Thailand (2004) | Turkey (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon | 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, 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: 24.1% (male 7,985,724; female 7,631,337)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 21,998,552; female 22,538,765) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 2,167,421; female 2,543,724) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 25.5% (male 9,133,226/female 8,800,070)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 24,218,277/female 23,456,761) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 2,198,073/female 2,607,551) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
Airports | 109 (2003 est.) | 117 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 65
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
total: 89
over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 44
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 28 (2004 est.) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 17 (2006) |
Area | total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly larger than Texas |
Background | A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. Thailand is currently facing armed violence in its three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces. | 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 | 16.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.62 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $24.41 billion
expenditures: $24.01 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 billion (2003 est.) |
revenues: $93.58 billion
expenditures: $115.3 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Bangkok | 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 | tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
Coastline | 3,219 km | 7,200 km |
Constitution | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 | 7 November 1982 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
Currency | baht (THB) | - |
Death rate | 6.94 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.97 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $53.75 billion (2003 est.) | $170.1 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph L. BOYCE
embassy: 120/22 Wireless Road, Bangkok mailing address: APO AP 96546 telephone: [66] (2) 205-4000 FAX: [66] (2) 254-2990, 205-4131 consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai |
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: KASIT Piromya
chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 401, Washington, DC 20007-3681 telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
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 | a 1 kilometer segment at the mouth of the Golok River remains in dispute with Malaysia; demarcation with Laos complete except for certain Mekong River islets and complaints of Thai squatters; despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Burma over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; Cambodia accuses Thailand of moving boundary markers and obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; 2003 anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh resulted in the destruction of the Thai Embassy and damage to 17 Thai-owned businesses and disputes over payments of full compensation persist; groups in Burma and Thailand express concern over China's construction of 13 hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in Yunnan Province | 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 | $131.5 million (1998 est.) | ODA, $635.8 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | Thailand has a free-enterprise economy and welcomes foreign investment. Exports feature textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances. Thailand has recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis and was one of East Asia's best performers in 2002. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export growth pushed GDP growth up to 6.3% in 2003 despite a sluggish global economy. The highly popular government has pushed an expansionist policy, including major support of village economic development. | Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that still accounts for more than 35% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end of the global quota system. However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electronics industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export mix. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. The economy is turning around with the implementation of economic reforms, and 2004 GDP growth reached 9%. Inflation fell to 7.7% in 2005 - a 30-year low. Despite the strong economic gains in 2002-05, which were largely due to renewed investor interest in emerging markets, IMF backing, and tighter fiscal policy, the economy is still burdened by a high current account deficit and high debt. The public sector fiscal deficit exceeds 6% of GDP - due in large part to high interest payments, which accounted for about 37% of central government spending in 2004. Prior to 2005, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey averaged less than $1 billion annually, but further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost FDI. Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion. |
Electricity - consumption | 90.91 billion kWh (2001) | 140.3 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 200 million kWh (2001) | 600 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 350 million kWh (2001) | 1.2 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 97.6 billion kWh (2001) | 133.6 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting | 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, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) |
Exchange rates | baht per US dollar - 41.4846 (2003), 42.9601 (2002), 44.4319 (2001), 40.1118 (2000), 37.8137 (1999) | Turkish liras per US dollar - 1.3436 (2005), 1.4255 (2004), 1.5009 (2003), 1.5072 (2002), 1.2256 (2001)
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: King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946)
head of government: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat (since 9 February 2001) and Deputy Prime Ministers CHATURON Chaisaeng, Gen. CHAWALIT Yongchaiyut (Ret.), PURACHAI Piamsombun, VISHANU Krua-ngam (since 8 November 2003); LIPTAPANLOP Suwat (since 1 July 2004); SOMSAK Thepsuthin, PHINIT Charusombat (since 6 October 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Privy Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister is designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following national elections for the House of Representatives, the leader of the party that can organize a majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by the king |
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 single 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 | NA (2001) | 46,110 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | computers, office machine parts, transistors, rubber, vehicles (cars and trucks), plastic, seafood (2002) | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment |
Exports - partners | US 17%, Japan 14.2%, Singapore 7.3%, China 7.1%, Hong Kong 5.4%, Malaysia 4.8% (2003) | Germany 12.9%, UK 8.1%, Italy 7.6%, US 6.7%, France 5.2%, Spain 4.1% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red | 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 - $477.5 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.8%
industry: 44% services: 46.3% (2003) |
agriculture: 11.7%
industry: 29.8% services: 58.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,400 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.7% (2003 est.) | 7.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 100 00 E | 39 00 N, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore | 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 | 3 (2003 est.) | 18 (2006) |
Highways | total: 64,600 km
paved: 62,985 km unpaved: 1,615 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 30.7% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts; also a drug money-laundering center; minor role in amphetamine production for regional consumption; increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamine | key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey and near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate; lax enforcement of money-laundering controls |
Imports | NA (2001) | 616,500 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels (2000) | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment |
Imports - partners | Japan 24.1%, US 9.5%, China 8%, Malaysia 6%, Singapore 4.3%, Taiwan 4.2% (2003) | Germany 11.7%, Russia 11%, Italy 6.5%, China 5.9%, France 5%, US 4.6%, UK 4% (2005) |
