Turkiye

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

• high central plateau (Anatolia);
• narrow coastal plain;
• several mountain ranges

agricultural land:

49.7%;

• arable land 26.7%;
• permanent crops 4%;
• permanent pasture 19%

forest:

14.9%

other:

35.4% (2011 est.)

total:

40.1 cu km/yr (14%/10%/76%)

per capita:

572.9 cu m/yr (2008)

• water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents;
• air pollution, particularly in urban areas;
• deforestation;
• concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic

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

• strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link the Black and Aegean Seas;
• Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country

noun:

Turk(s)

adjective:

Turkish

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.8 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

total number:

321,866

percentage:

3%

note: data represents children ages 6-14 (2006 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Turkey

conventional short form:

Turkey

local long form:

Turkiye Cumhuriyeti

local short form:

Turkiye

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

• several previous;
• latest ratified 9 November 1982;
• amended 2001, 2007, 2010 (2010)

chief of state:

President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 10 August 2014)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ahmet DAVUTOGLU (since 28 August 2014); Deputy Prime Ministers Yalcin AKDOGAN, Bulent ARINC, Ali BABACAN (all since 29 August 2014)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament;
• note - a 2007 constitutional amendment changed the presidential electoral process to direct popular vote;
• prime minister appointed by the president from among members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey

election results:

Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN elected president; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (AKP) 51.8%, Ekmeleddin IHSANOGLU (independent) 38.4%, Selahattin DEMIRTAS (HDP) 9.8%

description:

unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 7 June 2015 (next to be held on June 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - AKP 40.9%, CHP 25.1%, MHP 16.4%, HDP 13.1%, other 4.5%;
• seats by party - AKP 256, CHP 132, MHP 80, HDP 82;
• note - only parties surpassing the 10% threshold can win parliamentary seats

highest court:

• Constitutional Court or Anayasa Mahkemesi (consists of 17 members);
• Supreme Court of Appeals (consists of about 390 judges and organized into 15 divisions with 23 civil and 15 criminal chambers);
• Council of State (organized into 15 divisions - 14 judicial and 1 consultative – each with a division head and at least 5 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Constitutional Court members - 3 appointed by the Grand National Assembly and 14 by the president of the republic from among candidates nominated by the plenary assemblies of the high courts (with the exception of the Court of High Accounts), the Higher Education Council, and from among senior government administrators, lawyers, judges and prosecutors, and Constitutional Court rapporteurs;
• court president and 2 deputy presidents appointed from among its members for 4-year terms;
• judges appointed for 12-year, non-renewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65;
• Supreme Court of Appeals judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (SCJP), an independent body of judicial officials;
• judges appointed until retirement at age 65;
• Council of State members appointed by the SCJP and by the president of the republic;
• members appointed for renewable, 4-year terms

subordinate courts:

basic (first instance) courts, military courts, specialized courts, including administrative and audit

• Anatolia Party or AnaParti [Emine Ulker TARHAN]
• Center Party [Abdurrahim KARSLI]
• Democratic Left Party or DSP [Masum TURKER]
• Democratic Party or DP [Gultekin UYSAL]
• Democratic Regions Party or DBP [Emine AYNA and Kamuran YUKSEK, co-chairs]
• Electronic Democracy Party or e-Parti [Emrehan HALICI]
• Felicity Party or SP [Mustafa KAMALAK]
• Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP [Alper TAS and Bilge Seckin CETINKAYA, co-chairs]
• Grand Unity Party or BBP [Mustafa DESTICI]
• Independent Turkey Party or BTP [Haydar BAS]
• Justice and Development Party or AKP [Ahmet DAVUTOGLU]
• Nation and Justice Party or MILAD [Idris Naim SAHIN]
• Nationalist Movement Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]
• People's Democratic Party or HDP [Selahattin DEMIRTAS and Figen YUKSEKDAG, co-chairs]
• Republican People's Party or CHP [Kemal KILICDAROGLU]

• Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey or TUSKON [Rizanur MERAL]
• Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Lami OZGEN, Sazyie KOSE, co-chairs]
• Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Tayfun GORGUN]
• Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Nail OLPAK]
• Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Mahmut ARSLAN]
• Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugrul KUDATGOBILIK]
• Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Ergun ATALAY]
• Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Bendevi PALANDOKEN]
• Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem YILMAZ]
• Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Serdar KILIC (since 21 May 2014)

chancery:

2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 612-6700

FAX:

[1] (202) 612-6744

consulate(s) general:

Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador John R. BASS (since 20 October 2014)

