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Compare Syria (2008) - Turkey (2007)

Compare Syria (2008) z Turkey (2007)

 Syria (2008)Turkey (2007)
 SyriaTurkey
Administrative divisions 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus 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, Icel (Mersin), Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), 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 (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Age structure 0-14 years: 36.5% (male 3,633,562/female 3,423,435)


15-64 years: 60.1% (male 5,952,275/female 5,664,236)


65 years and over: 3.3% (male 303,346/female 337,893) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 24.9% (male 9,034,731/female 8,703,624)


15-64 years: 68.1% (male 24,627,270/female 23,857,507)


65 years and over: 6.9% (male 2,253,383/female 2,682,132) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock
Airports 90 (2007) 117 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 26


over 3,047 m: 6


2,438 to 3,047 m: 15


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
total: 90


over 3,047 m: 15


2,438 to 3,047 m: 33


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 19


under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 64


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 52 (2007)
total: 27


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 7


under 914 m: 17 (2007)
Area total: 185,180 sq km


land: 184,050 sq km


water: 1,130 sq km


note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
total: 780,580 sq km


land: 770,760 sq km


water: 9,820 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than North Dakota slightly larger than Texas
Background Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. 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.
Birth rate 27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 16.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $8.45 billion


expenditures: $10.38 billion (2007 est.)
revenues: $119.9 billion


expenditures: $122.7 billion (2006 est.)
Capital name: Damascus


geographic coordinates: 33 30 N, 36 18 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 30 September
name: Ankara


geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 32 52 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Coastline 193 km 7,200 km
Constitution 13 March 1973 7 November 1982
Country name conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic


conventional short form: Syria


local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah


local short form: Suriyah


former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey


conventional short form: Turkey


local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti


local short form: Turkiye
Death rate 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 6 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $6.61 billion (31 December 2007 est.) $207.4 billion (2006 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael CORBIN


embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansour Street, No. 2, Damascus


mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus


telephone: [963] (11) 3391-4444


FAX: [963] (11) 3391-3999
chief of mission: Ambassador Ross WILSON


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 Imad MUSTAFA


chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313


FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
chief of mission: Ambassador Nabi SENSOY


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, New York
Disputes - international Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shaba'a farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan; approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan 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 $77.85 million (2005 est.) ODA, $464 million (2005)
Economy - overview The Syrian economy grew by an estimated 3.5% in real terms in 2007 led by the petroleum and agricultural sectors, which together account for about one-half of GDP. Higher crude oil prices countered declining oil production and led to higher budgetary and export receipts. Damascus has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating all of the multiple exchange rates, raising prices on some subsidized items, most notably, gasoline and cement, and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange-which is set to begin operations in 2008. In October 2007, for example, Damascus raised the price of subsidized gasoline by 20%, and may institute a rationing system in 2008. In addition, President ASAD signed legislative decrees to encourage corporate ownership reform, and to allow the Central Bank to issue Treasury bills and bonds for government debt. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production, high unemployment and inflation, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution. 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%, followed by roughly 5% annual growth from 2005-06. Inflation fell to 7.7% in 2005 - a 30-year low but climbed back to 9.8% in 2006. Despite the strong economic gains from 2002-06, 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. 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. Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking a major milestone that will bring up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian to market.
Electricity - consumption 34 billion kWh (2007 est.) 129 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2007) 1.798 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2007 est.) 636 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 34.94 billion kWh (2007 est.) 154.2 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water 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, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
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 Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)
Exchange rates Syrian pounds per US dollar - 50.0085 (2007), 51.689 (2006), 50 (2005), 48.5 (2004), 52.8 (2003)


note: data for 2004-06 are the public sector rate; data for 2002-03 are the parallel market rate in 'Amman and Beirut; the official rate for repaying loans was 11.25 Syrian pounds per US dollars during 2004-06,
Turkish liras per US dollar - 1.4286 (2006), 1.3436 (2005), 1.4255 (2004), 1.5009 (2003), 1.5072 (2002)


note: on 1 January 2005 the old Turkish lira (TRL) was converted to new Turkish lira (TRY) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 new Turkish lira
Executive branch chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Farouk al-SHARA (since 11 February 2006) oversees foreign policy; Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) oversees cultural policy


head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003); Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdallah al-DARDARI (since 14 June 2005)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president approved by popular referendum for a second seven-year term (no term limits); referendum last held on 27 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2014); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers


