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Communications

Internet users (Internet Service Providers (ISPs)) [time series]

50 (2001)

Internet country code [time series]

.tr

Internet users [time series]

2.5 million (2002)

Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]

AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001)

Radios [time series]

11.3 million (1997)

Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]

general assessment: undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially with cellular telephones 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; the number of subscribers to mobile cellular telephone service is growing rapidly international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002)

Telephones - fixed lines (Telephones - main lines in use) [time series]

19.5 million (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]

17.1 million (2001)

Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]

635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions [time series]

20.9 million (1997)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]

tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock

Budget [time series]

revenues: $42.4 billion expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Turkish lira (TRL)

Exchange rates (Currency code) [time series]

TRL

Debt - external [time series]

$118.3 billion (September 2001 )

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income (Distribution of family income - Gini index) [time series]

42 (1994)

Economic aid (Economic aid - recipient) [time series]

ODA, $300 million (1993) (2000)

Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]

Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The most important industry - and largest export - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which in 2001 accounted for more than 50% of central government spending - while inflation has remained in the high double digit range. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. In late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Ankara to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in 2002 were much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and serious political tensions in the Middle East cast a shadow over growth prospects for 2003.

Electricity - consumption [time series]

114.19 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports [time series]

437 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports [time series]

3.791 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production [time series]

119.18 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source [time series]

fossil fuel: 74% hydro: 26% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%

Exchange rates [time series]

Turkish liras per US dollar - 1,223,140 (January 2002), 1,223,140 (2001), 625,219 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997)

Exports [time series]

$37.6 billion f.o.b. (2002)

Exports - commodities [time series]

apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment

Exports - partners [time series]

Germany 17.2%, US 10.0%, Italy 7.5%, UK 6.9%, France 6.0%, Russia 2.9% (2001)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power parity - $468 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin (GDP - composition by sector) [time series]

agriculture: 13% industry: 30% services: 57% (2001)

Real GDP per capita (GDP - per capita) [time series]

purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2002 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]

4.2% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]

lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 32% (1994)

Imports [time series]

$43.9 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities [time series]

machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment

Imports - partners [time series]

Germany 12.9%, Italy 8.4%, Russia 8.3%, US 7.9%, France 5.5%, UK 4.6% (2001 est.)

Industrial production growth rate [time series]

8.5% (2002 est.)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

45.2% (2002)

Labor force [time series]

23.8 million (2001 3rd quarter) note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (1999)

Labor force - by occupation [time series]

agriculture 40%, services 38%, industry 22% (2001)

Population below poverty line [time series]

NA%

Unemployment rate [time series]

10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.)

Geography

Area [time series]

total: 780,580 sq km water: 9,820 sq km land: 770,760 sq km

Area - comparative [time series]

slightly larger than Texas

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

7,200 km

Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues [time series]

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 environmental agreements (Environment - international agreements) [time series]

party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification

Geographic coordinates [time series]

39 00 N, 35 00 E

Geography - note [time series]

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

Irrigated land [time series]

42,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

total: 2,648 km border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 34.53% permanent crops: 3.36% other: 62.11% (1998 est.)

Location [time series]

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

Map references [time series]

Middle East

Maritime claims [time series]

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

Natural hazards [time series]

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

Natural resources [time series]

antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower

Terrain [time series]

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

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

81 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, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak

Capital [time series]

Ankara

Constitution [time series]

7 November 1982

Country name [time series]

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

Diplomatic representation from the US [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Robert W. PEARSON embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555 FAX: [90] (312) 468-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana

Diplomatic representation in the US [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700

Executive branch [time series]

chief of state: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000) elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president note: a National Security Council serves as an advisory body to the president and the cabinet cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14 March 2003); note - Abdullah GUL resigned 11 March 2003; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN was given a mandate to form a government election results: Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third ballot; percent of National Assembly vote - 60% note: president must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot

Flag (Flag description) [time series]

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

Government type [time series]

republican parliamentary democracy

Independence [time series]

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

International organization participation [time series]

AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Judicial branch [time series]

Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

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 3 November 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 34.3%, CHP 19.4%, DYP 9.6%, MHP 8.3%, ANAP 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and others; seats by party - AKP 363, CHP 178, independents 9; note - all other parties were under the 10% threshhold which entitles them to seats

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 29 October (1923)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Saadet Party [Recai KUTAN]; note - KUTAN was head of the Virtue Party or FP which was banned by Turkey's Constitutional Court in June 2001; Socialist Democratic Party or TDP [Sema PISKINSUT]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Right Path Party) or DYP [Tansu CILLER]

Political parties (Political pressure groups and leaders) [time series]

Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS]

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Introduction

Background [time series]

Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. Turkey occupied the northern portion of Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island; relations between the two countries remain strained but have begun to improve over the past three years. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in southeast Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 - has observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002.

Military

Military and security forces (Military branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure [time series]

$8.1 billion (2002 est.)

Military expenditures (Military expenditures - percent of GDP) [time series]

4.5% (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability [time series]

males age 15-49: 19,219,177 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service [time series]

males age 15-49: 11,623,675 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - military age [time series]

20 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually [time series]

males: 674,805 (2002 est.)

People

Age structure [time series]

0-14 years: 27.8% (male 9,520,030; female 9,178,423) 15-64 years: 65.9% (male 22,552,253; female 21,827,002) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 1,946,523; female 2,284,697) (2002 est.)

Birth rate [time series]

17.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate [time series]

5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Ethnic groups [time series]

Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate [time series]

0.01% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths [time series]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS [time series]

Infant mortality rate [time series]

45.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Languages [time series]

Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 71.52 years female: 74.01 years (2002 est.) male: 69.15 years

Literacy [time series]

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85% male: 94% female: 77% (2000)

Nationality [time series]

noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Population [time series]

67,308,928 (July 2002 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

1.2% (2002 est.)

Religions [time series]

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

Sex ratio [time series]

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 (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.07 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international [time series]

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 regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute

Illicit drugs [time series]

key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin 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

Transportation

Airports [time series]

120 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways [time series]

total: 86 over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 5 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19

Airports - with unpaved runways [time series]

total: 34 34 over 3,047 m: 1 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 8 24 (2002) 914 to 1,523 m: 1 8

Heliports [time series]

8 (2002)

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 382,059 km paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of expressways) unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.)

Merchant marine [time series]

total: 553 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,674,099 GRT/9,108,819 DWT ships by type: bulk 138, cargo 239, chemical tanker 45, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 2, container 27, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 45, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 27, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Thailand 1, United Kingdom 11 (2002 est.)

Pipelines [time series]

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

Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]

Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon

Railways [time series]

total: 8,607 km standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131 km electrified) (2001)

Waterways [time series]

1,200 km (approximately)