Facts and Figures

Area: slightly larger than Texas

total: 780,580 sq km (301,383 sq mi)

land: 770,760 sq km (297,592 sq mi)

water: 9,820 sq km (3,791 sq mi)

Bordering countries:

Bulgaria 240 km (149 mi), Greece 206 km (128 mi), Georgia 252 km (156.5 mi), Armenia 268 km (166.5 mi), Azerbaijan 9 km (5.6 mi), Iran 499 km (310 mi), Iraq 352 km (218.7 mi) and Syria 822 km (510.7 mi)

Coastline:

Turkey is bounded by the Mediterranean 1,577 km (980 mi), Aegean 2,805 km (1,743 mi), and Black Sea 1,695 km (1,053 mi), and bisected by the Marmara 927 km (576 mi), which divides Europe from Asia.

Nationality:

noun: Turk(s)

adjective: Turkish

Ethnic groups: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)

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

Language: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian

note: There is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European part of Turkey.

Population: 71,158,647 (July 2007 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 24.9% (male 9,034,731/female 8,703,624)

15-64years: 68.1% (male 24,627,270/female 23,857,507)

65 years and over: 6.9% (male 2,253,383/female 2,682,132)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 72.88 years

male: 70.43 years

female: 75.46 years

Total fertility rate: 1.89 children

Born/woman Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 87.4%

male: 95.3%

female: 79.6% (2004 est.)

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Turkey

conventional short form: Turkey

local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti

local short form: Turkiye

Government: republican parliamentary democracy

Capital: Ankara

Administrative:

81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel (Mersin), Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, ordu, osmaniye, Rize, sakarya, samsun, sanliurfa, siirt, sinop, sirnak, sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, zonguldak

National Independence Day: Republic Day, 29 October 1923

Legal system:

The legal system is a civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems.

Note: Turkey is a member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European convention on Human Rights. They have not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Abdullah GUL (since 28 August 2007)

head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 14 March 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Cemil CICEK (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Hayati YAZICI (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Nazim EKREN  (since 29 August 2007) cabinet: The cabinet consists of a Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister.

elections: The president is elected by the National Assembly for a maximum of two five-year terms. The prime minister is appointed by the president from among members of parliament.

election results: Abdullah GUL received 339 votes in the third round of voting on 28 August 2007, after failing to garner the two-thirds vote required by law in the first two rounds.

note: The president-elect must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot.

Legislative Branch:

Unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 22 July 2007 (next to be held on November 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 46.7%, CHP 20.8%, MHP 14.3%, independents 5.2%, and other 13.0%; seats by party - AKP 341, CHP 112, MHP 71, independents 26; note - seats by party as of 17 December 2007 - AKP 340, CHP 87, MHP 70, DTP 20, DSP 13, independents 6, other 12, vacant 2 (DTP entered parliament as independents; DSP entered parliament on CHP’s party list); only parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats

Judicial Branch:

Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court

Political parties and leaders:

Anavatan partisi (Motherland party) or Anavatan [Erkan MUMCU]; Democratic Left Party or DSP  [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic Society Party or DTP [Nurettin DEMIRTAS]; Felicity Party or SP [Recai KUTAN] (sometimes translated as Contentment party); Justice and Development party or AKp [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] (sometimes translated as Nationalist Movement Party); People’s Rise Party (Halkin Yukselisi Partisi) or HYP [Yasar Nuri OZTURK]; Republican People’s Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People’s Party or SHP [Murat KARAYALCIN]; True Path Party or DYP [Mehmet AGAR] (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party); Young Party or GP [Cem Cengiz UZAN] note: The parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49 parties that Turkey had on 1 December 2004.

International organizations:

Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australia Group, Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Council of Europe (CE), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), European Union (EU) (applicant), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Code Council (ICC), International Committee for Radionuclide Metrology (ICRM), International Development Association (IDA), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Energy Agency (IEA), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRCS), International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), International Labor Organization (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), Interpol, International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Organization of American States (OAS), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), southeast Europe Cooperation initiative (sECi), united Nations (uN), united Nations Commission for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNiDO), United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), United Nations Operation in Cote d’lvoire (UNOCi), United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), World Customs Organization (WCO), Western European Union (WEU), World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), World Health Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), WTO World Trade Organization (WTO), Zangger Committee (ZC).

Diplomatic representation from the U.S:

chief of mission: Ambassador Ross WILSON 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.

GDP by composition sector:

agriculture: 8.9%

industry: 30.8%

services: 59.3%

Labor force: 25.27 million

note: About 1.2 million Turks work abroad.

Labor force by occupation:

agriculture: 35.9%

industry: 22.8%

services: 41.2% (3rd quarter, 2004)

Unemployment rate: 9.7% plus underemployment of 4%

Population below the poverty level: 20% (2002)

Public debt: 58.2% of GDP

Agriculture products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock

Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper

Land use:

arable land: 29.81%

permanent crops: 3.39%

other: 66.8% (2005)

Telephone landline: 18.978 million (2005)

Telephone cellular/mobile: 52.663 million (2006)

Internet hosts: 217,887 (2007)

Internet users: 12.284 million (2006)

Airports: 117 (2007)

Military Branches:

Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara Kuvvetleri, TKK), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri, TDK; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Force (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri, THK) (2008).