Turkey (2004) | Mexico (2001) | |
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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 | 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas |
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:
33.32% (male 17,312,220; female 16,635,438) 15-64 years: 62.28% (male 30,888,015; female 32,558,359) 65 years and over: 4.4% (male 1,997,219; female 2,487,920) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Airports | 120 (2003 est.) | 1,848 (2000 est.) |
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:
238 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 90 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 27 (2000 est.) |
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:
1,610 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 65 914 to 1,523 m: 470 under 914 m: 1,073 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
total:
1,972,550 sq km land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Texas | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
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. | The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. |
Birth rate | 17.22 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 22.77 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $66.79 billion
expenditures: $93.31 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues:
$125 billion expenditures: $130 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Ankara | Mexico |
Climate | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior | varies from tropical to desert |
Coastline | 7,200 km | 9,330 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1982 | 5 February 1917 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
conventional long form:
United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
Currency | Turkish lira (TRL) | Mexican peso (MXN) |
Death rate | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $147.3 billion (2003) | $162 billion (2000) |
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 Jeffery DAVIDOW embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087 telephone: [52] (5) 209-9100 FAX: [52] (5) 208-3373, 511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales |
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 Juan Jose BREMER Martino chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $300 million (2000) | $1.166 billion (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. | Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 2000. The ZEDILLO administration privatized and expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996-2000. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth in 2000, accompanied by increased employment and higher real wages. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico completed free trade agreements with the EU, Israel, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in 2000, and is pursuing additional trade agreements with countries in Latin America and Asia to lessen its dependence on the US. |
Electricity - consumption | 112.6 billion kWh (2001) | 170.754 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 433 million kWh (2001) | 11 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 4.579 billion kWh (2001) | 1.047 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 116.6 billion kWh (2001) | 182.492 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
74.12% hydro: 17.75% nuclear: 5.21% other: 2.92% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
lowest point:
Laguna Salada -10 m highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 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 | natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border |
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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
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) | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.7701 (January 2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604 (1999), 9.1360 (1998), 7.9185 (1997), 7.5994 (1996) |
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 Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74% |
Exports | 46,110 bbl/day (2001) | $168 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations) |
Exports - commodities | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | Germany 15.8%, US 8%, UK 7.8%, Italy 6.8%, France 6% (2003) | US 88.6%, Canada 2%, Spain 0.9%, Germany 0.9%, Japan 0.6%, UK 0.6%, Netherlands Antilles 0.5%, Switzerland 0.3% Venezuela 0.3%, Chile 0.3% (2000 est.) |
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 | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $458.2 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $915 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.7%
industry: 29.8% services: 58.5% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
5% industry: 27% services: 68% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2003 est.) | 7.1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 35 00 E | 23 00 N, 102 00 W |
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 | strategic location on southern border of US |
Heliports | 14 (2003 est.) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 385,960 km
paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of expressways) unpaved: 254,734 km (1999) |
total:
323,977 km paved: 96,221 km (including 6,335 km of expressways) unpaved: 227,756 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 36.6% (1996) |
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 | illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2000 - 1,900 hectares; potential heroin production - 2.4 metric tons) and cannabis cultivation in 2000 - 3,900 hectares; government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; two major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; primary supplier of methamphetamine to the US market; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy |
Imports | 616,500 bbl/day (2001) | $176 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment | metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
Imports - partners | Germany 13.6%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.8%, France 6%, UK 5%, US 5%, Switzerland 4.3% (2003) | US 73.6%, Japan 3.7%, Germany 3.3%, Canada 2.3%, South Korea 2%, China 1.6%, Taiwan 1.2%, Italy 1%, Brazil 1% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (2003 est.) | 7.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
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.) |
25.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 25.3% (2003 est.) | 9% (2000 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 | APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 51 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 42,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 61,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
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 of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 23.79 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2003) |
39.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 39.7%, industry 22.4%, services 37.9% (3rd quarter, 2001) | agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) |
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:
4,538 km border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km |
Land use | arable land: 30.93%
permanent crops: 3.31% other: 65.76% (2001) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 39% forests and woodland: 26% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
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 | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 59, PAN 45, PRD 17, PVEM 5, PT 1, PCD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 208, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 7, PCD 3, PSN 3, PAS 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.08 years
male: 69.68 years female: 74.61 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
71.76 years male: 68.73 years female: 74.93 years (2001 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: 89.6% male: 91.8% female: 87.4% (1995 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 America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US |
Map references | Middle East | North America |
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 |
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: 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.) |
total:
43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 590,657 GRT/920,456 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 28, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 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) | National Defense Secretariat (includes Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $12.155 billion (2003) | $4 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (2003) | 1% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 19,828,702 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
26,703,300 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 11,965,262 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
19,394,184 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females will be allowed to volunteer for military service |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 680,673 (2004 est.) | males:
1,077,536 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 29 October (1923) | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Nationality | noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
noun:
Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican |
Natural hazards | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts |
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 | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -2.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2004) | crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km |
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 |
Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge GONZALEZ Torres]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Center or PCD [Manuel CAMACHO Solis]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAIS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Jose Antonio CALDERON Cardoso]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] |
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] | Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 68,893,918 (July 2004 est.) | 101,879,171 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 18% (2001) | 27% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.13% (2004 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 865, FM about 500, shortwave 13 (1999) |
Radios | - | 31 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 8,671 km
standard gauge: 8,671 km 1.435-m gauge (2,122 km electrified) (2003) |
total:
31,048 km standard gauge: 30,958 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified) narrow gauge: 90 km 0.914-m gauge (1998 est.) |
Religions | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
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:
low telephone density with about 11 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 has brightened prospects for development domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service international: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 18,916,700 (2003) | 9.6 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 27,887,500 (2003) | 2.02 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Total fertility rate | 1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.62 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.5% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2003 est.) | urban - 2.2% (2000); plus considerable underemployment |
Waterways | 1,200 km (2003) | 2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |