435-m gauge (2,122 km electrified) (2003)

Waterways

1,200 km (2003)