Turkey

Turkey is a Eurasian country, bordering Bulgaria to the northwest, Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east, Iraq and Syria to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus to the south, the Aegean Sea and Archipelago to the west, and the Black Sea is to the north. Turkey is a member of Council of Europe since 1949, NATO since 1952, OECD since 1961, OSCE since 1973 and the G20 industrial nations since 1999. The city of Ankara is the capital of Turkey.

HISTORY:- The Indo-European Hittites occupied Anatolia in 1900 BC. Following the downfall of the Hittites, the region was captured by Phrygians and Lydians. In the 6th century BC, the region came under the Persian Empire, followed by the Roman Empire, then later the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Turks defeated Turkish and Mongols and occupied Turkey. After Sultan Süleyman I’s reign, the Ottoman Empire began shrinking. In the Crimean War (1854–1856), Russian interest over the region was shattered by Britain and France. The Young Turks emerged from the Turkish weakness in 1909. They forced Sultan Abdul Hamid to introduce a liberal government. A new constitution was also adopted. However Turkey faced territorial losses after the World War I, as it sided with Germany. Turkey became a republic in 1923 and Kemal Atatürk became the first president. In the World War II, Turkey sided against Germany and Japan.

GEOGRAPHY:-Turkey is located at 39 00 N, 35 00 E at the juncture of Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Total area of Turkey is 780,580 sq km in which land and internal waters capture 770,760 sq km and 9,820 sq km respectively. The coastline is 7,200 km long along with the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The lowest point is Mediterranean Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Mount Ararat (5,166 m). Turkey is composed of high central plateau known as Anatolia, narrow coastal plains, and several mountain ranges.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Turkey is mostly temperate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters while the climate is harsher in the interior.

GOVERNMENT:- Turkey has a republican parliamentary democracy. The constitution was adopted on 7th November 1982. The civil law system of Turkey is based on various European continental legal systems. The three major branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Prime Minister (head of government), the Deputy Prime Ministers, and the Council of Ministers. The president is elected by the National Assembly on a 7-year term. The prime minister is appointed by the president from among members of parliament. The council of ministers is appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey (550 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Constitutional Court, High Court of Appeals, Council of State, Court of Accounts, Military High Court of Appeals, and Military High Administrative Court.

Major political parties to represent in the Parliament include Justice and Development Party (AKP), Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Democratic Society Party (DTP), Democratic Left Party (DSP), Freedom and Democracy Party (ODP), and Grand Unity Party (BBP). Suffrage is universal at 18.

President                                   Abdullah Gül

Prime Minister                            Recep Tayyip Erdoðan

Speaker of the Parliament         Köksal Toptan

Deputy Prime Minister                Cemil Cicek, Hayati Yazici, Nazim Ekren.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Turkey is divided into 81 provinces.

CULTURE:- The culture of Turkey is derived from Oðuz Turkic, Anatolian, Ottoman, and western cultures. The literature of the land is highly influences by Persian and Arabic literature. Football is the most popular sport of Turkey while Yaðlý güreþ is the national sport of the nation.

ECONOMY:- Turkish economy ranges form a strong agriculture sector to rapidly growing private sector. Textiles and clothing are the largest sector of the economy.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $888 billion; per capita $12,900.

Real growth rate: 5%.

Inflation: 8.8%.

Unemployment: 9.9% (plus underemployment of 4.0%).

Arable land: 30%.

Agriculture: Tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock.

Labor force: 23.53 million (2007); 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.

Budget:  

Revenues: $145.5 billion

Expenditures: $156.1 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 38.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $247.2 billion (31 December 2007)

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).

Monetary unit: Turkish lira (YTL)

LANGUAGE:- Turkish is the official language of Turkey while Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, and Kabardian are also widely spoken.

CITIES:- The capital of Turkey is Ankara and the largest city is Istanbul. Other major cities include Ýzmir, Bursa, Adana, Trabzon, Malatya, Gaziantep, Erzurum, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Mersin, Eskiþehir, Diyarbakýr, Antalya and Samsun.

POPULATION:- The population of Turkey is estimated 71,158,647 with an average growth rate of 1.0%.

Density per sq mi: 239

Literacy rate: 87.4% (2004 est.)

RACE:-

Turkish 80%,

Kurdish 20% (estimated)

RELIGION:-

Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni)

Other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 16.15 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 36.98 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.14 years

Total fertility rate: 1.87 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 592

UNICEF:- Turkey is polio free since 1998. UNICEF is promoting breastfeeding and girls’ education in the nation. Maternal and infant mortality rates are declining. Over 100 hospitals are certified as baby friendly. UNICEF partners with Procter & Gamble to educate more than 250000 mothers about parenting. All schoolchildren received vaccination against measles and 64% households received iodized salt. UNICEF supported the Girls’ Education Campaign to increase girls’ enrolment in schools. The minimum age for marriage for girls was raised from 15 to 17. UNICEF fights against discrimination against women and promotes children rights and juvenile justice.

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).