Turkey (2001) | Israel (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 80 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, 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; note - there may be another province called Duzce | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.42% (male 9,620,291; female 9,276,347) 15-64 years: 65.45% (male 22,116,599; female 21,401,165) 65 years and over: 6.13% (male 1,878,571; female 2,200,997) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
27.36% (male 831,523; female 792,982) 15-64 years: 62.73% (male 1,869,114; female 1,855,707) 65 years and over: 9.91% (male 253,105; female 335,662) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 121 (2000 est.) | 55 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
86 over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total:
30 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 26 (2000 est.) |
total:
25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
780,580 sq km land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
total:
20,770 sq km land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Texas | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | 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. Periodic military offensives against Kurdish separatists have dislocated part of the population in southeast Turkey and have drawn international condemnation. | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations are being conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and Israel and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. On 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. |
Birth rate | 18.31 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$54.5 billion expenditures: $75.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.3 billion (2000) |
revenues:
$40 billion expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Ankara | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
Climate | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
Coastline | 7,200 km | 273 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1982 | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Turkey conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
conventional long form:
State of Israel conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
Currency | Turkish lira (TRL) | new Israeli shekel (ILS) |
Death rate | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $109 billion (2000 est.) | $38 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Robert PEARSON embassy: Ataturk Bulvarii 110, Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul (closed as of December 2000 for security review) consulate(s): Adana (closed as of December 2000 for security review) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Martin S. INDYK embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Unit 7228, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575 FAX: [972] (3) 517-3227 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Baki ILKIN 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador David IVRY chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | 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 | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $195 million (1993) | $1.1 billion from the US (1999) |
Economy - overview | Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with traditional agriculture that still accounts for nearly 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 exporter - 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 most years, but this strong expansion was interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994 and 1999. Meanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which now account for more than 40% 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. Prospects for the future are improving, however, because the ECEVIT government since June 1999 has been implementing an IMF-backed reform program, including a tighter budget, social security reform, banking reorganization, and accelerated privatization. As a result, the fiscal situation is greatly improved and inflation has dropped below 40% - the lowest rate since 1987. The country experienced a financial crisis in late 2000, including sharp drops in the stock market and foreign exchange reserves, but is recovering rapidly, thanks to additional IMF support and the government's commitment to a specific timetable of economic reforms. | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains. Cuts diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR topped 750,000 during the period 1989-99, bringing the population of Israel from the former Soviet Union to 1 million, one-sixth of the total population, and adding scientific and professional expertise of substantial value for the economy's future. The influx, coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began moderating in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 5.9% in 2000. But the outbreak of Palestinian unrest in late September and the collapse of the BARAK Government - coupled with a cooling off in the high-technology and tourist sectors - undercut the boom and foreshadows a slowdown to 2%-3% in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 119.5 billion kWh (2000 est.) | 31.899 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 350 million kWh (2000 est.) | 1.061 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 3.35 billion kWh (2000 est.) | 4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 125.3 billion kWh (2000 est.) | 35.437 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
71% hydro: 29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000 est.) |
fossil fuel:
99.89% hydro: 0.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% | Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) |
Exchange rates | Turkish liras per US dollar - 677,621 (December 2000), 625,219 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997), 81,405 (1996) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Ahmed Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Bulent ECEVIT (since 11 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister note: there is also a National Security Council that 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 scheduled to be held NA May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister 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 |
chief of state:
President Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 2 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president elected by the Knesset for a five-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2005); prime minister elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 6 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note - in March 1992, the Knesset approved legislation, effective in 1996, which allowed for the direct election of the prime minister, but in 2001 the Knesset voted to restore the previous method under which the legislators will choose the next prime minister after the next legislative elections in 2003 election results: Moshe KATSAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON elected prime minister; percent of vote - Ariel SHARON 62.5%, Ehud BARAK 37.4%; note - after the next legislative elections scheduled for 2003, the prime minister will be elected by the Knesset |
Exports | $26.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $31.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | apparel 25.6%, foodstuffs 15.4%, textiles 12.3%, metal manufactures 8.6%, transport equipment 8.1% (1998) | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
Exports - partners | Germany 18.7%, US 11.4%, UK 7.4%, Italy 6.3%, France 6.0% (2000 est.) | US 36%, UK 6%, Benelux 5%, Hong Kong 4%, Netherlands 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening | white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $444 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $110.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (1999) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 37% services: 59% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $18,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 5.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 35 00 E | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
Geography - note | strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas | there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 2000 est.) |
Heliports | 2 (2000 est.) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total:
382,059 km paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of expressways) unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.) |
total:
15,965 km paved: 15,965 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 32.3% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 26.9% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and increasingly Jordan |
Imports | $55.7 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | $35.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery 28.3%, chemicals 15.2%, semi-finished goods 14.5%, fuels 11%, transport equipment 9.5% (1999) | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Germany 13.1%, Italy 7.9%, US 7.2%, Russia 7.0%, France 6.6%, UK 5.0% (2000 est.) | US 20%, Benelux 11%, Germany 8%, UK 8%, Switzerland 6%, Italy 5% (1999) |
Independence | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2000 est.) | 7% (2000) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting |
Infant mortality rate | 47.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 7.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 39% (2000 est.) | 0.1% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, 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 | BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 22 (2000) | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 36,740 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,800 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors) | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
Labor force | 23 million (2000 est.)
