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
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.
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)
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
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 |
