Republic of Turkey

National name: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti

President: Ahmet Necdet Sezer (2000)

Prime Minister: Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2003)

Land area: 297,591 sq mi (770,761 sq km); total area: 301,384 sq mi (780,580 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 70,413,958 (growth rate: 1.1%); birth rate: 16.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 39.7/1000; life expectancy: 72.6; density per sq mi: 237

Capital (2003 est.): Ankara, 3,582,000 (metro. area), 3,456,100 (city proper)

Largest cities: Istanbul, 9,760,000 (metro. area), 8,831,805 (city proper); Izmir, 2,398,200; Bursa, 1,288,900; Adana, 1,219,900; Gaziantep, 979,500

Monetary unit: Turkish lira (YTL)

Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli, Azeri, Kabardian

Ethnicity/race: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)

Religions: Islam (mostly Sunni) 99.8%, other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)

Literacy rate: 87% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $552.7 billion; per capita $7,900. Real growth rate: 5.1%. Inflation: 7.7%. Unemployment: 10% (plus underemployment of 4.0%). Arable land: 30%. Agriculture: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock. Labor force: 24.7 million; note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad; agriculture 35.9%, industry 22.8%, services 41.2% (3rd quarter, 2004). Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper. Natural resources: antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower. Exports: $72.49 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment. Imports: $101.2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, fuels, transport equipment. Major trading partners: Germany, UK, U.S., Italy, France, Spain, Russia, China (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 19.5 million (1999); mobile cellular: 17.1 million (2001). Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001). Radios: 11.3 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995). Televisions: 20.9 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 50 (2001). Internet users: 2.5 million (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 8,607 km (2002). Highways: total: 385,960 km; paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of expressways); unpaved: 254,734 km (1999). Waterways: about 1,200 km. Ports and harbors: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon. Airports: 120 (2002).

International disputes: 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.


 

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