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (1999) |
2.4 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 38%, services 38%, industry 24% (2000) | public services 31.2%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and business 13.1%, commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%, personal and other services 6.4%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,627 km border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km |
total:
1,006 km border countries: Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
Land use | arable land:
32% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 16% forests and woodland: 26% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
17% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 6% other: 66% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
Legal system | derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DSP 136, MHP 130, FP 110, DYP 86, ANAP 88; note - as of 7 March 2000 seating was DSP 136, MHP 127, FP 103, DYP 85, ANAP 88 independents 6, vacancies 5 |
unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - One Israel 20.2%, Likud Party 14.1%, Shas 13%, MERETZ 7.6%, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 5.1%, Shinui 5%, Center Party 5%, National Religious Party 4.2%, United Torah Judaism 3.7%, United Arab List 3.4%, National Union 3%, Hadash 2.6%, Yisra'el Beiteinu 2.6%, Balad 1.9%, One Nation 1.9%, Democratic Movement NA (party formed after election, members elected under Yisra'el Ba'Aliya list); seats by party - One Israel 26, Likud Party 19, Shas 17, MERETZ 10, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 4, Shinui 6, Center Party 6, National Religious Party 5, United Torah Judaism 5, United Arab List 5, National Union 4, Hadash 3, Yisra'el Beiteinu 4, Democratic Movement 2 (party formed after election, members elected under Yisra'el Ba'Aliya list), Balad 2, One Nation 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.24 years male: 68.89 years female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
78.71 years male: 76.69 years female: 80.84 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85% male: 94% female: 77% (2000) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93% (1992 est.) |
Location | southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | 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 |
continental shelf:
to depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
548 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,617,302 GRT/9,088,451 DWT ships by type: bulk 140, cargo 242, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 6, container 21, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 43, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 25, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5 (2000 est.) |
total:
17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,582 GRT/745,011 DWT ships by type: container 16, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Land Force, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie | Israel Defense Forces (includes ground, naval, and air components), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard, Chen (women); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.6 billion (FY99) | $8.7 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.6% (FY99) | 9.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
18,882,272 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,522,003 females age 15-49: 1,482,027 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
11,432,438 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,245,757 females age 15-49: 1,208,973 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
674,805 (2001 est.) |
males:
49,206 females: 53,379 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 29 October (1923) | Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May |
Nationality | noun:
Turk(s) adjective: Turkish |
noun:
Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli |
Natural hazards | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts |
Natural resources | antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand, oil |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km | crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Virtue Party or FP [Recai KUTAN]; note - in June 2001, Turkey's Constitutional Court banned the party; its representatives (except for two) can stay on in the Grand National Assembly as independents
note: Welfare Party or RP [Necmettin ERBAKAN] was officially outlawed on 22 February 1998 |
Balad or National Democratic Alliance [Amnon LIPKIN-SHAHAK]; Center Party [Yitzhak MORDECHAI]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Hadash [Muhammad BARAKA]; Labor Party [leader vacant]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; MERETZ [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) [leader NA]; National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union [Rehavam ZEEVI] (includes Herut, Tekuma, and Moledet); One Israel [leader NA] (includes Labor, Gesher, and Meimad); One Nation [Amir PERETZ]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Rabbi Eliezer SHACK, spiritual leader]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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] | Gush Emunim, Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and is critical of government's Lebanon policy |
Population | 66,493,970 (July 2001 est.) | 5,938,093 (July 2001 est.)
note: includes about 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, about 6,900 in the Gaza Strip, and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 2000 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.24% (2001 est.) | 1.58% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 72, shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 11.3 million (1997) | 3.07 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
8,607 km standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (1,524 km electrified) (1999) |
total:
610 km standard gauge: 610 km 1.435-m gauge (1996) |
Religions | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and Jews) | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially 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, by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems |
general assessment:
most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19.5 million (1999) | 2.8 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12.1 million (1999) | 2.5 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia) | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 2.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.57 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.6% (plus underemployment of 5.6%) (2000 est.) | 9% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 1,200 km (approximately) | none |