election results: Bashar al-ASAD approved as president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.6%
chief of state: President Abdullah GUL (since 28 August 2007)


head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 14 March 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Cemil CICEK (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Hayati YAZICI (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Nazim EKREN (since 29 August 2007)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister


elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a single seven-year term; prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament


election results: Abdullah GUL received 339 votes in the third round of voting on 28 August 2007, after failing to garner the two thirds vote required by law in the first two rounds


note: president-elect must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot
Exports 150,000 bbl/day (2007 est.) 112,600 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment
Exports - partners Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.1%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.8% (2006) Germany 11.3%, UK 8%, Italy 7.9%, US 6%, France 5.4%, Spain 4.4% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small, green, five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980 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 - composition by sector agriculture: 24.6%


industry: 24.4%


services: 51% (2007 est.)
agriculture: 9.3%


industry: 31%


services: 59.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3.5% (2007 est.) 6.1% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 35 00 N, 38 00 E 39 00 N, 35 00 E
Geography - note there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.) 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 7 (2007) 18 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 34.1% (2003)
Illicit drugs a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and, to a lesser extent, the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin exist in remote regions of Turkey and near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and over output of poppy straw concentrate; lax enforcement of money-laundering controls
Imports 160,000 bbl/day (2007 est.) 724,400 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment
Imports - partners Saudi Arabia 12.3%, China 7.9%, Egypt 6.2%, UAE 6%, Germany 4.9%, Italy 4.9%, Ukraine 4.8%, Iran 4.5% (2006) Russia 12.8%, Germany 10.6%, China 6.9%, Italy 6.2%, France 5.2%, US 4.5%, Iran 4% (2006)
Independence 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
Industrial production growth rate -0.4% (2007 est.) 5.5% (2006 est.)
Industries petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Infant mortality rate total: 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 27.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 38.33 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 41.85 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 34.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 7% (2007 est.) 10.5% (2006 est.)
International organization participation ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land 13,330 sq km (2003) 52,150 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the President); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the President); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce) 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 5.457 million (2007 est.) 24.79 million


note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 26%


industry: 14%


services: 60% (2003 est.)
agriculture: 35.9%


industry: 22.8%


services: 41.2% (3rd quarter)
Land boundaries total: 2,253 km


border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 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: 24.8%


permanent crops: 4.47%


other: 70.73% (2005)
arable land: 29.81%


permanent crops: 3.39%


other: 66.8% (2005)
Languages Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian


note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European part of Turkey
Legal system based on a combination of French and Ottoman civil law; Islamic law is used in the family court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction 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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held on 22-23 April 2007 (next to be held in 2011)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPF 172, independents 78
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 on 22 July 2007 (next to be held on November 2012)


election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 46.7%, CHP 20.8%, MHP 14.3%, Independents 5.2%, and other 13.0%; seats by party - AKP 341, CHP 112, MHP 71, Independents 26; note - parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats
Life expectancy at birth total population: 70.61 years


male: 69.27 years


female: 72.02 years (2007 est.)
total population: 72.88 years


male: 70.43 years


female: 75.46 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 79.6%


male: 86%


female: 73.6% (2004 census)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 87.4%


male: 95.3%


female: 79.6% (2004 est.)
Location Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey 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 Middle East Middle East
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 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 total: 96 ships (1000 GRT or over) 353,351 GRT/512,597 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 82, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1


foreign-owned: 10 (Jordan 2, Lebanon 4, Romania 4)


registered in other countries: 164 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 32, Comoros 8, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Georgia 54, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 7, Lebanon 1, Libya 1, Malta 4, Mongolia 1, Panama 24, Sierra Leone 8, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 11, unknown 2) (2007)
total: 565 ships (1000 GRT or over) 4,663,353 GRT/7,039,492 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 96, cargo 262, chemical tanker 58, combination ore/oil 1, container 30, liquefied gas 7, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 48, petroleum tanker 32, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 25, specialized tanker 1


foreign-owned: 8 (China 1, Cyprus 2, Germany 1, Italy 3, UAE 1)


registered in other countries: 470 (Albania 1, Antigua and Barbuda 7, Bahamas 5, Belize 11, Cambodia 20, Comoros 8, Cyprus 1, Dominica 9, Georgia 23, Isle of Man 2, Italy 1, Kiribati 1, North Korea 1, Liberia 7, Malta 143, Marshall Islands 41, Netherlands Antilles 12, Panama 53, Russia 70, Sierra Leone 7, Slovakia 11, St Kitts and Nevis 13, St Vincent and The Grenadines 20, Tuvalu 1, UK 2, unknown 3) (2007)
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; a subsequent overhaul has produced highly mobile forces with greatly enhanced firepower in accordance with NATO's new strategic concept (2005)
Military branches Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army (includes Syrian Arab Navy), Syrian Arab Air and Air Defense Force (includes Air Defense Command) (2005) Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri, TDK; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Force (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri, THK) (2006)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.9% (2005 est.) 5.3% (2005 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 17 April (1946) Republic Day, 29 October (1923)
Nationality noun: Syrian(s)


adjective: Syrian
noun: Turk(s)


adjective: Turkish
Natural hazards dust storms, sandstorms severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van
Natural resources petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower 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 (2007 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines gas 2,794 km; oil 2,000 km (2007) gas 4,621 km; oil 3,543 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders legal parties: National Progressive Front or NPF [President Bashar al-ASAD, Dr. Suleiman QADDAH] (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Union or ASU [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSU]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL])


opposition parties not legally recognized:: Arab Democratic Socialist Union Party [Hasan Abdul AZIM]; Arab Socialist Movement; Democratic Ba'th Party [Ibrahim MAHKOS]; People's Democratic Party [Riad al TURK]; Revolutionary Workers' Party [Abdul Hafeez al HAFEZ]


Kurdish parties (considered illegal): Kurdish Democratic Front [Abdul Hamid DARWISH] (includes four parties); Kurdish Coordination [Abdul Hakim BASHAR] (includes Azadi Party [Kheirudin MURAD], Future Party [Masha'l TAMMO], Yekity Party [Hasam SALE])


other parties: Nahda Party [Abdul Aziz al MISLET]; Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI]
Anavatan Partisi (Motherland Party) or Anavatan [Erkan MUMCU]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic Society Party or DTP [Ahmet TURK]; Felicity Party or SP [Recai KUTAN] (sometimes translated as Contentment Party); Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] (sometimes translated as Nationalist Movement Party); People's Rise Party (Halkin Yukselisi Partisi) or HYP [Yasar Nuri OZTURK]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Murat KARAYALCIN]; True Path Party or DYP [Mehmet AGAR] (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party); Young Party or GP [Cem Cengiz UZAN]


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 Damascus Declaration National Council [Riyad SEIF, secretary general] (a broad alliance of opposition groups and individuals including: Committee for Revival of Civil Society [Michel KILO, Riyad SEIF]; Communist Action Party [Fateh JAMOUS]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance; Kurdish Democratic Front; Liberal Nationalists' Movement; National Democratic Front; National Democratic Rally; and Syrian Human Rights Society or HRAS [Fawed FAWUZ]); National Salvation Front (alliance between former Vice President Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, the SMB, and other small opposition groups); Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Sadr al-Din al-BAYANUNI]; (operates in exile in London; endorsed the Damascus Declaration but is not an official member) Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Ismail Hakki TOMBUL]; 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 Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugurl KUDATGOBILIK]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Salih KILIC]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Omer SABANCI]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]
Population 19,314,747


note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2007 est.)
71,158,647 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 11.9% (2006 est.) 20% (2002)
Population growth rate 2.244% (2007 est.) 1.04% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001)
Railways total: 2,711 km


standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)
total: 8,697 km


standard gauge: 8,697 km 1.435-m gauge (1,920 km electrified) (2006)
Religions Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.061 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.051 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.898 male(s)/female


total population: 1.049 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.032 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female


total population: 1.019 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology


domestic: the number of fixed-line connections has increased markedly since 2000; mobile-cellular service growing rapidly and teledensity has reached 25 wireless telephones per 100 persons; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network


international: country code - 963; submarine cable connection to Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel
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 3 submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat; mobile satellite terminals - 328 in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002)
Telephones - main lines in use 3.243 million (2006) 18.978 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4.675 million (2006) 43.609 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges
Total fertility rate 3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.) 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 10% (2007 est.) 10.2% plus underemployment of 4% (2006 est.)
Waterways 900 km (not economically significant) (2005) 1,200 km (2005)
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