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Compare Turkey (2004) - Belarus (2006)

Compare Turkey (2004) z Belarus (2006)

 Turkey (2004)Belarus (2006)
 TurkeyBelarus
Administrative divisions 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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak 6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk, Vitsyebsk


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers
Age structure 0-14 years: 26.6% (male 9,328,108; female 8,990,742)


15-64 years: 66.8% (male 23,394,465; female 22,650,532)


65 years and over: 6.6% (male 2,078,881; female 2,451,190) (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)


15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950)


65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 120 (2003 est.) 86 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 87


over 3,047 m: 16


2,438 to 3,047 m: 30


1,524 to 2,437 m: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 17


under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
total: 41


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 22


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 12 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 32


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 8


under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.)
total: 45


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 6


under 914 m: 35 (2006)
Area total: 780,580 sq km


land: 770,760 sq km


water: 9,820 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than Texas slightly smaller than Kansas
Background 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, but 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. After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.
Birth rate 17.22 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $66.79 billion


expenditures: $93.31 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)
revenues: $5.903 billion


expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2005 est.)
Capital Ankara name: Minsk


geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 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 temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 7,200 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 7 November 1982 15 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Turkey


conventional short form: Turkey


local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti


local short form: Turkiye
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus


conventional short form: Belarus


local long form: Respublika Byelarus'


local short form: Byelarus'


former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency Turkish lira (TRL) -
Death rate 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $147.3 billion (2003) $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Eric S. EDELMAN


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
chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002


mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723


telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348


FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU


chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700


FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744


consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV


chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604


FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805


consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question remains with Greece; 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 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political union with Russia proceed slowly
Economic aid - recipient ODA, $300 million (2000) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The 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 electonics industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export mix. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile, the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which accounted for more than 40% of central government spending in 2003. Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 11.3% in 2004. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. Results in 2002-04 improved, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. A major political and economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a member of the EU. Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprises. During 2005, the government re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices.
Electricity - consumption 112.6 billion kWh (2001) 34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports 433 million kWh (2001) 800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 4.579 billion kWh (2001) 7 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 116.6 billion kWh (2001) 30 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 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 soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates Turkish liras per US dollar - NA (2003), 1,507,230 (2002), 1,225,590 (2001), 625,218 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 151,865 (1997) Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001)
Executive branch 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 seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held NA 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
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKIY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003)


cabinet: Council of Ministers


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run in a third election held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud
Exports 46,110 bbl/day (2001) 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners Germany 15.8%, US 8%, UK 7.8%, Italy 6.8%, France 6% (2003) Russia 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%, China 4.1% (2005)
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 red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red
GDP purchasing power parity - $458.2 billion (2003 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 11.7%


industry: 29.8%


services: 58.5% (2003 est.)
agriculture: 9.3%


industry: 31.6%


services: 59.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2003 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 5.8% (2003 est.) 9.2% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 39 00 N, 35 00 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note 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 landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
Heliports 14 (2003 est.) 1 (2006)
Highways total: 385,960 km


paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of expressways)


unpaved: 254,734 km (1999)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2.3%


highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
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 limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; a small and lightly regulated financial center; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities
Imports 616,500 bbl/day (2001) 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners Germany 13.6%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.8%, France 6%, UK 5%, US 5%, Switzerland 4.3% (2003) Russia 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005)
Independence 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 8.5% (2003 est.) 15.6% (2005 est.)
Industries textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 42.62 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 46.3 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 38.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 25.3% (2003 est.) 10.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation 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, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land 42,000 sq km (1998 est.) 1,310 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives)
Labor force 23.79 million


note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2003)
4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 39.7%, industry 22.4%, services 37.9% (3rd quarter, 2001) agriculture: 14%


industry: 34.7%


services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries 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
total: 2,900 km


border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Land use arable land: 30.93%


permanent crops: 3.31%


other: 65.76% (2001)
arable land: 26.77%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 72.63% (2005)
Languages Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights based on civil law system
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 3 November 2002 (next to be held NA 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%, ANAP 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and others; 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 2004 - AKP 368, CHP 171, DYP 4, LDP 1, independents 5, vacant 1
bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-LUKASHENKO candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons


election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population: 72.08 years


male: 69.68 years


female: 74.61 years (2004 est.)
total population: 69.08 years


male: 63.47 years


female: 74.98 years (2006 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 86.5%


male: 94.3%


female: 78.7% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 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 Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Middle East Europe
Maritime claims 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
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 508 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,666,895 GRT/7,311,504 DWT


by type: bulk 111, cargo 229, chemical tanker 46, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 2, container 34, liquefied gas 6, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 36, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 26, short-sea/passenger 8, specialized tanker 3


foreign-owned: Belize 1, Cambodia 1, China 1, Cyprus 4, Greece 1, Italy 3, Liberia 1, Monaco 1, Switzerland 1, Thailand 1, United Kingdom 9


registered in other countries: 243 (2004 est.)
-
Military branches Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Naval Forces Command (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard Command, Gendarmerie (Jandarma) Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $12.155 billion (2003) $420.5 million (2006)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.3% (2003) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 19,828,702 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 11,965,262 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 680,673 (2004 est.) -
National holiday Republic Day, 29 October (1923) Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union
Nationality noun: Turk(s)


adjective: Turkish
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van NA
Natural resources 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 forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) 2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2004) gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic People's Party or DEHAP [Tuncer BAKIRHAN]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Emin SIRIN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [leader NA]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP (includes the New Turkey Party) [Deniz BAYKAL]; Felicity Party (sometimes translated as Contentment Party) or SP [Necmettin ERBEKAN]; 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
pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]


opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Alyaksandr MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]


other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
Political pressure groups and leaders 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 Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Omer SABANCI]; 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 Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU] Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; Lenin Communist Union of Youth (youth wing of the Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB); National Strike Committee of Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY]; Partnership NGO [Nikolay ASTREYKA]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna [Ales BYALATSKY]; Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]
Population 68,893,918 (July 2004 est.) 10,293,011 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line 18% (2001) 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 1.13% (2004 est.) -0.06% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon -
Radio broadcast stations AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways total: 8,671 km


standard gauge: 8,671 km 1.435-m gauge (2,122 km electrified) (2003)
total: 5,512 km


broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2005)
Religions Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 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 (2004 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female


total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system 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)
general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom, is the sole provider of fixed line local and long distance service; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly


domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; four GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies


international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
Telephones - main lines in use 18,916,700 (2003) 3,284,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 27,887,500 (2003) 4.098 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.) 1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 10.5% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2003 est.) 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways 1,200 km (2003) 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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