Costa Rica (2007) | Turkey (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.8% (male 587,395/female 560,408)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,388,114/female 1,357,157) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 111,758/female 129,052) (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
Airports | 151 (2007) | 120 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 36
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 11 (2007) |
total: 86
over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 115
914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 96 (2007) |
total: 34 34
over 3,047 m: 1 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 8 under 914 m: 8 24 (2002) |
Area | total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly larger than Texas |
Background | Although explored by the Spanish early in the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including: disease from mosquito-infested swamps, brutal heat, resistance by natives, and pirate raids. It was not until 1563 that a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler, fertile central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries. In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain. Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred the country's democratic development. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. | 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. |
Birth rate | 18.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.129 billion
expenditures: $3.282 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $42.4 billion
expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
Capital | name: San Jose
geographic coordinates: 9 56 N, 84 05 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Ankara |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
Coastline | 1,290 km | 7,200 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 7 November 1982 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica |
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
Currency | - | Turkish lira (TRL) |
Death rate | 4.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.332 billion (2006 est.) | $118.3 billion (September 2001 ) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mark LANGDALE
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 519-2000 FAX: [506] 519-2305 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Tomas DUENAS
chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Hammond (temporary location in Louisiana), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa (temporarily closed), Washington, DC consulate(s): San Francisco |
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 | in September 2005, Costa Rica took its case before the ICJ to advocate the navigation, security, and commercial rights of Costa Rican vessels using the Río San Juan over which Nicaragua retains sovereignty | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | - | ODA, $300 million (1993) (2000) |
Economy - overview | Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has remained at roughly 20% for nearly 20 years, and the strong social safety net that had been put into place by the government has eroded due to increased financial constraints on government expenditures. Immigration from Nicaragua has increasingly become a concern for the government. The estimated 300,000-500,000 Nicaraguans estimated to be in Costa Rica legally and illegally are an important source of (mostly unskilled) labor, but also place heavy demands on the social welfare system. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. The government continues to grapple with its large internal and external deficits and sizable internal debt. Reducing inflation remains a difficult problem because of rising import prices, labor market rigidities, and fiscal deficits. The country also needs to reform its tax system and its pattern of public expenditure. The current administration has made it a priority to pass the necessary reforms to implement the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). CAFTA implementation would result in an improved investment climate. | 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 | 7.776 billion kWh (2005) | 114.19 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 70 million kWh (2005) | 437 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 81 million kWh (2005) | 3.791 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 8.349 billion kWh (2005) | 119.18 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 74%
hydro: 26% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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 |
Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% |
Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 511.3 (2006), 477.79 (2005), 437.91 (2004), 398.66 (2003), 359.82 (2002) | 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) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (since 8 May 2006); First Vice President Laura CHINCHILLA (since 8 May 2006); Second Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (since 8 May 2006); First Vice President Laura CHINCHILLA (since 8 May 2006); Second Vice President (vacant) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held 5 February 2006 (next to be held in February 2010) election results: Oscar ARIAS Sanchez elected president; percent of vote - Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (PLN) 40.9%; Otton SOLIS (PAC) 39.8%, Otto GUEVARA Guth (PML) 8%, Ricardo TOLEDO (PUSC) 3% |
chief of state: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000)
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 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister note: a National Security Council serves as an advisory body to the president and the cabinet 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 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 | NA bbl/day | $37.6 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment |
Exports - partners | US 27.4%, Netherlands 12.2%, China 11.7%, UK 6.2%, Mexico 5.8% (2006) | Germany 17.2%, US 10.0%, Italy 7.5%, UK 6.9%, France 6.0%, Russia 2.9% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA | 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 - $468 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 28.9% services: 62.4% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 30% services: 57% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.9% (2006 est.) | 4.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 39 00 N, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65 | 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 | - | 8 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 382,059 km
paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of expressways) unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 37.4% (2003) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis in remote areas; domestic cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising; significant consumption of amphetamines | 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 | NA bbl/day | $43.9 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment |
Imports - partners | US 41.2%, Venezuela 5.4%, Mexico 5.2%, Ireland 5%, Japan 4.9%, Brazil 4.3%, China 4.1% (2006) | Germany 12.9%, Italy 8.4%, Russia 8.3%, US 7.9%, France 5.5%, UK 4.6% (2001 est.) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.4% (2006 est.) | 8.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
45.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.5% (2006 est.) | 45.2% (2002) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 50 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 1,080 sq km (2003) | 42,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors) |
Labor force | 1.874 million
note: this official estimate excludes Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica (2006 est.) |
23.8 million (2001 3rd quarter)
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 20%
industry: 22% services: 58% (1999 est.) |
agriculture 40%, services 38%, industry 22% (2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 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: 4.4%
permanent crops: 5.87% other: 89.73% (2005) |
arable land: 34.53%
permanent crops: 3.36% other: 62.11% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 5 February 2006 (next to be held in February 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLN 25, PAC 17, PML 6, PUSC 5, other 4 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.21 years
male: 74.61 years female: 79.94 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 71.52 years
male: 69.15 years female: 74.01 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85% male: 94% female: 77% (2000) |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | 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 | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
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 |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,058 GRT/255 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2007) |
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.) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security, Government, and Police (2006) | Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $8.1 billion (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.4% (2006) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 19,219,177 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 11,623,675 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 674,805 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 29 October (1923) |
Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
Natural resources | hydropower | antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 242 km (2006) | crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km |
Political parties and leaders | Authentic Member from Heredia [Jose SALAS]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Gerardo Justo OROZCO Alvarez]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Vladimir DE LA CRUZ]; General Union Party or PUGEN [Carlos Alberto FERNANDEZ Vega]; Homeland First or PP [Juan Jose VARGAS Fallas]; Independent Worker Party or PIO [Jose Alberto CUBERO Carmona]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Juan Carlos CHAVEZ Mora]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Francisco Antonio PACHECO]; National Patriotic Party or PPN [Daniel Enrique REYNOLDS Vargas]; National Restoration Party or PRN [Carlos AVENDANO]; Nationalist Democratic Alliance or ADN [Jose Miguel VILLALOBOS Umana]; Patriotic Union or UP [Humberto ARCE Salas]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis FILMAN]; Union for Change Party or UPC [Antonio ALVAREZ Desanti]; United Leftist Coalition or IU [Humberto VARGAS Carbonel] | 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 pressure groups and leaders | Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Costa Rican Exporter's Chamber or CADEXCO; Costa Rican Solidarity Movement; Costa Rican Union of Private Sector Enterprises or UCCAEP [Rafael CARRILLO]; Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; National Association of Public and Private Employees or ANEP [Albino VARGAS]; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert BROWN] | 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] |
Population | 4,133,884 (July 2007 est.) | 67,308,928 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 18% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.412% (2007 est.) | 1.2% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002) | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Radios | - | 11.3 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 278 km
narrow gauge: 278 km 1.067-m gauge note: none of the railway network is in use (2007) |
total: 8,607 km
standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131 km electrified) (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.023 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.866 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2007 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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: good domestic telephone service in terms of breadth of coverage; restricted cellular telephone service; state-run monopoly provider is struggling with the demand for new lines, resulting in long waiting times
domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available international: country code - 506; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable and the MAYA-1 submarine cable that provide links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
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 - main lines in use | 1.351 million (2006) | 19.5 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.444 million (2006) | 17.1 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 20 (plus 43 repeaters) (2002) | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia) |
Total fertility rate | 2.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.07 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.6% (2006 est.) | 10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2007) | 1,200 km (approximately) |