Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the People's Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO; it holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council during 2009-10. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community. Over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy; it began accession membership talks with the European Union in 2005.

Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria

39 00 N, 35 00 E

Middle East

slightly larger than Texas

7,200 km

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

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

coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower

52,150 sq km (2003)

234 cu km (2003)

severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van

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

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

77,804,122 (July 2010 est.)

1.272% (2010 est.)

18.28 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

6.1 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

2.18 children born/woman (2010 est.)

less than 0.1%; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

NA (2007 est.)

NA

Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 18%, other minorities 7-12% (2008 est.)

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

Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages

4% of GDP (2004)

republican parliamentary democracy

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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

Republic Day, 29 October (1923)

7 November 1982; amended 17 May 1987, 1995, 2001, and 2007; note - amendment passed by referendum concerning presidential elections on 21 October 2007

civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

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

Democratic Left Party or DSP [Masum TURKER]; Democratic Party or DP [Husamettin CINDORUK]; Felicity Party or SP [Numan KURTULMUS] (sometimes translated as Contentment Party); Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP [Alper TAS]; Grand Unity Party or BBP [Yalcin TOPCU]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] (sometimes translated as Nationalist Movement Party); Peace and Democracy Party or BDP [Selahattin DEMIRTAS]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Huseyin ERGUN]; Turkey Party [Abdullatif SENER]; Young Party or GP [Cem Cengiz UZAN]

Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Sami EVREN]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Omer Cihad VARDAN]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugrul KUDATGOBILIK]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Mustafa KUMLU]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Bendevi PALANDOKEN]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Umit BOYNER]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]

ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), CICA, D-8, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SECI, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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; the flag colors and designs closely resemble those on the banner of Ottoman Empire, which preceded modern-day Turkey; the crescent moon and star are symbols of the Turks

Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that still accounts for about 30% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, and while the state remains a major participant in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication, this role has been diminishing as Turkey's privatization program continues. The largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which accounts for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in international markets with the end of the global quota system. However, other sectors, notably the automotive and electronics industries, are rising in importance and have surpassed textiles within Turkey's export mix. Real GDP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Due to global economic conditions, GDP fell to a 0.9% annual rate in 2008, and contracted by about 6% in 2009. Inflation fell to 6.5% in 2009 - a 34-year low. Despite the strong economic gains from 2002-07, which were largely due to renewed investor interest in emerging markets, IMF backing, and tighter fiscal policy, the economy has been burdened by a high current account deficit and high external debt. Further economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to continue boosting foreign direct investment. The stock value of FDI stood at more than $180 billion at year-end 2009. Privatization sales are currently approaching $39 billion. Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking a major milestone that will bring up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian to market. Several gas pipelines also are being planned to help move Central Asian gas to Europe via Turkey. In 2007 and 2008, Turkish financial markets weathered significant domestic political turmoil, including turbulence sparked by controversy over the selection of former Foreign Minister Abdullah GUL as Turkey's 11th president and the possible closure of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Turkey's financial markets and banking system also weathered the 2009 global financial crisis and did not suffer significant declines due to banking and structural reforms implemented during the country's own financial crisis in 2001. Economic fundamentals are sound, but the Turkish economy may be faced with more negative economic indicators in 2010 as the global economic slowdown continues to curb demand for Turkish exports. In addition, Turkey's relatively high current account deficit, uncertainty related to policy-making, and fiscal balances leave the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence.

$863.3 billion (2009 est.)

$914.5 billion (2008 est.)

$906.3 billion (2007 est.)

$608 billion (2009 est.)

-5.6% (2009 est.)

0.9% (2008 est.)

4.7% (2007 est.)

$11,200 (2009 est.)

$12,100 (2008 est.)

$12,100 (2007 est.)

25.3 million

14.5% (2009 est.)

11.2% (2008)

17.11% (2008)

41 (2007)

43.6 (2003)

20.1% of GDP (2009 est.)

48.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

40% of GDP (2008 est.)

6.5% (2009)

10.1% (2008 est.)

15% (22 December 2009)

25% (31 December 2008)

NA%

$37.1 billion (31 December 2009)

$47.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$313.5 billion (31 December 2009)

$311.1 billion (31 December 2008)

$210.8 billion (31 December 2009)

$326.4 billion (31 December 2008)

$117.9 billion (31 December 2008)

$286.6 billion (31 December 2007)

$162.4 billion (31 December 2006)

tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, hazelnuts, pulse, citrus; livestock

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

-11.8% (2009 est.)

198.4 billion kWh (2008 est.)

198.1 billion kWh (2008 est.)

1.12 billion kWh (2008 est.)

790 million kWh (2008 est.)

43,040 bbl/day (2008 est.)

631,800 bbl/day (2008 est.)

149,100 bbl/day (2008 est.)

560,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

284.7 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

1.014 billion cu m (2009 est.)

32.1 billion cu m (2009 est.)

721 million cu m (2009 est.)

33.6 billion cu m (2009 est.)

6.83 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$11 billion (2009 est.)

-$41.4 billion (2008 est.)

$102.2 billion (2009 est.)

$132 billion (2008 est.)

apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment

Germany 9.6%, France 6.1%, UK 5.8%, Italy 5.8%, Iraq 5% (2009 est.)

$140.8 billion (2009 est.)

$201.9 billion (2008 est.)

machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment

Russia 14%, Germany 10%, China 9%, US 6.1%, Italy 5.4%, France 5% (2009 est.)

$75.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$74.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$274 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$278.1 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$205 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$139.6 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$14.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$13.8 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar - 1.5548 (2009), 1.3179 (2008), 1.319 (2007), 1.4286 (2006), 1.3436 (2005)

17.502 million (2008)

65.824 million (2008)

1,090 (station frequency types NA) (2009)

251 (2009)

.tr

2.961 million (2009)

24.483 million (2008)

102 (2009)

21 (2009)

gas 10,630 km; oil 3,636 km (2009)

1,200 km (2008)

Aliaga, Diliskelesi, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Mercin Limani, Nemrut Limani

Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara Kuvvetleri), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Force (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri) (2010)

20 years of age (2004)

5.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

a "National Security Policy Document" adopted in October 2005 increases the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) role in internal security, augmenting the General Directorate of Security and Gendarmerie General Command (Jandarma); the TSK leadership continues to play a key role in politics and considers itself guardian of Turkey's secular state; in April 2007, it warned the ruling party about any pro-Islamic appointments; despite on-going negotiations on EU accession since October 2005, progress has been limited in establishing required civilian supremacy over the military; primary domestic threats are listed as fundamentalism (with the definition in some dispute with the civilian government), separatism (the Kurdish problem), and the extreme left wing; Ankara strongly opposed establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region; 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, and took charge of a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command in Afghanistan in April 2007; 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 (2008)

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; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh

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