Turkey (2008) | Turkmenistan (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel (Mersin), Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), 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 (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak | 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.9% (male 9,034,731/female 8,703,624)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 24,627,270/female 23,857,507) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 2,253,383/female 2,682,132) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 909,113/female 860,128)
15-64 years: 60.2% (male 1,462,198/female 1,516,836) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 78,119/female 125,687) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 117 (2007) | 53 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 90
over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
total: 23
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 27
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 17 (2007) |
total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: negl. |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Texas | slightly larger than California |
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. 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. | Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. |
Birth rate | 16.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.68 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $137.8 billion
expenditures: $151.9 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $3.05 billion
expenditures: $3.05 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Ankara
geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 32 52 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Ashgabat |
Climate | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 7,200 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | 7 November 1982 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Death rate | 6 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $226.4 billion (30 June 2007) | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ross WILSON
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir |
chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON
embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Nabi SENSOY
chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
Disputes - international | complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh | cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $464 million (2005) | $16 million from the US (2001) |
Economy - overview | Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that still accounts for more than 35% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end of the global quota system. However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electronics industries, are rising in importance within Turkey's export mix. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. The economy is turning around with the implementation of economic reforms, and 2004 GDP growth reached 9%, followed by roughly 5% annual growth from 2005-07. Inflation fell to 7.7% in 2005 - a 30-year low but climbed back to 8.5% in 2007. Despite the strong economic gains from 2002-07, which were largely due to renewed investor interest in emerging markets, IMF backing, and tighter fiscal policy, the economy is still burdened by a high current account deficit and high external debt. Further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost foreign direct investment. The stock value of FDI currently stands at about $85 billion. Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion. Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking a major milestone that will bring up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian to market. In 2007, Turkish financial markets weathered significant domestic political turmoil, including turbulence sparked by controversy over the selection of former Foreign Minister Abdullah GUL as Turkey's 11th president. Economic fundamentals are sound, marked by strong economic growth and foreign direct investment. Turkey's high current account deficit leaves the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence, however. | Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; formerly it was the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2004, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil and gas revenues, and its unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. |
Electricity - consumption | 129 billion kWh (2005) | 8.908 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 1.798 billion kWh (2005) | 1.136 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 636 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 154.2 billion kWh (2005) | 11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 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 | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) |
Exchange rates | Turkish liras per US dollar - 1.319 (2007), 1.4286 (2006), 1.3436 (2005), 1.4255 (2004), 1.5009 (2003)
note: on 1 January 2005 the old Turkish lira (TRL) was converted to new Turkish lira (TRY) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 new Turkish lira |
Turkmen manats per US dollar - 10,100 (2004), 10,034 (2003), 10,098 (2002), 5,200 (2001)
note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 21,000 manats to the dollar |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abdullah GUL (since 28 August 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 14 March 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Cemil CICEK (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Hayati YAZICI (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Nazim EKREN (since 29 August 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a maximum of two five-year terms; prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament election results: Abdullah GUL received 339 votes in the third round of voting on 28 August 2007, after failing to garner the two thirds vote required by law in the first two rounds note: president-elect 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 and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council on 28 December 1999; deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5% |
Exports | 112,600 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Exports - commodities | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles |
Exports - partners | Germany 11.3%, UK 8%, Italy 7.9%, US 6%, France 5.4%, Spain 4.4% (2006) | Ukraine 46.6%, Iran 17.3%, Turkey 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2004) |
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 field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 30.8% services: 59.3% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 28.5%
industry: 42.7% services: 28.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2007 est.) | IMF estimate: 7.5%
note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 35 00 E | 40 00 N, 60 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; the western and central low-lying, desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau |
Heliports | 18 (2007) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 34.1% (2003) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and, to a lesser extent, the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin exist in remote regions of Turkey and near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and over output of poppy straw concentrate; lax enforcement of money-laundering controls | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |
Imports | 724,400 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Russia 12.8%, Germany 10.6%, China 6.9%, Italy 6.2%, France 5.2%, US 4.5%, Iran 4% (2006) | US 11.8%, Russia 9.7%, UAE 9.2%, Ukraine 9%, Turkey 8.6%, Germany 8%, France 5%, Georgia 4.6%, Iran 4.5% (2004) |
Independence | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | official government estimate: 22% (2003 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 38.33 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 41.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 34.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 73.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.5% (2007 est.) | 9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ADB (nonregional members), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Irrigated land | 52,150 sq km (2003) | 17,500 sq km (2003 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 (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 25.27 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2007 est.) |
2.32 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 35.9%
industry: 22.8% services: 41.2% (3rd quarter, 2004) |
agriculture 48.2%, industry 13.8%, services 37% (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: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.81%
permanent crops: 3.39% other: 66.8% (2005) |
arable land: 3.72%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001) |
Languages | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian
note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European part of Turkey |
Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 on 22 July 2007 (next to be held on November 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 46.7%, CHP 20.8%, MHP 14.3%, independents 5.2%, and other 13.0%; seats by party - AKP 341, CHP 112, MHP 71, independents 26; note - seats by party as of 17 December 2007 - AKP 340, CHP 87, MHP 70, DTP 20, DSP 13, independents 6, other 12, vacant 2 (DTP entered parliament as independents; DSP entered parliament on CHP's party list); only parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats |
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.88 years
male: 70.43 years female: 75.46 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 61.39 years
male: 58.02 years female: 64.93 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4% male: 95.3% female: 79.6% (2004 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (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 | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Middle East | Asia |
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: 565 ships (1000 GRT or over) 4,663,353 GRT/7,039,492 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 96, cargo 262, chemical tanker 58, combination ore/oil 1, container 30, liquefied gas 7, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 48, petroleum tanker 32, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 25, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 8 (China 1, Cyprus 2, Germany 1, Italy 3, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 470 (Albania 1, Antigua and Barbuda 7, Bahamas 5, Belize 11, Cambodia 20, Comoros 8, Cyprus 1, Dominica 9, Georgia 23, Isle of Man 2, Italy 1, Kiribati 1, North Korea 1, Liberia 7, Malta 143, Marshall Islands 41, Netherlands Antilles 12, Panama 53, Russia 70, Sierra Leone 7, Slovakia 11, St Kitts and Nevis 13, St Vincent and The Grenadines 20, Tuvalu 1, UK 2, unknown 3) (2007) |
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT
by type: cargo 3, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2005) |
Military - note | in the early 1990s, the Turkish Land Force was a large but badly equipped infantry force; there were 14 infantry divisions, but only one was mechanized, and out of 16 infantry brigades, only six were mechanized; a subsequent overhaul has produced highly mobile forces with greatly enhanced firepower in accordance with NATO's new strategic concept (2005) | - |
Military branches | Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Land Forces, Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri, TDK; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Force (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri, THK) (2006) | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.3% (2005 est.) | 3.4% (FY99) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 29 October (1923) | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
Natural hazards | 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 | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 7,511 km; oil 3,636 km (2007) | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Anavatan Partisi (Motherland Party) or Anavatan [Erkan MUMCU]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic Society Party or DTP [Nurettin DEMIRTAS]; Felicity Party or SP [Recai KUTAN] (sometimes translated as Contentment Party); Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] (sometimes translated as Nationalist Movement Party); People's Rise Party (Halkin Yukselisi Partisi) or HYP [Yasar Nuri OZTURK]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Murat KARAYALCIN]; True Path Party or DYP [Mehmet AGAR] (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party); Young Party or GP [Cem Cengiz UZAN]
note: the parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49 parties that Turkey had on 1 December 2004 |
Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Ismail Hakki TOMBUL]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Omer BOLAT]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugurl KUDATGOBILIK]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Salih KILIC]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Omer SABANCI]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU] | NA |
Population | 71,158,647 (July 2007 est.) | 4,952,081 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20% (2002) | 58% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.04% (2007 est.) | 1.81% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Turkmenbasy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 8,697 km
standard gauge: 8,697 km 1.435-m gauge (1,920 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.032 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.019 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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 the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat; mobile satellite terminals - 328 in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002) |
general assessment: poorly developed
domestic: NA international: country code - 993; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 18.978 million (2005) | 374,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 52.663 million (2006) | 52,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) |
Terrain | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.41 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.7% plus underemployment of 4% (2007 est.) | 60% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 1,200 km (2005) | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) |