Western Sahara (2005) | Turkey (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 9,422,242; female 9,082,840)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 22,978,251; female 22,243,477) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 2,013,926; female 2,368,733) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 120 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 86
over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 34
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 24 (2002) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly larger than Texas |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | Present-day Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter, the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to protect Turkish Cypriots and prevent a Greek takeover of the island; the northern 37 percent of the island remains under Turkish Cypriot control. Relations between the two countries remain strained, but have begun to improve over the past few years. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in southeast Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 - has observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 17.59 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $42.4 billion
expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
Capital | none | Ankara |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 7,200 km |
Constitution | - | 7 November 1982 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
Currency | - | Turkish lira (TRL) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $118.3 billion (Yearend 2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | 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 |
Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | 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 is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | ODA, $300 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | 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 most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in 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 account for more than 50% of central government spending. Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 26% in 2003. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. In late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Turkey to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in 2002-03 were much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and serious political tensions in the Middle East could result in negative growth in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | 112.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 433 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 4.579 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | 116.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 79.3%
hydro: 20.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0.3% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic |
Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | NA (2002), 1,225,590 (2001), 625,218 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997) |
Executive branch | none | chief of state: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14 March 2003); note - Abdullah GUL resigned 11 March 2003; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN was given a mandate to form a new government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister note: a National Security Council serves as an advisory body to the government composed of top military and cabinet officials and presided over by the president 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 and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third ballot; percent of National Assembly vote - 60% note: president must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot |
Exports | NA | 46,110 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Germany 16.6%, US 9.2%, UK 8.5%, Italy 6.4%, France 6% (2002) |
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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $489.7 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 12.9%
industry: 30.4% services: 56.7% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 7.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 39 00 N, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | 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 |
Heliports | - | 8 (2002) |
Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
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%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate |
Imports | NA | 616,500 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Germany 13.7%, Italy 8.1%, Russia 7.6%, US 6%, France 5.9%, UK 4.8%, Switzerland 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | - | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 8.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 47.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 45.2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | none | AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 50 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 42,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals and Council of State (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors) |
Labor force | 12,000 | 23.8 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2001 3rd quarter) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture 39.7%, services 37.9%, industry 22.4% (3rd quarter, 2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
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 |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 34.53%
permanent crops: 3.36% other: 62.11% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
Legal system | - | derived from various European continental legal systems; 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 13 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 71.8 years
male: 69.41 years female: 74.3 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | 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 |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
territorial sea: 6 NM in the Aegean Sea; 12 NM in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea |
Merchant marine | - | total: 525 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,306,506 GRT/8,424,837 DWT
ships by type: bulk 125, cargo 229, chemical tanker 44, combination bulk 3, combination ore/oil 3, container 34, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 35, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 26, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Thailand 1, UK 11 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | - | Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $8.1 billion (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 19,534,455 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 11,801,267 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 679,882 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 29 October (1923) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Ahmet Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party) or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Young Party or GP [Cem UZAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | 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 [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU] |
Population | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) | 68,109,469 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | NA | 1.16% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 8,607 km
standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Muslim | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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: 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 19.5 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 17.1 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 2.03 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,200 km (approximately) |