NAVIGATION
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NAVIGATION
Republic of Turkey
Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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Present-day Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter, the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to protect Turkish Cypriots and prevent a Greek takeover of the island; the northern 37 percent of the island remains under Turkish Cypriot control. Relations between the two countries remain strained, but have begun to improve over the past few years. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in southeast Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 - has observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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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 |
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Geographic coordinates:
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39 00 N, 35 00 E |
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Map references:
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Middle East |
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Area:
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total: 780,580 sq km
water: 9,820 sq km land: 770,760 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than Texas |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km |
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Coastline:
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7,200 km |
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Maritime claims:
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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 Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea |
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Climate:
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temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
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Terrain:
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high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
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Natural resources:
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antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower |
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Land use:
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arable land: 34.53%
permanent crops: 3.36% other: 62.11% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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42,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
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Environment - current issues:
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water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification |
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Geography - note:
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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 |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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68,109,469 (July 2003 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 27.2% (male 9,422,242; female 9,082,840)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 22,978,251; female 22,243,477) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 2,013,926; female 2,368,733) (2003 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 26.8 years
male: 26.7 years female: 27 years (2002) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.16% (2003 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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17.59 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Death rate:
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5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 40.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 47.91 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 71.8 years
male: 69.41 years female: 74.3 years (2003 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.03 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1% - note: no country specific models provided (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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NA |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA |
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Nationality:
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noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
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Ethnic groups:
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Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) |
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Religions:
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Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) |
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Languages:
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Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.) |