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

Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 780,580 km²
Land: 770,760 km²
Water: 9,820 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 2,627 km
Border countries: (8) 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 Black Sea and in 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: antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore

Land use
Arable land: 32%
Permanent crops: 4%
Permanent pastures: 16%
Forests and woodland: 26%
Other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 36,740 km² (1993 est.)

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

Geography
Note: strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas

Population: 65,599,206 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 1.57% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Turk(s)
Adjective: Turkish

Ethnic groups: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%

Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 30% (male 10,148,457; female 9,781,452)
15-64 years: 64% (male 21,255,506; female 20,560,070)
65 years and over: 6% (male 1,775,164; female 2,078,557) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.57% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 20.92 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 5.27 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 est.)

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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification

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 (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 35.81 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.29 years
Male: 70.81 years
Female: 75.88 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.41 children born/woman (1999 est.)

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

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: 80 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, Igdir, 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, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanli Urfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Note: Karabuk, Kilis, Osmaniye and Yalova are the four newest provinces; the US Board on Geographic Names is awaiting an official Turkish administrative map for verification of the boundaries

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 European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993)
Head of government: Prime Minister Bulent ECEVIT (since 11 January 1999)
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 scheduled to be held NA May 2000); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Suleyman DEMIREL elected president; percent of National Assembly vote_54%

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 24 December 1995 (next to be held 18 April 1999)
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; seating by party as of 1 January 1999:FP 144, ANAP 137, DYP 97, DSP 61, CHP 55, DTP 12, BBP 8, MHP 3, DP 1, DEPAR 1, independents 20, vacant 11

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the president; Court of Appeals, judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors

International organization participation: AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, 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, NATO, NEA, OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Baki ILKIN
In the us chancery: 1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 659-8,200
In the us consulates general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mark R. PARRIS
From the us embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara
From the us mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5,000, APO AE 9,823
From the us telephone: [90] (312) 468-6,110
From the us FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019
From the us consulates general: Istanbul
From the us consulates: 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

Economy overview: Turkey has a dynamic economy that is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with traditional village agriculture and crafts. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. Its most important industry_and largest exporter_is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. The economic situation in recent years has been marked by rapid growth coupled with partial success in implementing structural reform measures. Inflation declined to 70% in 1998, down from 99% in 1997, but the public sector fiscal deficit probably remained near 10% of GDP_due in large part to interest payments which accounted for 42% of central government spending in 1998. The government enacted a new tax law and speeded up privatization in 1998 but made no progress on badly needed social security reform. Ankara is trying to increase trade with other countries in the region yet 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 remains low_about $1 billion annually_perhaps because potential investors are concerned about still-high inflation and the unsettled political situation. Economic growth will remain about the same in 1999; inflation should decline further.

Real gdp growth rate: 2.8% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $6,600 (1998 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 14.4%
Industry: 28.7%
Services: 56.9% (1998)

Agriculture products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock

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

Industrial production growth rate: 4.1% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 22.7 million (April 1998)
Note: about 1.5 million Turks work abroad (1994)
By occupation agriculture: 42.5%
By occupation services: 34.5%
By occupation industry: 23% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 10% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $44.4 billion
Expenditures: $58.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.7 billion (1998)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $31 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Commodities: textiles and apparel 30%, foodstuffs 15%, iron and steel products 13% (1997)
Partners: Germany 20%, US 9%, Russia 5%, UK 6%, Italy 6% (1998)

Imports: $47 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Commodities: machinery and equipment 50%, fuels, minerals, foodstuffs (1997)
Partners: Germany 16%, Italy 9%, US 9%, Russia 6%, UK 6%, France 2% (1997)

Debt external: $93.4 billion (1998)

Exchange rates: Turkish liras (TL) per US$1_331,400 (January 1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997), 81,405 (1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994)

Electricity
Production: 103 billion kWh (1997)
Production by source fossil fuel: 62.4%
Production by source hydro: 37.1%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0.5% (1997)
Consumption: 91.16 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 300 million kWh (1996)
Imports: 265 million kWh (1996)

Telephones: 17 million (in addition, there are 1.5 million cellular telephone subscribers) (1997 est.)

Telephone system: fair domestic and international systems; undergoing modernization and refurbishment programs
Domestic: cable; AMPS standard cellular system in Ashkhabad with plans for expansion
International: 12 satellite earth stations_Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), Eutelsat, and Inmarsat (Indian and Atlantic Ocean regions); 3 submarine fiber-optic cables (1996); connected internationally by the Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber-Optic Line that became operational in 1998

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $6.737 billion (1997)
Percent of gdp: 4.3% (1997)

Airports: 117 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 81
With paved runways over 3047 m: 16
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 25
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 19
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 16
With paved runways under 914 m: 5 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 36
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 26 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1998 est.)

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

Railways
Total: 10,386 km
Standard gauge: 10,386 km 1.435-m gauge (1,088 km electrified)

Waterways: about 1,200 km

Merchant marine
Total: 531 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,913,171 GRT/9,832,994 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 239, chemical tanker 32, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 6, container 12, liquefied gas tanker 5, oil tanker 36, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 21, short-sea passenger 9, specialized tanker 3 (1998 est.)

Disputes international: complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Greece; dispute with downstream riparian states (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_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