Independence | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 12.3% (2003 est.) | 5.9% (2005 est.) |
Industries | tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry, electric appliances and components, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, world's second-largest tungsten producer, and third-largest tin producer | textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
Infant mortality rate | total: 21.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 39.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 43.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 35.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2003 est.) | 8.2% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 47,490 sq km (1998 est.) | 52,150 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) | 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 | 34.9 million (2003 est.) | 24.7 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 49%, industry 14%, services 37% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 35.9%
industry: 22.8% services: 41.2% (3rd qtr. 2004) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 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: 29.36%
permanent crops: 6.46% other: 64.18% (2001) |
arable land: 29.81%
permanent crops: 3.39% other: 66.8% (2005) |
Languages | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian
note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the Europe part of Turkey |
Legal system | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; 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 |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Rathasapha consists of the Senate or Wuthisapha (200 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 4 March, 29 April, 4 June, 9 July, and 22 July 2000 (next to be held by March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 6 January 2001 (next to be held 6 February 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TRT 248, DP 128, TNP 41, NDP 29, other 54 |
unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 November 2002 (next to be held in 2007); note - a special rerun of the General Election in the province of Siirt on 9 March 2003 resulted in the election of Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN to a seat in parliament, a prerequisite for becoming prime minister, on 14 March 2003 election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 34.3%, CHP 19.4%, DYP 9.6%, MHP 8.3%, Anavatan 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and other; seats by party - AKP 363, CHP 178, independents 9; note - parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats; seats by party as of 1 December 2005 - AKP 357, CHP 154, ANAVATAN 22, DYP 4, SHP 4, HYP 1, independents 4, vacant 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.41 years
male: 69.23 years female: 73.71 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 72.62 years
male: 70.18 years female: 75.18 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 94.9% female: 90.5% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma | 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 | Southeast Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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: 339 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,038,597 GRT/3,104,712 DWT
by type: bulk 40, cargo 135, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 1, container 19, liquefied gas 22, multi-functional large load carrier 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 79, refrigerated cargo 22, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 2, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: Egypt 1, Germany 3, Indonesia 1, Japan 4, Norway 38, Panama 2, Singapore 3 registered in other countries: 43 (2004 est.) |
total: 545 ships (1000 GRT or over) 4,772,864 GRT/7,313,070 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 109, cargo 239, chemical tanker 50, container 24, liquefied gas 6, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 50, petroleum tanker 36, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 24, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 7 (Cyprus 2, Germany 1, Italy 3, Switzerland 1) registered in other countries: 411 (Albania 1, Antigua and Barbuda 8, Bahamas 8, Belize 11, Cambodia 26, Comoros 11, Dominica 3, Georgia 30, Isle of Man 3, North Korea 4, Liberia 1, Libya 2, Malta 123, Marshall Islands 20, Netherlands Antilles 9, Panama 42, Russia 63, Saint Kitts and Nevis 6, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 25, Slovakia 8, Tuvalu 2, UK 2, unknown 3) (2006) |
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 mobile forces with greatly enhanced firepower in accordance with NATO's new strategic concept (2005) |
Military branches | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (including Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force | Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Naval Forces (includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Force (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.775 billion (FY00) | $12.155 billion (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | 5.3% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 17,944,151 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 10,735,354 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 531,511 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) | Republic Day, 29 October (1923) |
Nationality | noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
Natural hazards | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts | severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
Natural resources | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land | 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 (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,112 km; refined products 265 km (2004) | gas 4,621 km; oil 3,543 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Democrat Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [BANYAT Bantadtan]; People's Party or PP (Mahachon Party) [ANEK Laothamatas]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BARNHARN SILPA-ARCHA]; Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT [THAKSIN Chinnawat] | Anavatan Partisi (once was Motherland Party) or ANAVATAN [Erkan MUMCU]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic People's Party or DEHAP [Tuncer BAKIRHAN]; Felicity Party (sometimes translated as Contentment Party) or SP [Necmettin ERBAKAN]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; People's Rise Party (Halkin Yukselisi Partisi) or HYP [Yasr Nuri OZTURK]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Murat KARAYALCIN]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party) or DYP [Mehmet AGAR]
note: the parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49 parties that Turkey had on 1 December 2004 |
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 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 Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Omer SABANCI]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU] |
Population | 64,865,523
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 2004 est.) |
70,413,958 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10.4% (2002 est.) | 20% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 0.91% (2004 est.) | 1.06% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha, Songkhla | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Railways | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
total: 8,697 km
standard gauge: 8,697 km 1.435-m gauge (2,122 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 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: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: service to general public adequate, but investment in technological upgrades reduced by recession; bulk of service to government activities provided by multichannel cable and microwave radio relay network
domestic: microwave radio relay and multichannel cable; domestic satellite system being developed international: country code - 66; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) |
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 | 6.6 million (2003) | 18.978 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 16.117 million (2002) | 43.609 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges |
Total fertility rate | 1.89 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.92 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.2% (2003 est.) | 10.2% plus underemployment of 4% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2003) |
1,200 km (2005) |