Map of Turkey | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 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 Kurdistan People's Congress or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999 the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2013 the PKK and the Turkish Government agreed to a cease-fire that continues despite slow progress in ongoing peace talks. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1963 Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; it began accession membership talks with the EU in 2005. Over the past decade economic reforms have contributed to a quickly growing economy.


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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 reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 783,562 km²
Land: 769,632 km²
Water: 13,930 km²
Rank: 37
Comparative: slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 2,816 km
Border countries: (8) Armenia 311 km; Azerbaijan 17 km; Bulgaria 223 km; Georgia 273 km; Greece 192 km; Iran 534 km; Iraq 367 km; Syria 899 km

Coastline: 7,200 km

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

Climate: temperate; hot dry summers with mild wet winters; harsher in interior

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

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

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 49.7%
Forest: 14.9%
Other: 35.4%

Irrigated land: 53,400 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 211.6 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: severe earthquakes especially in northern Turkey along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van
Volcanism: limited volcanic activity; its three historically active volcanoes; Ararat Nemrut Dagi and Tendurek Dagi have not erupted since the 19th century or earlier

Geography
Note: strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus Sea of Marmara Dardanelles) that link the Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat the legendary landing place of Noah's ark is in the far eastern portion of the country


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Population: 79,414,269 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 17
Growth rate: 1.26% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 108
Below poverty line: 16.9% (2010 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Turk
Adjective: Turkish

Ethnic groups: Turkish 70-75% Kurdish 18% other minorities 7-12% (2008 est.)

Languages: Turkish (official) Kurdish other minority languages

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

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 25.45%
15-24 years: 16.25%
25-54 years: 43.07%
55-64 years: 8.15%
65 years and over: 7.09% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 49.7%
Youth dependency ratio: 38.4%
Elderly dependency ratio: 11.3%
Potential support ratio: 8.9%

Median age
Total: 29.6 years
Male: 29.2 years
Female: 30 years

Population growth rate: 1.26% (2015 est.)
Rank: 108

Birth rate: 16.33 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 114

Death rate: 5.88 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 162

Net migration rate: 2.16 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 71

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 73.4% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.97% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: Istanbul 14.164 million; ANKARA (capital) 4.75 million; Izmir 3.04 million; Bursa 1.923 million; Adana 1.83 million; Gaziantep 1.528 million (2015)

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
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male/female
Total population: 1.01 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 18.87 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 20.13 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 17.55 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 84

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.57 years
Male: 72.26 years
Female: 77 years
Rank: 126

Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 113

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 73% (2008)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.71 physicians/1000 population (2011)

Hospital bed density: 2.5 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 29.4% (2014)
Rank: 36

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 1.9% (2014)
Rank: 123

Education expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 142

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 95%
Male: 98.4%
Female: 91.8%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 14 years

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
Name: Ankara
Geographic coordinates: 39 56 N 32 52 E
Time difference: UTC+2
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 81 provinces (iller singular - ili); 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 (Smyrna) 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 (Trebizond) Tunceli Usak Van Yalova Yozgat Zonguldak

Dependent areas

Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Republic Day 29 October (1923)

Constitution: several previous; latest ratified 9 November 1982; amended 2001 2007 2010 (2010)

Legal system: civil law system based on various European legal systems notably the Swiss civil code

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN
Head of government: Prime Minister Ahmet DAVUTOGLU ; Deputy Prime Ministers Yalcin AKDOGAN Bulent ARINC Ali BABACAN (all since 29 August 2014)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term ; prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament; note - a 2007 constitutional amendment changed the presidential electoral process to direct popular vote; prime minister appointed by the president from among members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Election results: Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN elected president; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN 51.8% Ekmeleddin IHSANOGLU (independent) 38.4% Selahattin DEMIRTAS (HDP) 9.8%

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi
Elections: last held on 7 June 2015
Election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 40.9% CHP 25.1% MHP 16.4% HDP 13.1% other 4.5%; seats by party - AKP 256 CHP 132 MHP 80 HDP 82; note - only parties surpassing the 10% threshold can win parliamentary seats

Judicial branch
Highest court: Constitutional Court or Anayasa Mahkemesi ; Supreme Court of Appeals (consists of about 390 judges and organized into 15 divisions with 23 civil and 15 criminal chambers); Council of State (organized into 15 divisions - 14 judicial and 1 consultative – each with a division head and at least 5 members)
Judge selection and term of office: Constitutional Court members - 3 appointed by the Grand National Assembly and 14 by the president of the republic from among candidates nominated by the plenary assemblies of the high courts the Higher Education Council and from among senior government administrators lawyers judges and prosecutors and Constitutional Court rapporteurs; court president and 2 deputy presidents appointed from among its members for 4-year terms; judges appointed for 12-year non-renewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65; Supreme Court of Appeals judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (SCJP) an independent body of judicial officials; judges appointed until retirement at age 65; Council of State members appointed by the SCJP and by the president of the republic; members appointed for renewable 4-year terms
Subordinate courts: basic courts military courts specialized courts including administrative and audit

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) Australia Group BIS BSEC CBSS (observer) CD CE CERN (observer) CICA CPLP (associate observer) D-8 EAPC EBRD ECO EU (candidate country) FAO FATF G-20 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICRM IDA IDB IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OIC OPCW OSCE Pacific Alliance (observer) Paris Club (associate) PCA PIF (partner) SCO (dialogue member) SELEC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Serdar KILIC
In the us chancery: 2,525 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 612-6,700
In the us FAX: [1] 612-6,744
In the us consulate general: Boston Chicago Houston Los Angeles New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John R. BASS
From the us embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard Kavaklidere 6,100 Ankara
From the us mailing address: PSC 93 Box 5,000 APO AE 9,823
From the us telephone: [90] 455-5,555
From the us FAX: [90] 467-0019
From the us consulate general: Istanbul
From the us consulate: Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir

Flag description: red with a vertical white crescent moon (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening; the flag colors and designs closely resemble those on the banner of the Ottoman Empire which preceded modern-day Turkey; the crescent moon and star serve as insignia for Turkic peoples (the crescent represents the mythical moon god Ay Ata and the star the sun goddess Gun Ana); according to one legend the flag represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors

National symbols: star and crescent; national colors: red white

National anthem
Name: 'Istiklal Marsi'
Lyrics and music: Mehmet Akif ERSOY/Zeki UNGOR
Note: lyrics adopted 1921 music adopted 1932; the anthem's original music was adopted in 1924; a new composition was agreed upon in 1932

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 18

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 110

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 84

Gross national saving:
Rank: 121

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 71.4%
Government consumption: 15.7%
Investment in fixed capital: 19.7%
Investment in inventories: 0%
Exports of goods and services: 27.7%
Imports of goods and services: -34.6%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8.2%
Industry: 26.9%
Services: 64.9%

Agriculture products: tobacco cotton grain olives sugar beets hazelnuts pulses citrus; livestock

Industries: textiles food processing automobiles electronics mining (coal chromate copper boron) steel petroleum construction lumber paper

Industrial production growth rate: 2.8% (2014 est.)
Rank: 107

Labor force: 27.56 million
Note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad
Rank: 24
By occupation agriculture: 25.5%
By occupation industry: 26.2%
By occupation services: 48.4%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 106

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 16.9% (2010 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.1%
Highest 10: 30.3%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 57

Budget
Revenues: $189.9 billion
Expenditures: $209.7 billion
Surplus or deficit: -2.4% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 94

Taxes and other revenues: 23.3% of GDP (2014 est.)
Rank: 133

Public debt:
Note: data cover central government debt and excludes debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds such as for retirement medical care and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions
Rank: 108

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 209

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 72

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 54

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 35

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 25

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 22

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 29

Current account balance:
Rank: 189

Exports:
Rank: 30
Commodities: apparel foodstuffs textiles metal manufactures transport equipment
Partners: Germany 9% Iraq 7.6% UK 5.7% Russia 4.6% Italy 4.5% France 4.2% (2013)

Imports:
Rank: 24
Commodities: machinery chemicals semi-finished goods fuels transport equipment
Partners: Russia 10% China 9.8% Germany 9.6% Italy 5.1% US 5% Iran 4.1% (2013)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 21

Debt external:
Rank: 29

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 26

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 42

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 228.1 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 20
Consumption: 187.1 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 20
Exports: 1.236 billion kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 54
Imports: 7.425 billion kWh (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 34
Installed generating capacity: 53.86 million kW (2011 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 18
Generation sources fossil fuels: 62.8% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 128
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 192
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 31.8% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 71
Generation sources other renewable sources: 5.4% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 54

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 47,340 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 60
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 193
Crude oil imports: 390,300 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 22
Crude oil proven reserves: 294.8 million bbl (1 January 2014 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 56

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 486,100 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products production rank: 33
Products consumption: 728,400 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 28
Products exports: 107,800 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products exports rank: 42
Products imports: 423,500 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 15

Natural gas
Production: 537 million m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 68
Consumption: 45.64 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 22
Exports: 654 million m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 40
Imports: 45.27 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 9
Proven reserves: 6.824 billion m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 84

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 296.9 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 22

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 12.53 million
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16
Fixed lines rank: 19
Mobile cellular total: 71.9 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 92
Mobile cellular rank: 21

Telephone system
General assessment: comprehensive telecommunications network undergoing rapid modernization and expansion especially in mobile-cellular services
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; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons
International: country code - 90; international service is provided by the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with Italy Greece Israel Bulgaria Romania and Russia; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat; mobile satellite terminals - 328 in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems

Broadcast media: Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) operates multiple TV and radio networks and stations; multiple privately owned national television stations and up to 300 private regional and local television stations; multi-channel cable TV subscriptions available; more than 1000 private radio broadcast stations (2009)

Internet
Country code: .tr
Users total: 36.6 million
Users percent of population: 46.6%
Users rank: 19

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 35

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 21-41 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary service; 12 months conscript obligation for non-university graduates 6-12 months for university graduates (graduates of higher education may perform 6 months of military service as short-term privates or 12 months as reserve officers); conscripts are called to register at age 20 for service at 21; women serve in the Turkish Armed Forces only as officers; reserve obligation to age 41; Turkish citizens with a residence or work permit who have worked abroad for at least 3 years (1095 days) can be exempt from military service in exchange for 6,000 EUR or its equivalent in foreign currencies; a law passed in December 2014 introduced a one-time payment scheme which exempted Turkish citizens 27 and older from conscription in exchange for a payment of $8,150 (2013)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 98 (2013)
Rank: 58
With paved runways total: 91
With paved runways over 3047 m: 16
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 38
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 17
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 16
With paved runways under 914 m: 4
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways: 2 (2013)

Heliports: 20 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 12,603 km; oil 3,038 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 12,008 km
Standard gauge: 12,008 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)
Rank: 20

Roadways
Total: 385,754 km
Paved: 352,268 km
Unpaved: 33,486 km
Rank: 18

Waterways: 1200 km (2010)
Rank: 59

Merchant marine
Total: 629
By type: bulk carrier 102 cargo 281 chemical tanker 80 container 42 liquefied gas 6 passenger 2 passenger/cargo 60 petroleum tanker 25 refrigerated cargo 1 roll on/roll off 29 specialized tanker 1
Foreign owned: 1
Registered in other countries: 645 (2010)
Rank: 18

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Aliaga Ambarli Diliskelesi Eregli Izmir Kocaeli Mersin (Icel) Limani Yarimca
Container port: Ambarli (2,121,549) Mersin (Icel) (1,126,866)
LNG terminal: Izmir Aliaga Marmara Ereglisi


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Disputes international: complex maritime air and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq; in 2009 Swiss mediators facilitated an accord reestablishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey but neither side has ratified the agreement and the rapprochement effort has faltered; Turkish authorities have complained that blasting from quarries in Armenia might be damaging the medieval ruins of Ani on the other side of the Arpacay valley

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: at least 103,000 (Iraq) (2014); 1,938,999 (Syria) (2015)
IDPs: 954,000-1.2 million (2014)
Stateless persons: 780

Illicit drugs: key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and to a lesser extent the US - via air land and sea routes; major Turkish and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin exist in remote regions of Turkey and near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and over output of poppy straw concentrate; lax enforcement of money-laundering controls