Statistical information Turkey 1989
Turkey in the World
top of pageBackground: the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace
top of pageLocationGeographic coordinatesMap referenceAreaLand boundaries:
2,715 km total
Bulgaria 240 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km, USSR 617 km
Coastline: 7,200 km
Maritime claimsExtended economic zone: 200 nm in Black Sea only
Territorial sea: 6 nm (12 nm in Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; central plateau (Anatolia)
ElevationNatural resources: antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulphur, iron ore
Land use: 30% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures; 26% forest and woodland; 28% other; includes 3% irrigated
Irrigated landMajor riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographyNote: strategic location controlling the Turkish straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Turkey and Norway only NATO members having a land boundary with the USSR
top of pagePopulation: 55,355,831 (July 1989), growth rate 2.1% (1989)
Nationality: noun - Turk(s; adjective - Turkish
Ethnic groups: 85% Turkish, 12% Kurd, 3% other
Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic
Religions: 98% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 2% other (mostly Christian and Jewish)
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rateBirth rate: 30 births/1000 population (1989)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1989)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: subject to severe earthquakes, especially along major river valleys in west; air pollution; desertification
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 80 deaths/1000 live births (1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 63 years male, 66 years female (1989)
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1989)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: 70%
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry name: conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
Government type: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ankara
Administrative divisions: 67 provinces (iller, singular - il; Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahraman Maras, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Siirt, Sinop, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Urfa, Usak, Van, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Dependent areasIndependence: 29 October 1923 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)
Constitution: 7 November 1982
Legal system: derived from various continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: universal over age 19
Executive branchLegislative branch: Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie
Judicial branchPolitical parties and leadersInternational organization participation: ASSIMER, CCC, Council of Europe, EC (associate member), ECOSOC, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB - Islamic Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITC, ITU, NATO, OECD, OIC, Economic Cooperation Organization, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representationIn the us: Ambassador Sukru ELEKDAG; Chancery at 1606 23rd Street NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 387-3,200; there are Turkish Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York; US - Ambassador Robert STRAUSZ-HUPE; Embassy at 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara (mailing address is APO New York 9,254 - 0001; telephone Õ90å (4) 126 54 70; there are US Consulates General in Istanbul and Izmir, and a Consulate in Adana
Flag description: red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered on the hoist side
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: The economic reforms that Turkey launched in 1980 continue to bring an impressive stream of benefits. The economy has grown steadily since the early 1980s, with real growth in per capita GDP increasing more than 6% annually. Agriculture remains the most important economic sector, employing about 60% of the labor force, accounting for almost 20% of GDP, and contributing about 25% to exports. Impressive growth in recent years has not solved all of the economic problems facing Turkey. Inflation and interest rates remain high, and a large budget deficit will continue to provide difficulties for a country undergoing a substantial transformation from a centrally controlled to a free market economy. The government has launched a multimillion-dollar development program in the southeastern region, which includes the building of a dozen dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to generate electric power and irrigate large tracts of farmland. The planned tapping of huge quantities of Euphrates water has raised serious concern in the downstream riparian nations of Syria and Iraq.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rateReal gdp per capita pppGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: cotton, tobacco, cereals, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, livestock products; self-sufficient in food in most years; a legal producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade
Industries: textiles, food processing, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron minerals), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Industrial production growth rate: 10% (1986)
Labor force:
18,800,000; 56% agriculture, 30%
services, 14%
industry; about 1,000,000 Turks work abroad (1987)
Unemployment rate: 15.3% (1987)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues $10.16 billion; expenditures $12.01 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.17 billion (FY86)
Public debtTaxes and other revenuesRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Current account balanceInflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $10.2 billion (f.o.b., 1987)
Commodities: industrial products 70%, crops and livestock products 25%
Partners: FRG 19.4%, US 10.6%, Italy 7.8%, Iran 7.6%, Iraq 7.4%, Japan
Imports: $13.3 billion (c.i.f., 1987)
Commodities: crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, metals, pharmaceuticals, dyes, plastics, rubber, mineral fuels, fertilizers, chemicals
Partners: FRG 15.9%, US 10.6%, Italy 7.8%, Iraq 6.9%, Japan 6.2%
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $40.3 billion (1988)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 1,796.8 (December 1988), 1,422.3 (1988), 857.2 (1987), 674.5 (1986), 522.0 (1985)
top of pageElectricity accessElectricity productionElectricity consumptionElectricity exportsElectricity importsElectricity installed generating capacityElectricity transmission distribution lossesElectricity generation sourcesPetroleumRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephones fixed linesTelephones mobile cellularTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternet country codeInternet usersBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: $3.10 billion, 18.2% of central government budget (1988 est.)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 121 total, 114 usable; 68 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 27 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Airports with paved runwaysAirports with unpaved runwaysHeliportsPipelines: 1,738 km crude oil; 2,321 km refined products; 708 km natural gas
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: about 1,200 km
Merchant marine: 338 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,902,804 GRT/4,903,531 DWT; includes 7 short-sea passenger, 1 passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 205 cargo, 1 container, 5 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 refrigerated cargo, 1 livestock carrier, 37 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 17 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 4 combination ore/oil, 52 bulk, 4 combination bulk
Ports and terminalsTurkey - Transnational issues 1989
top of pageDisputes international: complex maritime and air (but not territorial) disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question; Hatay question with Syria; ongoing dispute with downstream riparians (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs