Turkey

Geography

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

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total area: 780,580 sq km
land area: 770,760 sq km
comparative area: 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

International disputes: complex maritime, air and 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

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

Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)

Natural resources: antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulphur, iron ore

Land use:
arable land: 30%
permanent crops: 4%
meadows and pastures: 12%
forest and woodland: 26%
other: 28%

Irrigated land: 22,200 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation
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; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification, Environmental Modification

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

People

Population: 63,405,526 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (female 10,815,288; male 11,203,723)
15-64 years: 60% (female 18,723,772; male 19,391,037)
65 years and over: 5% (female 1,764,363; male 1,507,343) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.97% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 25.33 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 5.64 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 45.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.48 years
male: 69.11 years
female: 73.96 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.12 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish

Ethnic divisions: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%

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

Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population: 79%
male: 90%
female: 68%

Labor force: 20.4 million
by occupation: agriculture 44%, services 41%, industry 15%
note: between 1.5 million and 1.8 million Turks work abroad (1994)

Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey
local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkiye

Digraph: TU

Type: republican parliamentary democracy

Capital: Ankara

Administrative divisions: 73 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, 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, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahraman Maras, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, 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, Yozgat, Zonguldak

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

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Tansu CILLER (since 5 July 1993); Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet CETIN (since 27 March 1995)
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 20 October 1991 (next to be held NA October 1996); results - DYP 27.03%, ANAP 24.01%, SHP 20.75%, RP 16.88%, DSP 10.75%, SBP 0.44%, independent 0.14%; seats - (450 total) DYP 178, ANAP 115, SHP 86, RP 40, MCP 19, DSP 7, other 5
note: seats held by various parties are subject to change due to defections, creation of new parties, and ouster or death of sitting deputies; present seats by party are as follows: DYP 183, ANAP 97, RP 38, CHP 65, MHP 17, BBP 7, DSP 10, YP 3, MP 2, independents 6, vacant 22

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

Political parties and leaders: True Path Party (DYP), Tansu CILLER; Motherland Party (ANAP), Mesut YILMAZ; Welfare Party (RP), Necmettin ERBAKAN; Democratic Left Party (DSP), Bulent ECEVIT; Nationalist Action Party (MHP - members also regroup under the name of National Labor Party or MCP), Alparslan TURKES; Socialist Unity Party (SBP), Sadun AREN; New Party (YP), Yusuf Bozkurt OZAL; Republican People's Party (CHP), Hikmet CETIN; note - Social Democrat Populist Party (SHP) has merged with CHP; Workers Party (IP), Dogu PERINCEK; Nation Party (MP), Aykut EDIBALI; Democrat Party (DP), Aydin MENDERES; Grand Unity Party (BBP), Muhsin YAZICIOGLU; Rebirth Party (YDP), Hasan Celal GUZEL; People's Democracy Party (HADEP), Murat BOZLAK; Main Path Party (ANAYOL), Gurcan BASER; Democratic Target Party (DHP), Abdulkadir Yasar TURK; Liberal Party (LP), Besim TIBUK; New Democracy Movement (YDH), Cem BOYNER; Democracy and Change Party (DDP), Ibrahim AKSOY

Other political or pressure groups: Turkish Confederation of Labor (TURK-IS), Bayram MERAL; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions (DISK), Ridvan BUDAK; Moral Rights Workers Union (HAK-IS), Negati CECIK; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), Halis KOMILI; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), Yalim EREZ; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions (TISK), Refik BAYDUR

Member of: AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, ECO, FAO, GATT, 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, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Nuzhet KANDEMIR
chancery: 1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 659-8200
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Marc GROSSMAN
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara
mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, Ankara; APO AE 09823
telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110 through 6128
FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019
consulate(s) general: Istanbul
consulate(s): Adana

Flag: 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: In early 1995, after an impressive economic performance through most of the 1980s, Turkey continues to suffer through its most damaging economic crisis in the last 15 years. Sparked by the downgrading in January 1994 of Turkey's international credit rating by two US credit rating agencies, the crisis stems from years of loose fiscal and monetary policies that had exacerbated inflation and allowed the public debt, money supply, and current account deficit to explode. In April 1994, Prime Minister CILLER introduced an austerity package aimed at restoring domestic and international confidence in her fragile coalition government. Three months later the IMF endorsed the program, paving the way for a $740 million IMF standby loan. Although the economy showed signs of improvement following the stabilization measures, CILLER has been unable to overcome the political obstacles to tough structural reforms necessary for sustained, longer-term growth. As a consequence, the economy is suffering the worst of both worlds: at the end of 1994, inflation hit a record 126% (annual rate), and real GDP dropped an estimated 5% for the year as a whole, the worst decline in Turkey's post-war history. At the same time, the government missed key 1994 targets stipulated in the IMF agreement: the budget deficit is estimated to have overshot the government's goal by 47%; the total public sector borrowing requirement likely reached 10%-12% of GDP, rather than 8.5% called for in the program; and the Turkish lira's value fell 5% to 7% more than expected. The unprecedented effort by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to raise the economic costs of its insurgency against the Turkish state is adding to Turkey's economic problems. Attacks against tourists have jeopardized tourist revenues, which account for about 3% of GDP, while economic activity in southeastern Turkey, where most of the violence occurs, has dropped considerably. Turkish officials are now negotiating a new letter of intent with the IMF that will stipulate more realistic macroeconomic goals for 1995 and allow the release of remaining funds of the standby agreement.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $305.2 billion (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate: -5% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $4,910 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 106% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 12.6% (1994)

Budget:
revenues: $28.3 billion
expenditures: $33.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.2 billion (1995)

Exports: $15.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: manufactured products 72%, foodstuffs 23%, mining products 4% (1993)
partners: Germany 24%, Russia 7%, US 7%, UK 6% (1993)

Imports: $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: manufactured products 71%, fuels 14%, foodstuffs 6% (1993)
partners: Germany 15%, US 11%, Italy 9%, Russia 8% (1993)

External debt: $66.6 billion (1994)

Industrial production: growth rate 6.7% (1993); accounts for 26% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 18,710,000 kW
production: 71 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,079 kWh (1993)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 16% of GDP; products - tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus fruit, variety of animal products; self-sufficient in food most years

Illicit drugs: major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe and 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

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.3 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $665 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4.5 billion
note: aid for Persian Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991), $4.1 billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund, $2.5 billion

Currency: 1 Turkish lira (TL) = 100 kurus

Exchange rates: Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 37,444.1 (December 1994), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991), 2,608.6 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation

Railroads:
total: 10,413 km
standard gauge: 10,413 km 1.435-m gauge (1,033 km electrified)

Highways:
total: 320,611 km
paved: 29,915 km (including 862 km of expressways)
unpaved: 290,696 km (1992)

Inland waterways: about 1,200 km

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

Ports: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Mersin, Samsun, Trabzon

Merchant marine:
total: 423 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,014,004 GRT/8,695,636 DWT
ships by type: bulk 113, cargo 203, chemical tanker 14, combination bulk 7, combination ore/oil 12, container 2, liquefied gas tanker 4, livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 46, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 9, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 2

Airports:
total: 116
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 16
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 20
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21
with paved runways under 914 m: 34
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 11

Communications

Telephone system: 3,400,000 telephones; fair domestic and international systems
local: NA
intercity: trunk radio relay microwave network; limited open wire network
international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 EUTELSAT earth station; 1 submarine cable

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 94, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 357
televisions: NA

Defense Forces

Branches: Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 16,519,152; males fit for military service 10,067,089; males reach military age (20) annually 625,476 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $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)