Turkiye

Republic of TurkeyTurkiye Cumhuriyeti

republican parliamentary democracy

Turkiye as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 79 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalAnkara

Area780,580 km2

LocationSoutheastern Europe/Southwest Asia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and

Populationas each edition published it

60.9 million July 1993 est. · 56.7m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.07% 1993 est. · 0.59% in 2025

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 26.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

70.41 years 1993 est. · 76.7 yrs in 2025

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.3 children per woman 1993 est. · 3.6 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

52 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 74 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$3,670 1992 · $35,300 in 2025

GDP real growth% a year

5.9% 1992 · 3.2% in 2025

Geography

Southeastern Europe/Southwest Asia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and | Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Iran

14 fields

Land useshare of 780,580 km2

arable land 30%permanent crops 4%meadows and pastures 12%forest and woodland 26%other 28%irrigated 22,200 km2 (1989 est.)

Area

780,580km2

land area: 770,760 km2comparative area: slightly larger than Texas

Coastline

7,200km

exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only - to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSRterritorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea, 12 nm in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea

Land boundaries

2,627km

total · Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km

Location

Southeastern Europe/Southwest Asia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Iran

Map references

Africa, Europe, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

International disputes

complex maritime and air (but not territorial) disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea;
Cyprus question;
Hatay question with Syria;
ongoing dispute with downstream riparians (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Climate

temperate;
hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters;
harsher in interior

Terrain

mostly mountains;
narrow coastal plain;
high central plateau (Anatolia)

Natural resources

antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulphur, iron ore

Environment

subject to severe earthquakes, especially along major river valleys in west;
air pollution;
desertification

Note

strategic location controlling the Turkish straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas

People

14 fields

Population

60,897,841

(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 2.07% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth

26.62Death

5.97Net migration

Labor force

20.7million

by occupation: agriculture 50%, services 35%, industry 15%note: about 1,800,000 Turks work abroad (1991)

Literacy

15and over can read and write

age · (1990)total population: 81%male: 90% female: 71%

Life expectancy at birth

total population:: 70.41 years
male:: 68.11 years
female:: 72.82 years (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Turk(s)
adjective:: Turkish

Religions

Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and Jews)

Government

Republican parliamentary democracy

21 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

27.03%

DYP 27.03%ANAP 24.01%SHP 20.75%RP 16.88%DSP 10.75%SBP 0.44%independent 0.14%

Names

conventional long form:: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form:: Turkey
local long form:: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form:: Turkiye

73 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahraman Maras, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Urfa, Usak, Van, Yozgat, Zonguldak

Independence

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

Constitution

7 November 1982

Legal system

derived from various continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday

Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)

Political parties and leaders

Correct Way Party (DYP), Suleyman DEMIREL;
Motherland Party (ANAP), Mesut YILMAZ;
Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), Erdal INONU;
Refah Party (RP), Necmettin ERBAKAN;
Democratic Left Party (DSP), Bulent ECEVIT;
Nationalist Labor Party (MCP), Alpaslan TURKES;
People's Labor Party (HEP), Ahmet TURK;
Socialist Unity Party (SBP), Saden AREN;
Democratic Center Party (DSP), Bedrettin DALAN;
Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz BAYKAL;
Workers' Party (IP), Dogu PERINCEK;
National Party (MP), Aykut EDIBALI

Other political or pressure groups

Turkish Confederation of Labor (TURK-IS), Sevket YILMAZ

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

Elections

Grand National Assembly:: last held 20 October 1991 (next to be held NA October 1996);
results - DYP 27.03%, ANAP 24.01%, SHP 20.75%, RP 16.88%, DSP 10.75%, SBP 0.44%, independent 0.14%;
seats - (450 total) DYP 178, ANAP 115, SHP 86, RP 40, MCP 19, DSP 7, other 5

Executive branch

president, Presidential Council, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch

unicameral Grand National Assembly (Buyuk Millet Meclisi)

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation

Leaders

Chief of State:: President Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993)
Head of Government:: Prime Minister Tansu CILLER (since NA June 1993)

Member of

AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECO, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, NATO, NEA, OECD, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNRWA, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Nuzhet KANDEMIR
chancery:: 1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:: (202) 659-8200
consulates general:: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Ambassador Richard C. BARKLEY
embassy:: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara
mailing address:: PSC 88, Box 5000, Ankara, or APO AE 09823
telephone:: [90] (4) 426 54 70
FAX:: [90] (4) 467-0057 and 0019
consulates general:: Istanbul and Izmir
consulate:: Adana

Flag

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

Economy

After an impressive economic performance through most of the 1980s, Turkey | has experienced erratic rates of economic growth since 1988 - ranging from a | high of 9.2% in 1990 to a low of 0.9% in 1991.

19 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$3,670

(1992)

Real growth rate

5.9%

(1992)industrial production growth: growth rate 3.2% (1991 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP

Inflation, consumer prices

70%

(1992)

Unemployment rate

11.1%

(1992 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$40.5 billionExpenditures

$46.8 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $5.5 billion (1993)

Overview

After an impressive economic performance through most of the 1980s, Turkey has experienced erratic rates of economic growth since 1988 - ranging from a high of 9.2% in 1990 to a low of 0.9% in 1991. Strong consumer demand and increased public investment led the way to a strong 5.9% growth in 1992.

Chronic high inflation is Turkey's most serious economic problem, leading to high interest rates and the rapid depreciation of the Turkish lira. The huge public sector deficit - about 12% of GDP - and the Treasury's heavy reliance on Central Bank financing of the deficit are the major causes of Turkish inflation.

Meanwhile, wage increases in both the public and private sector have outpaced productivity gains, limited the government's ability to reduce current expenditures, and hindered the return to profitability of many private companies. Agriculture remains an important economic sector, employing about half of the work force, contributing 18% to GDP, and accounting for about 20% of exports.

The government has launched a multibillion-dollar development program in the southeastern region, which includes the building of a dozen dams on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to generate electric power and irrigate large tracts of farmland. The Turkish economy will probably continue to grow faster than the West European average in 1993, but the shaky coalition government of Prime Minister DEMIREL - which has seen its parliamentary majority shrink from 36 to 11 seats during its first year in power - is unlikely to risk further erosion of its support by implementing the belt-tightening measures necessary to substantially reduce inflation.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $219 billion (1992)

Exports

$13.7 billion (f.o.b., 1991)

commodities:: manufactured goods 69%, foodstuffs 22%, fuels 2%
partners:: EC countries 51%, US 7%, Iran 5%, former USSR 5%

Imports

$21.1 billion (c.i.f., 1991)

commodities:: manufactured goods 61%, foodstuffs 8%, fuels 21%
partners:: EC countries 44%, US 12%, former USSR 5%

External debt

$48.7 billion (1991)

Electricity

14,400,000 kW capacity; 44,000 million kWh produced, 750 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

textiles, food processing, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron minerals), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper

Agriculture

accounts for 18% of GDP and employs about half of working force;
products - tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus fruit, variety of animal products;
self-sufficient in food most years

Illicit drugs

major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe and 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 have sprung up 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

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.3 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.1 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $665 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $4.5 billion;
note - aid for Persian Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991), $4.1 billion;
aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund, $2.5 billion

Currency

1 Turkish lira (TL) = 100 kurus

Exchange rates

Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 8,814.3 (January 1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991), 2,608.6 (1990), 2,121.7 (1989), 1,422.3 (1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Merchant marine, 353 ships by type

short-sea passenger 7passenger-cargo 1cargo 189container 1roll-on/roll-off cargo 6refrigerated cargo 2livestock carrier 1oil tanker 39chemical tanker 10liquefied gas 3combination ore/oil 9specialized tanker 2bulk 80combination bulk 3353 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,825,274 GRT/6,628,207 DWT

Railroads

8,429 km 1.435-meter gauge (including 795 km electrified)

Highways

320,611 km total;
138 km limited access expressways, 31,062 km national (main) roads, 27,853 km regional (secondary) roads, 261,558 km local and municipal roads;
45,526 km of hard surfaced roads (of which about 27,000 km are paved and about 18,500 km are surfaced with gravel or crushed stone) (1988 est.)

total:: 110
usable:: 102
with permanent-surface runways:: 65
with runways over 3,659 m:: 3
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:: 32
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:: 26

Telecommunications

fair domestic and international systems;
trunk radio relay microwave network;
limited open wire network;
3,400,000 telephones;
broadcast stations - 15 AM;
94 FM;
357 TV;
1 satellite ground station operating in the INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean antennas) and EUTELSAT systems;
1 submarine cable