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

• red with a vertical white crescent moon (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening;
• the flag colors and designs closely resemble those on the banner of the Ottoman Empire, which preceded modern-day Turkey;
• the crescent moon and star serve as insignia for Turkic peoples (the crescent represents the mythical moon god, Ay Ata, and the star the sun goddess, Gun Ana);
• according to one legend, the flag represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors

name:

"Istiklal Marsi" (Independence March)

lyrics/music:

Mehmet Akif ERSOY/Zeki UNGOR

note: lyrics adopted 1921, music adopted 1932; the anthem's original music was adopted in 1924; a new composition was agreed upon in 1932

agriculture:

25.5%

industry:

26.2%

services:

48.4% (2010)

lowest 10%:

2.1%

highest 10%:

30.3% (2008)

general assessment:

comprehensive telecommunications network undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially in mobile-cellular services

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;
• combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons

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 (2010)

• Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) operates multiple TV and radio networks and stations;
• multiple privately owned national television stations and up to 300 private regional and local television stations;
• multi-channel cable TV subscriptions available;
• more than 1,000 private radio broadcast stations (2009)

total:

12,008 km

standard gauge:

12,008 km 1.435-m gauge (3,216 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 20

total:

385,754 km

paved:

352,268 km (includes 2,127 km of expressways)

unpaved:

33,486 km (2012)

country comparison to the world: 18

major seaport(s):

Aliaga, Ambarli, Diliskelesi, Eregli, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Mersin (Icel), Limani, Yarimca

container port(s) (TEUs):

Ambarli (2,121,549), Mersin (Icel) (1,126,866)

LNG terminal (import):

Izmir Aliaga, Marmara Ereglisi

• 21-41 years of age for male compulsory military service;
• 18 years of age for voluntary service;
• 12 months conscript obligation for non-university graduates, 6-12 months for university graduates (graduates of higher education may perform 6 months of military service as short-term privates, or 12 months as reserve officers);
• conscripts are called to register at age 20, for service at 21;
• women serve in the Turkish Armed Forces only as officers;
• reserve obligation to age 41;
• Turkish citizens with a residence or work permit who have worked abroad for at least 3 years (1095 days) can be exempt from military service in exchange for 6,000 EUR or its equivalent in foreign currencies;
• a law passed in December 2014 introduced a one-time payment scheme which exempted Turkish citizens 27 and older from conscription in exchange for a payment of $8,150 (2013)

males age 16-49:

21,079,077

females age 16-49:

20,558,696 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

17,664,510

females age 16-49:

17,340,816 (2010 est.)

male:

700,079

female:

670,328 (2010 est.)

• the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has actively pursued the goal of asserting civilian control over the military since first taking power in 2002;
• the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) role in internal security has been significantly reduced;
• the TSK leadership continues to be an influential institution within Turkey, but plays a much smaller role in politics;
• the Turkish military remains focused on the threats emanating from the Syrian civil war, Russia's actions in Ukraine, and the PKK insurgency;
• primary domestic threats are listed as fundamentalism (with the definition in some dispute with the civilian government), separatism (Kurdish discontent), and the extreme left wing;
• Ankara strongly opposed establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq;
• an overhaul of the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) taking place under the "Force 2014" program is to produce 20-30% smaller, more highly trained forces characterized by greater mobility and firepower and capable of joint and combined operations;
• the TLFC has taken on increasing international peacekeeping responsibilities including in Afghanistan;
• the Turkish Navy is a regional naval power that wants to develop the capability to project power beyond Turkey's coastal waters;
• the Navy is heavily involved in NATO, multinational, and UN operations;
• its roles include control of territorial waters and security for sea lines of communications;
• the Turkish Air Force adopted an "Aerospace and Missile Defense Concept" in 2002 and has initiated project work on an integrated missile defense system;
• Air Force priorities include attaining a modern deployable, survivable, and sustainable force structure, and establishing a sustainable command and control system;
• Turkey is a NATO ally and hosts NATO's Land Forces Command in Izmir, as well as the AN/TPY-2 radar as part of NATO Missile Defense (2014)

• 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;
• in 2009, Swiss mediators facilitated an accord reestablishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey, but neither side has ratified the agreement and the rapprochement effort has faltered;
• Turkish authorities have complained that blasting from quarries in Armenia might be damaging the medieval ruins of Ani, on the other side of the Arpacay valley

refugees (country of origin):

at least 103,000 (Iraq) (2014); 1,938,999 (Syria) (2015)

IDPs:

954,000-1.2 million (displaced from 1984-2005 because of fighting between Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs are Kurds from eastern and southeastern provinces; no information available on persons displaced by development projects) (2014)

stateless persons:

780 (2014)

• 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