Demographics - Turkey
| GENERAL: | |||
| 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 People's Congress of Kurdistan 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, enabling it to begin accession membership talks with the European Union. | |||
| GEOGRAPHY: | |||
| Location: | 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 | ||
| Geographic coordinates: | 39 00 N, 35 00 E | ||
| Map references: | Middle East | ||
| Area: | total: | 780,580 sq km | |
| land: | 770,760 sq km | ||
| water: | 9,820 sq km | ||
| Land boundaries: | 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 | ||
| Coastline: | 7,200 km | ||
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: | 6 nm in the Aegean Sea; 12 nm in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea | |
| exclusive economic zone: | in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR | ||
| Climate: | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior | ||
| Terrain: | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges | ||
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: | Mediterranean Sea 0 m | |
| highest point: | Mount Ararat 5,166 m | ||
| 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 | ||
| Land use: | arable land: | 29.81% | |
| permanent crops: | 3.39% | ||
| other: | 66.80% | ||
| Irrigated land: | 42,000 sq km | ||
| Natural hazards: | severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
| PEOPLE: | |||
| Population: | 70,413,958 | ||
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: | 25.5% (male 9,133,226/female 8,800,070) | |
| 15-64 years: | 67.7% (male 24,218,277/female 23,456,761) | ||
| 65 years and over: | 6.8% (male 2,198,073/female 2,607,551) | ||
| Median age: | total: | 28.1 years | |
| male: | 27.9 years | ||
| female: | 28.3 years | ||
| Population growth rate: | 1.06% | ||
| Birth rate: | 16.62 births/1,000 population | ||
| Death rate: | 5.97 deaths/1,000 population | ||
| Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population | ||
| 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: | 0.84 male(s)/female | ||
| total population: | 1.02 male(s)/female | ||
| Infant mortality rate: | total: | 39.69 deaths/1,000 live births | |
| male: | 43.27 deaths/1,000 live births | ||
| female: | 35.93 deaths/1,000 live births | ||
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: | 72.62 years | |
| male: | 70.18 years | ||
| female: | 75.18 years | ||
| Total fertility rate: | 1.92 children born/woman | ||
| Nationality: | noun: | Turk(s) | |
| adjective: | Turkish | ||
| Ethnic groups: | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) | ||
| Religions: | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) | ||
| Languages: | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian | ||
| note: | there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the Europe part of Turkey | ||
| Literacy: | definition: | age 15 and over can read and write | |
| total population: | 86.50% | ||
| male: | 94.30% | ||
| female: | 78.70% | ||
| GOVERNMENT: | |||
| 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: | 81 provinces (iller, singular - il); 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, 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, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak | ||
| Independence: | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) | ||
| National holiday: | Republic Day, 29 October (1923) | ||
| Constitution: | 07-Nov-82 | ||
| Legal system: | civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights | ||
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal | ||
| Executive branch: | |||
| chief of state: | President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000) | ||
| head of government: | Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14 March 2003) | ||
| cabinet: |
Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister |
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| elections: | president elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held May 2007); prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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 3 November 2002 (next to be held in 2007); note - a special rerun of the General Election in the province of Siirt on 9 March 2003 resulted in the election of Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN to a seat in parliament, a prerequisite for becoming prime minister, on 14 March 2003 | ||
| election results: | percent of vote by party - AKP 34.3%, CHP 19.4%, DYP 9.6%, MHP 8.3%, Anavatan 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and other; seats by party - AKP 363, CHP 178, independents 9; note - parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats; seats by party as of 1 December 2005 - AKP 357, CHP 154, ANAVATAN 22, DYP 4, SHP 4, HYP 1, independents 4, vacant 4 | ||
| 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: | Anavatan Partisi (once was Motherland Party) or ANAVATAN [Erkan MUMCU]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic People's Party or DEHAP [Tuncer BAKIRHAN]; Felicity Party (sometimes translated as Contentment Party) or SP [Necmettin ERBAKAN]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Emin SIRIN]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; People's Rise Party (Halkin Yukselisi Partisi) or HYP [Yasr Nuri OZTURK]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Murat KARAYALCIN]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party) or DYP [Mehmet AGAR] | ||
| note: the parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49 parties that Turkey had on 1 December 2004 | |||
| 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: | |||
| Economy - overview: |
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex
mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional
agriculture sector that still accounts for more than 35% 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 largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end of the global quota system. However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electronics industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export mix. 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. The economy is turning around with the implementation of economic reforms, and 2004 GDP growth reached 9%. Inflation fell to 7.7% in 2005 - a 30-year low. Despite the strong economic gains in 2002-05, which were largely due to renewed investor interest in emerging markets, IMF backing, and tighter fiscal policy, the economy is still burdened by a high current account deficit and high debt. The public sector fiscal deficit exceeds 6% of GDP - due in large part to high interest payments, which accounted for about 37% of central government spending in 2004. Prior to 2005, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey averaged less than $1 billion annually, but further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost FDI. Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion. |
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| GDP - real growth rate: | 5.10% | ||
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | $7,900 | ||
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: | 11.70% | |
| industry: | 29.80% | ||
| services: | 58.50% | ||
| Labor force: | 24.7 million | ||
| note: | about 1.2 million Turks work abroad | ||
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 35.9%, industry 22.8%, services 41.2% | ||
| Unemployment rate: | 10% plus underemployment of 4% | ||
| Population below poverty line: | 20% | ||
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 7.70% | ||
| Agriculture - products: | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock | ||
| Industries: | textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper | ||
| Industrial production growth rate: | 5.50% | ||
| Exports - commodities: | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment | ||
| Exports - partners: | Germany 13.9%, UK 8.8%, US 7.7%, Italy 7.3%, France 5.8%, Spain 4.2% | ||
| Imports - commodities: | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment | ||
| Imports - partners: |
Germany 12.9%, Russia 9.3%, Italy 7.1%, France 6.4%, US 4.8%, China 4.6%, UK 4.4% |
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| Currency (code): | Turkish lira (YTL); old Turkish lira (TRL) before 1 January 2005 | ||
| Fiscal year: | calendar year | ||
| TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES: | |||
| 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; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh | ||
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | IDPs: 350,000-1,000,000 (fighting from 1984-99 between Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs in southeastern provinces) | ||
| Illicit drugs: | 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 and near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate; lax enforcement of money-laundering controls | ||
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