Benin (2001) | Turkey (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department" | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741) 15-64 years: 50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26% (male 9,232,439/female 8,897,135)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 23,806,367/female 23,053,536) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 2,140,242/female 2,530,840) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 119 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 87
over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 32
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than Texas |
Background | Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. | 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, but 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. |
Birth rate | 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$299 million expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 est.) |
revenues: $78.53 billion
expenditures: $110.9 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | Ankara |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
Coastline | 121 km | 7,200 km |
Constitution | December 1990 | 7 November 1982 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.96 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1998 est.) | $16.9 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92 FAX: [229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Eric S. EDELMAN
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU
chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $274.6 million (1997) | ODA, $635.8 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001. | Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2004 still accounted 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. 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. Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 9.3% by 2004 - a 30-year low. Despite these strong economic gains in 2002-04, which were largely due to renewed investor interest in emerging markets, IMF backing, and tighter fiscal policy, the economy is still plagued with high debt and deficits. The public sector fiscal deficit exceeds 6% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which accounted for more than 40% of central government spending in 2004, and to populist spending. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey remains low - averaging less than $1 billion annually, but further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost FDI. A major political and economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a member of the EU. |
Electricity - consumption | 510.2 million kWh (1999) | 117.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 433 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (1999) | 3.6 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 226 million kWh (1999) | 139.7 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
24.78% hydro: 75.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Turkish liras per US dollar - 1,425,500 (2004), 1,500,900 (2003), 1,507,200 (2002), 1,225,600 (2001), 625,200 (2000)
Note: on 1 January 2005 the old Turkish Lira (TRL)was converted to New Turkish Lira (YTL) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 New Turkish Lira |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
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 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 |
Exports | $396 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 46,110 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment |
Exports - partners | Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999) | Germany 13.9%, UK 8.8%, US 7.7%, Italy 7.4%, France 5.8%, Spain 4.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
37.9% industry: 13.5% services: 48.6% (1999) |
agriculture: 11.7%
industry: 29.8% services: 58.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,400 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 8.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 39 00 N, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | no natural harbors | 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 |
Heliports | - | 14 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) |
total: 354,421 km
paved: 147,404 km (including 1,851 km of expressways) unpaved: 207,017 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 30.7% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US | 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 |
Imports | $566 million (c.i.f., 1999) | 616,500 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment |
Imports - partners | France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999) | Germany 12.9%, Russia 9.3%, Italy 7.1%, France 6.4%, US 4.8%, China 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.9% (2000 est.) | 16.5% (2004 est.) |
Industries | textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
Infant mortality rate | 89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 41.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 44.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 37.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 9.3% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1993 est.) | 42,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court |
Labor force | NA | 25.3 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 35.9%, industry 22.8%, services 41.2% (3rd quarter, 2004) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
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 | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 31% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 30.93%
permanent crops: 3.31% other: 65.76% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7 |
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); 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%, ANAP 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and others; 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 2004 - AKP 368, CHP 171, DYP 4, LDP 1, independents 5, vacant 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.94 years male: 49.02 years female: 50.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.36 years
male: 69.94 years female: 74.91 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo | 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 | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM |
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 |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 526 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,666,895 GRT/7,311,504 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 108, cargo 228, chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 25, liquefied gas 6, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 50, petroleum tanker 33, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 22, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 8 (Cyprus 3, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Switzerland 1) registered in other countries: 231 (2005) |
Military - note | - | in the early 1990s, the Turkish Land Force was a large but badly equipped infantry force; there were 14 infantry divisions, but only one was mechanized, and out of 16 infantry brigades, only six were mechanized; the overhaul that has taken place since has produced highly moblie forces with greatly enhanced firepower in accordance with NATO's new strategic concept (2005) |
Military branches | Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie | Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Naval Forces (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | $12.155 billion (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY96) | 5.3% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,455,433 females age 15-49: 1,489,947 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
743,980 females age 15-49: 755,149 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
70,088 females: 73,618 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Republic Day, 29 October (1923) |
Nationality | noun:
Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese |
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | 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 |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]
note: the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI] |
Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic People's Party or DEHAP [Tuncer BAKIRHAN]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Emin SIRIN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Ali Talip OZDEMIR]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP (includes the New Turkey Party) [Deniz BAYKAL]; Felicity Party (sometimes translated as Contentment Party) or SP [Necmettin ERBEKAN]; 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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Sami EVREN]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Omer BOLAT]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Omer SABANCI]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Salih KILIC]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU] |
Population | 6,590,782
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
69,660,559 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37.2% (1999 est.) | 20% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 2.97% (2001 est.) | 1.09% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cotonou, Porto-Novo | Aliaga, Ambarli, Eregli, Haydarpasa, Istanbul, Kocaeli (Izmit), Skhira, Toros |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Radios | 620,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
total: 8,697 km
standard gauge: 8,697 km 1.435-m gauge (2,122 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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 (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
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: country code - 90; 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 - main lines in use | 36,000 (1997) | 18,916,700 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,295 (1997) | 27,887,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (one privately-owned) (1997) | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges |
Total fertility rate | 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.94 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 9.3% (plus underemployment of 4.0%) (2004 est.) |
Waterways | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally | 1,200 km (2003) |