Turkey (2001) | Mauritania (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 | 12 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 capital district*; Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh Ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott*, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza |
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:
46.14% (male 634,940; female 632,654) 15-64 years: 51.59% (male 698,433; female 718,883) 65 years and over: 2.27% (male 25,840; female 36,562) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 121 (2000 est.) | 26 (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:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (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:
18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
780,580 sq km land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
total:
1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Texas | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico |
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. | Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Opposition parties were legalized and a new constitution approved in 1991. Two multiparty presidential elections since then were widely seen as being flawed; Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black minority population and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber) populace. |
Birth rate | 18.31 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$54.5 billion expenditures: $75.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.3 billion (2000) |
revenues:
$329 million expenditures: $265 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Ankara | Nouakchott |
Climate | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
Coastline | 7,200 km | 754 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1982 | 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Turkey conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
conventional long form:
Islamic Republic of Mauritania conventional short form: Mauritania local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah |
Currency | Turkish lira (TRL) | ouguiya (MRO) |
Death rate | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $109 billion (2000 est.) | $2.1 billion (1999) |
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 John W. LIMBERT embassy: Rue Abdallaye, Nouakchott mailing address: B. P. 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 25-26-60, 25-26-63 FAX: [222] 25-15-92 |
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 Ahmed Ben Khalifa BEN JIDOU chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623 |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $195 million (1993) | $300 million (1998) |
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. | A majority of the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though most of the nomads and many subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for half of total exports. The decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to cutbacks in production. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In the past, drought and economic mismanagement have resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In March 1999, the government signed an agreement with a joint World Bank-IMF mission on a $54 million enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF). Mauritania withdrew its membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2000. Privatization and debt relief are in full swing, and the rate of economic growth appears to be accelerating, especially in the construction, telecommunication, and information sectors. Diamonds and petroleum are beginning to be explored and exploited. |
Electricity - consumption | 119.5 billion kWh (2000 est.) | 140.4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 350 million kWh (2000 est.) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 3.35 billion kWh (2000 est.) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 125.3 billion kWh (2000 est.) | 151 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
71% hydro: 29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000 est.) |
fossil fuel:
82.78% hydro: 17.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
lowest point:
Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m highest point: Kediet Ijill 910 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 | overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal which is the only perennial river |
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, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% | mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% |
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) | ouguiyas per US dollar - 250.870 (December 2000), 238.923 (2000), 209.514 (1999), 188.476 (1998), 151.853 (1997), 137.222 (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 Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Cheik El Avia Ould Mohamed KHOUNA (since 17 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held NA December 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected with 90.9% of the vote |
Exports | $26.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $333 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | apparel 25.6%, foodstuffs 15.4%, textiles 12.3%, metal manufactures 8.6%, transport equipment 8.1% (1998) | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
Exports - partners | Germany 18.7%, US 11.4%, UK 7.4%, Italy 6.3%, France 6.0% (2000 est.) | Japan 18%, France 17%, Italy 16%, Spain 11% (1998) |
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 | green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $444 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (1999) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 31% services: 44% (1997) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 35 00 E | 20 00 N, 12 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas | most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country |
Heliports | 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:
7,660 km paved: 866 km unpaved: 6,794 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 32.3% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 29.9% (1995) |
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 | - |
Imports | $55.7 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | $305 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | machinery 28.3%, chemicals 15.2%, semi-finished goods 14.5%, fuels 11%, transport equipment 9.5% (1999) | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Germany 13.1%, Italy 7.9%, US 7.2%, Russia 7.0%, France 6.6%, UK 5.0% (2000 est.) | France 27%, Benelux 9%, Germany 7%, Spain 7% (1998) |
Independence | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) | 28 November 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2000 est.) | 2.2% (1999) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum |
Infant mortality rate | 47.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 39% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (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 | ABEDA, ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 22 (2000) | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 36,740 sq km (1993 est.) | 490 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 or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts |
Labor force | 23 million (2000 est.)
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (1999) |
750,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 38%, services 38%, industry 24% (2000) | agriculture 47%, services 39%, industry 14% |
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:
5,074 km border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km |
Land use | arable land:
32% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 16% forests and woodland: 26% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 4% other: 58% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek | Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French |
Legal system | derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law |
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 |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats; 17 up for election every two years; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (79 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 17 April 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); National Assembly - last held 11 and 18 October 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRDS 71, AC 1, independents and other 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.24 years male: 68.89 years female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
51.14 years male: 49.06 years female: 53.29 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: 46.7% male: 53.4% female: 40% (1998 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 | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
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 |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM 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.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Land Force, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.6 billion (FY99) | $41 million (FY97/98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.6% (FY99) | 2.7% (FY97/98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
18,882,272 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
624,375 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
11,432,438 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
302,699 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
674,805 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 29 October (1923) | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
Turk(s) adjective: Turkish |
noun:
Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian |
Natural hazards | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower | iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 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 |
Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Assembly for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA]; Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concorde or PMRC [Molaye El Hassen Ould JIYID]; National Union for Democracy and Development or UNDD [Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality and Justice or PLEJ [Daouda M'BAGNIGA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progress Alliance or APP [Mohamed El Hafed Ould ISMAEL]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould MOLOUD]; Union for Progress and Democracy or UNDD [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
note: parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991; however, politics continue to be tribally based |
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] | Arab nationalists; Ba'athists; General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general]; Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory Ould BEYE]; Islamists; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM, secretary general] |
Population | 66,493,970 (July 2001 est.) | 2,747,312 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (1996 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.24% (2001 est.) | 2.93% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 72, shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 11.3 million (1997) | 360,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
8,607 km standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (1,524 km electrified) (1999) |
total:
750 km (single track); note - owned and operated by government mining company standard gauge: 750 km 1.435-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and Jews) | Muslim 100% |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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:
limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations (improvements being made) domestic: mostly cable and open-wire lines; a recently completed domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19.5 million (1999) | 26,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12.1 million (1999) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia) | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.6% (plus underemployment of 5.6%) (2000 est.) | 23% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | 1,200 km (approximately) | note:
ferry traffic on the Senegal River |