Map of Turkey | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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Background: the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace


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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

Map reference

Area
Total: 780,580 km²
Land: 770,760 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries: Total 2,627 km, 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
Extremes highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 30%
Permanent crops: 4%
Permanent pastures: 12%
Forests and woodland: 26%
Other: 28%

Irrigated land: 22,200 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population:
Growth rate:

Nationality
Noun: Turk(s)
Adjective: Turkish

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic

Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and Jews)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years:
15-64 years:
65 years and over:

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation
Current issues Natural hazards: very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van
International agreements: party to_Air Pollution, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified_Biodiversity, Desertification, Environmental Modification
International agreements note: Strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
All ages:

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 71.92 years (1996 est.); 71.48 years (1995 est.)
Male: 69.53 years 91,996 est); 69.11 years (1995 est.)
Female: 74.43 years (1996 est.); 73.96 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)
Total population: 82.3%
Male: 91.7%
Female: 72.4%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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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

Government type: Republican parliamentary democracy

Capital: Ankara

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

Dependent areas

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 continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 21 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 March 1996) and Deputy Prime Minister Nahit MENTESE (since 12 March 1996) were appointed by the president National Security Council:Advisory body to the President and the Cabinet
Cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on nomination of the prime minister

Legislative branch: Unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey:(Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi) elections last held 24 December 1995 (next to be held by December 2000); results_RP 21.38%, DYP 19.18%, ANAP 19.65%, DSP 14.64%, CHP 10.71%, independent 0.48%; seats_550 total) 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 158, DYP 135, ANAP 126, DSP 75, CHP 49, BBP 7

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

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

Diplomatic representation

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: The Turkish economy consists of a mixture, on the one hand, of modern industry and commerce, and, on the other hand, of time-honored village agriculture and crafts. Since World War II, it has become increasingly integrated into the West European economic arena, for example, as a member of OECD. The economy has improved significantly since the 1994 crisis, when the economy experienced a sharp drop and inflation hit triple digits. The crisis_sparked by the downgrading in January 1994 of Turkey's international credit rating by two US rating agencies_stemmed from years of loose monetary and fiscal policies that had exacerbated inflation and allowed the public debt, money supply, and current account deficit to explode. In April 1994, then Prime Minister CILLER introduced a stabilization package that paved the way for a $950 million IMF standby loan. However, because the government missed key macroeconomic targets in 1995 and the December national election produced months of political wrangling, the IMF put the agreement_and release of remaining funds_on hold. The new center-right minority government that finally has emerged will find it difficult to balance the need for new austerity measures and tough structural reforms with the pressure for continued buoyant growth. Ankara is also likely to face internal opposition to policies it must implement as part of the Turkey-EU customs union agreement_which came into force on 1 January 1996_because many industries are unfit for EU competition and much-needed revenues will decline with the elimination of import tariffs and surcharges. Meanwhile, Ankara's heavy debt repayment schedule in 1996 makes it necessary for Turkish leaders to bolster the confidence of both domestic and foreign investors.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: Accounts for 15.5% of GDP; products_tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus fruit, variety of animal products; self-sufficient in food most years

Industries:

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate 8.8% (1995; 6.7% (1993; accounts for 33.2% of GDP

Labor force: 20.9 million
By occupation Agriculture: 46%
By occupation Services: 31%
By occupation Industry: 23%
By occupation note: About 1.5 million Turks work abroad (1994)

Unemployment rate: 12.6% (1994)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $30.2 billion
Expenditures: $35 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.8 billion (1995)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: Calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports:
Commodities:
Partners:

Imports
Total value:
Commodities:
Partners:

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Turkish liras (TL) per US$1_60,502.1 (January 1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991), 2,608.6 (1990)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 71 billion kWh

Electricity consumption
Per capita: 1,079 kWh (1993)

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system: 6.89 million telephones (1990 est.); fair domestic and international systems
Local: NA
Intercity: trunk radio relay microwave network; limited open wire network
International: satellite earth stations_2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Atlantic Ocean regions); 1 submarine cable

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $6.0 billion, 4% of GDP (1995; $6.9 billion, 4.1% of GDP (1993; note_figures do not include about $7 billion for the government's counterinsurgency efforts against the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 104
With paved runways over 3047 m: 17
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 19
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 8 (1995 est.)
With paved runways under 914 m: 28

Airports with paved runways
Over 3047 m: 17
2438 to 3047 m: 19
15-24 to 2437 m: 2
914 to 1523 m: 8 (1995 est.)
Under 914 m: 28

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)

Pipelines: Crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: About 1,200 km

Merchant marine
Total: 465 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,509,741 GRT/9,494,434 DWT
Ships by type:

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: Major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe and the U.S. 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