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 Kurdistan People's Congress or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has 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 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; it began accession membership talks with the European Union in 2005.

Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N 35 00 E

Area
Rank: 37
Comparative: slightly larger than Texas

Coastline: 7,200 km

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

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

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

Irrigated land: 52,150 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 234 km³ (2003)

Natural hazards: 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; Mount Ararat the legendary landing place of Noah's ark is in the far eastern portion of the country

Population: 79,749,461 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 17
Growth rate: 1.197% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 98
Below poverty line: 16.9% (2010)

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)

Population growth rate: 1.197% (2012 est.)
Rank: 98

Birth rate: 17.58 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 107

Death rate: 6.1 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 160

Net migration rate: 0.5 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 63

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

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 83

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 125

Total fertility rate: 2.13 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 110

Physicians density: 1.451 physicians/1000 population (2008)

Hospital bed density: 2.41 beds/1000 population (2008)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 159
People living with hivaids: 4,600 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 120
Deaths: fewer than 200 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 102

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 16.1% (2007)
Rank: 30

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3.5% (2004)
Rank: 99

Education expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 136

Government type: republican parliamentary democracy

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

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

National holiday: Republic Day 29 October (1923)

Constitution: 7 November 1982; amended several times; note - amendment passed by referendum 21 October 2007 concerning presidential elections

Legal system: civil law system based on various European legal systems notably the Swiss civil code; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

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

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Left Party or DSP [Masum TURKER]; Democratic Party or DP [Namik Kemal ZEYBEK]; Equality and Democracy Party or EDP [Ziva HALIS]; Felicity Party or SP [Mustafa KAMALAK] (sometimes translated as Contentment Party); Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP [Alper TAS]; Grand Unity Party or BBP [Yalcin TOPCU]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Movement Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Peace and Democracy Party or BDP [Selahattin DEMIRTAS]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Kemal KILICDAROGLU]; Turkey Party or TP [Abdullatif SENER]

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) Australia Group BIS BSEC CD CE CERN (observer) CICA 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 Paris Club (associate) PCA SELEC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

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 Ottoman Empire which preceded modern-day Turkey; the crescent moon and star serve as insignia for the Turks as well as being traditional symbols of Islam; according to 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

Economy overview: Turkey's largely free-market economy is increasingly driven by its industry and service sectors although its traditional agriculture sector still accounts for about 25% of employment. An aggressive privatization program has reduced state involvement in basic industry banking transport and communication and an emerging cadre of middle-class entrepreneurs is adding dynamism to the economy and expanding production beyond the traditional textiles and clothing sectors. The automotive construction and electronics industries are rising in importance and have surpassed textiles within Turkey's export mix. Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006 marking a major milestone that will bring up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian to market. Several gas pipelines projects also are moving forward to help transport Central Asian gas to Europe through Turkey which over the long term will help address Turkey's dependence on imported oil and gas to meet 97% of its energy needs. After Turkey experienced a severe financial crisis in 2001 Ankara adopted financial and fiscal reforms as part of an IMF program. The reforms strengthened the country's economic fundamentals and ushered in an era of strong growth - averaging more than 6% annually until 2008. Global economic conditions and tighter fiscal policy caused GDP to contract in 2009 but Turkey's well-regulated financial markets and banking system helped the country weather the global financial crisis and GDP rebounded strongly to 9.2% in 2010 as exports returned to normal levels following the recession. Growth dropped to approximately 3% in 2012. Turkey's public sector debt to GDP ratio has fallen to about 40%. Continued strong growth has pushed inflation to the 9% level however. Turkey remains dependent on often volatile short-term investment to finance its large trade deficit. The stock value of FDI stood at $117 billion at year-end 2012. Inflows have slowed because of continuing economic turmoil in Europe the source of much of Turkey's FDI. Further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost Turkey's attractiveness to foreign investors. However Turkey's relatively high current account deficit uncertainty related to monetary policy-making and political turmoil within Turkey's neighborhood leave the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 17

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 109

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 87

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

Industrial production growth rate: 9.2% (2011 est.)
Rank: 16

Labor force: 27.11 million
Rank: 23

Unemployment rate: 9.8% (2011 est.)
Rank: 103

Population below poverty line: 16.9% (2010)

Distribution of family income gini index: 43.6 (2003)
Rank: 58

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -2.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 91

Taxes and other revenues: 23% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 138

Public debt: 40% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 87

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 192

Central bank discount rate: 15% (22 December 2009)
Rank: 10

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 17% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 30

Stock of narrow money: $71.95 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 39

Stock of broad money: $346.2 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 28

Stock of domestic credit: $456.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 26

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 28

Current account balance: -$77.24 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 189

Exports: $143.4 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 32
Commodities: apparel foodstuffs textiles metal manufactures transport equipment
Partners: Germany 10.3% Iraq 6.2% UK 6% Italy 5.8% France 5% Russia 4.4% (2011)

Imports: $232.9 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 23
Commodities: machinery chemicals semi-finished goods fuels transport equipment
Partners: Russia 9.9% Germany 9.5% China 9% US 6.7% Italy 5.6% Iran 5.2% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $88.21 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 24

Debt external: $306.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 28

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $102.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 35

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $19.35 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 44

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 201.2 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 22
Consumption: 155.2 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 22
Exports: 1.918 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 45
Imports: 1.144 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 58
Installed generating capacity: 44.76 million kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 20
Generation sources fossil fuels: 65.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 127
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 190
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 32.5% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 67
Generation sources other renewable sources: 2.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 56

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 45,740 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 61
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 194
Crude oil imports: 284,400 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 27
Crude oil proven reserves: 270.4 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 58

Refined petroleum
Products production: 343,400 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products production rank: 40
Products consumption: 706,100 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 28
Products exports: 68,450 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products exports rank: 51
Products imports: 297,400 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products imports rank: 23

Natural gas
Production: 761 million m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 68
Consumption: 44.71 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 22
Exports: 713 million m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 41
Imports: 43.9 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 10
Proven reserves: 6.173 billion m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 87

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 263.5 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 25

Telephones
Main lines in use: 15.211 million (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 18
Mobile cellular: 65.322 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 19

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
Hosts: 7.093 million (2012)
Hosts rank: 16
Users: 27.233 million (2009)
Users rank: 15

Military expenditures: 5.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 15

Military service age and obligation: 19-41 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary service; 15 months conscript obligation for non-university graduates 6-12 months for university graduates; Turkey is trying to reduce dependency on conscription as of 2004 75% of soldiers were conscripts; women serve in the Turkish Armed Forces only as officers; reserve obligation to age 41; under a law passed in November 2011 men aged 30 and older who have worked 3 years in foreign countries may pay $16,200 in lieu of mandatory military service (2010)

Airports: 98 (2012)
Rank: 59

Heliports: 20 (2012)

Pipelines: gas 10,706 km; oil 3,636 km (2010)

Railways
Rank: 23

Roadways
Rank: 19

Waterways: 1200 km (2010)
Rank: 59

Merchant marine
Rank: 18

Ports and terminals: Aliaga Ambarli Diliskelesi Eregli Izmir Izmit (Kocaeli) Mercin (Icel) Limani Yarimca

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;

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