Turkiye

republican parliamentary democracy

Turkiye as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 126 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
LocationSouthwestern Asia (that part west of the Bosporus is sometimes
1994

Every edition of Turkiye

Populationas each edition published it
62.15 million July 1994 est. · 56.7m in 1990
Population growth% a year
2.02% 1994 est. · 2.07% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 26.8 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 70.41 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
3.21 children per woman 1994 est. · 3.6 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
48.8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 74 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$5,100 1993 · $3,670 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
7.3% 1993 · 5.9% in 1993

Geography

Southwestern Asia (that part west of the Bosporus is sometimes | included with Europe), bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, | between Bulgaria and Iran

23 fields
Coastline
7,200km
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
Irrigated land
22,200sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Southwestern Asia (that part west of the Bosporus is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Iran

Map references

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

total area

780,580 sq km

land area

770,760 sq km

comparative area

slightly larger than Texas

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 the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea

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

arable land

30%

permanent crops

4%

meadows and pastures

12%

forest and woodland

26%

other

28%

current issues

  • water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents;
  • air pollution;
  • deforestation

natural hazards

subject to very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van

international agreements

  • party to - Air Pollution, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution;
  • signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,

Note

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

People

22 fields
Population
62,153,898
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 2.02% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
25.98Death
5.8Net migration
0
Labor force
20.8million
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

48.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

70.94 years

male

68.61 years

female

73.38 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.21 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Turk(s)

adjective

Turkish

Ethnic divisions

Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%

Religions

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

Languages

Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic

total population

81%

male

90%

female

71%

by occupation

agriculture 48%, services 32%, industry 20%

note

about 1,800,000 Turks work abroad (1993)

Government

Republican parliamentary democracy

36 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%

Legislature, 450 seatsseats by party

DYP 178ANAP 115SHP 86RP 40MCP 19DSP 7other 5

conventional long form

Republic of Turkey

conventional short form

Turkey

local long form

Turkiye Cumhuriyeti

local short form

Turkiye

Type

republican parliamentary democracy

Capital

Ankara

Administrative divisions

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, Gazi Antep, 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, Sanli Urfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yozgat, Zonguldak

Independence

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday

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

Constitution

7 November 1982

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

chief of state

President Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993)

head of government

Prime Minister Tansu CILLER (since 5 July 1993)

National Security Council

advisory body to the President and the Cabinet

cabinet

Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on nomination of the prime minister

Turkish Grand National Assembly

  • (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi) elections 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

note

seats held by various parties are subject to change due to defections, creation of new parties, and ouster or death of sitting deputies;; present seats by party are as follows: DYP 178, ANAP 101, SHP 55, RP 39, CHP 18, MHP 13, DEP 13, BBP 7, DSP 3, YP 3, MP 2, independents 10, vacant 8

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation

Political parties and leaders

  • Correct Way Party (DYP), Tansu CILLER;
  • Motherland Party (ANAP), Mesut YILMAZ;
  • Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), Murat KARAYALCIN;
  • Welfare Party (RP), Necmettin ERBAKAN;
  • Democratic Left Party (DSP), Bulent ECEVIT;
  • Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Alparslan TURKES;
  • Democracy Party (DEP), Hatip DICLE;
  • Socialist Unity Party (SBP), Sadun AREN;
  • New Party (YP), Yusuf Bozkurt OZAL;
  • Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz BAYKAL;
  • Labor Party (IP), Dogu PERINCEK;
  • National Party (MP), Aykut EDIBALI;
  • Democrat Party (DP), Aydin MENDERES;
  • Grand Unity Party (BBP), Muhsin YAZICIOGLU;
  • Rebirth Party (YDP), Hasan Celal GUZEL;
  • People's Democracy Party (HADEP), Murat BOZLAK;
  • Main Path Party (ANAYOL), Gurcan BASER;
  • Democratic Target Party, Abdul Kadir Yasar TURK

Other political or pressure groups

Turkish Confederation of Labor (TURK-IS), Bayram MERAL

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, UNOSOM, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Nuzhet KANDEMIR

chancery

1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone

(202) 659-8200

consulate(s) general

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

chief of mission

Ambassador Richard C. BARKLEY

embassy

110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara

mailing address

PSC 93, Box 5000, Ankara, or APO AE 09823

telephone

[90] (312) 468-6110 through 6128

FAX

[90] (312) 467-0019

consulate(s) general

Istanbul

consulate(s)

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

In early 1994, after an impressive economic performance through most | of the 1980s, Turkey faces its most damaging economic crisis in the | last 15 years.

