Turkey




                                 Geography


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
Area:
total area:
     780,580 sq km
land area:
     770,760 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries:
     total 2,627 km, Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km,
     Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km
Coastline:
     7,200 km
Maritime claims:
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
Land use:
arable land:
     30%
permanent crops:
     4%
meadows and pastures:
     12%
forest and woodland:
     26%
other:
     28%
Irrigated land:
     22,200 sq km (1989 est.)




Environment:
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


Population:
     62,153,898 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.02% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     25.98 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     5.8 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     48.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
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.)
Nationality:
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
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     81%
male:
     90%




female:
     71%
Labor force:
     20.8 million
by occupation:
     agriculture 48%, services 32%, industry 20%
note:
     about 1,800,000 Turks work abroad (1993)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Turkey
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form:
     Turkiye
Digraph:
     TU
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
Legal system:
     derived from various continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ
     jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
     21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
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
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
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
Diplomatic representation in US:
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
US diplomatic representation:
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


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)
National product real growth rate:
     7.3% (1993)
National product per capita:
     $5,100 (1993)




Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     65% (1993)
Unemployment rate:
     12.2% (1993)
Budget:
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)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 4.3% (1992); accounts for 28% of GDP
Electricity:
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
Economic aid:
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


Railroads:
     8,429 km 1.435-meter gauge (including 795 km electrified)
Highways:
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
Airports:
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


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.)