27 fields
Real growth rate
7.3%
(1993)industrial production growth: growth rate 4.3% (1992); accounts for 28% of GDP

Overview

In early 1994, after an impressive economic performance through most of the 1980s, Turkey faces its most damaging economic crisis in the last 15 years. Sparked by the downgrading in mid-January of Turkey's international credit rating by two US credit rating agencies, the crisis stems from two years of loose fiscal and monetary policies that have exacerbated inflation and allowed the public debt, money supply, and current account deficit to explode.

Under Prime Minister CILLER, Ankara has followed seriously flawed policies that have destroyed public confidence in the government's ability to manage the economy. Inflation is now running at an annual rate of 107% and the public sector deficit is equivalent to 16% of GDP. Turkish firms have been hurt by high interest rates and a dramatic drop in consumer demand.

Three Turkish banks have folded and the stock market has fallen 48% since the beginning of the year. Economic growth may drop to between 0% and 2% in 1994, compared to 7.3% in 1993. Moreover, the government is facing a severe cash crunch. In March 1994, the treasury came close to defaulting on a loan, and official foreign currency reserves are equal to less than two months' worth of imports.

The unprecedented effort by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to raise the economic costs of its insurgency against the Turkish state is adding to Turkey's economic problems. Attacks against the tourism industry have cut tourist revenues, which account for about 3% of GDP, while economic activity in southeastern Turkey, where most of the violence occurs, has dropped considerably.

To cope with the economic crisis and instill domestic and international investor confidence in the fragile coalition government, CILLER has asked the IMF to endorse a stabilization package she introduced in early April 1994. Negotiations are underway for a standby agreement, which would give Turkey access to $450 million this year and enable her cash-starved government to return to the foreign capital markets.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $312.4 billion (1993)

revenues

$36.5 billion

expenditures

$47.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 billion (1994)

Exports

$14.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities

manufactured products 72%, foodstuffs 23%, mining products 4%

partners

EC countries 53%, US 6%, Russia 4%, Saudi Arabia 3%

Imports

$22.9 billion (c.i.f., 1992)

commodities

manufactured products 68%, fuels 17%, foodstuffs 4%

partners

EC countries 44%, US 11%, Saudi Arabia 7%, Russia 5%

External debt

$59.4 billion (1993)

capacity

14,400,000 kW

production

44 billion kWh

consumption per capita

750 kWh (1991)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for 16% 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 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

recipient

  • 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 - 15,196.1 (January 1994), 10,983.3 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991), 2,608.6 (1990), 2,121.7 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

15 fields

Railroads

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

total

320,611 km

paved

27,000 km (including 138 km of expressways)

unpaved

gravel 18,500 km; earth 275,111 km (1988)

Inland waterways

about 1,200 km

Pipelines

  • crude oil 1,738 km;
  • petroleum products 2,321 km;
  • natural gas 708 km

Ports

Iskenderun, Istanbul, Mersin, Izmir

Merchant marine

390 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,664,205 GRT/8,163,379 DWT, bulk 103, cargo 195, chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 12, container 2, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 41, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 5, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 2

total

113

usable

105

with permanent-surface runways

69

with runways over 3,659 m

3

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

32

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

27

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

Defense Forces

Land Forces, Navy (including Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, | Coast Guard, Gendarmerie

3 fields

Branches

Land Forces, Navy (including Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 16,112,783;
  • fit for military service 9,828,853;
  • reach military age (20) annually 614,252 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $14 billion, 5.6% of GDP (1994 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Turkey.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/turkiye/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →