conventional long form:
Republic of Turkey
conventional short form:
Turkey
local long form:
Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form:
Turkiye
Digraph:
TU
Type:
republican parliamentary democracy
Capital:
Ankara
Administrative divisions:
73 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri,
Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Batman,
Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale,
Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan,
Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gazi Antep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay,
Icel, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahraman Maras, Karaman, Kars,
Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya,
Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu,
Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanli Urfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas,
Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Independence:
29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)
Constitution:
7 November 1982
Legal system:
derived from various continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993)
head of government:
Prime Minister Tansu CILLER (since 5 July 1993)
National Security Council:
advisory body to the President and the Cabinet
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on nomination of the
prime minister
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Turkish Grand National Assembly:
(Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi) elections last held 20 October 1991
(next to be held NA October 1996); results - DYP 27.03%, ANAP 24.01%,
SHP 20.75%, RP 16.88%, DSP 10.75%, SBP 0.44%, independent 0.14%; seats
- (450 total) DYP 178, ANAP 115, SHP 86, RP 40, MCP 19, DSP 7, other 5
note:
seats held by various parties are subject to change due to defections,
creation of new parties, and ouster or death of sitting deputies;
present seats by party are as follows: DYP 178, ANAP 101, SHP 55, RP
39, CHP 18, MHP 13, DEP 13, BBP 7, DSP 3, YP 3, MP 2, independents 10,
vacant 8
Judicial branch:
Court of Cassation
Political parties and leaders:
Correct Way Party (DYP), Tansu CILLER; Motherland Party (ANAP), Mesut
YILMAZ; Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), Murat KARAYALCIN;
Welfare Party (RP), Necmettin ERBAKAN; Democratic Left Party (DSP),
Bulent ECEVIT; Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Alparslan TURKES;
Democracy Party (DEP), Hatip DICLE; Socialist Unity Party (SBP), Sadun
AREN; New Party (YP), Yusuf Bozkurt OZAL; Republican People's Party
(CHP), Deniz BAYKAL; Labor Party (IP), Dogu PERINCEK; National Party
(MP), Aykut EDIBALI; Democrat Party (DP), Aydin MENDERES; Grand Unity
Party (BBP), Muhsin YAZICIOGLU; Rebirth Party (YDP), Hasan Celal
GUZEL; People's Democracy Party (HADEP), Murat BOZLAK; Main Path Party
(ANAYOL), Gurcan BASER; Democratic Target Party, Abdul Kadir Yasar
TURK
Other political or pressure groups:
Turkish Confederation of Labor (TURK-IS), Bayram MERAL
Member of:
AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, ECE,
ECO, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer),
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, NATO, NEA, OECD, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOSOM, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Nuzhet KANDEMIR
chancery:
1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
(202) 659-8200
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard C. BARKLEY
embassy:
110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara
mailing address:
PSC 93, Box 5000, Ankara, or APO AE 09823
telephone:
[90] (312) 468-6110 through 6128
FAX:
[90] (312) 467-0019
consulate(s) general:
Istanbul
consulate(s):
Adana
Flag:
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
@Turkey, Economy
Overview:
In early 1994, after an impressive economic performance through most
of the 1980s, Turkey faces its most damaging economic crisis in the
last 15 years. Sparked by the downgrading in mid-January of Turkey's
international credit rating by two US credit rating agencies, the
crisis stems from two years of loose fiscal and monetary policies that
have exacerbated inflation and allowed the public debt, money supply,
and current account deficit to explode. Under Prime Minister CILLER,
Ankara has followed seriously flawed policies that have destroyed
public confidence in the government's ability to manage the economy.
Inflation is now running at an annual rate of 107% and the public
sector deficit is equivalent to 16% of GDP. Turkish firms have been
hurt by high interest rates and a dramatic drop in consumer demand.
Three Turkish banks have folded and the stock market has fallen 48%
since the beginning of the year. Economic growth may drop to between
0% and 2% in 1994, compared to 7.3% in 1993. Moreover, the government
is facing a severe cash crunch. In March 1994, the treasury came close
to defaulting on a loan, and official foreign currency reserves are
equal to less than two months' worth of imports. The unprecedented
effort by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to raise the economic
costs of its insurgency against the Turkish state is adding to
Turkey's economic problems. Attacks against the tourism industry have
cut tourist revenues, which account for about 3% of GDP, while
economic activity in southeastern Turkey, where most of the violence
occurs, has dropped considerably. To cope with the economic crisis and
instill domestic and international investor confidence in the fragile
coalition government, CILLER has asked the IMF to endorse a
stabilization package she introduced in early April 1994. Negotiations
are underway for a standby agreement, which would give Turkey access
to $450 million this year and enable her cash-starved government to
return to the foreign capital markets.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $312.4 billion (1993)
National product real growth rate:
7.3% (1993)
National product per capita:
$5,100 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
65% (1993)
Unemployment rate:
12.2% (1993)
Budget:
revenues:
$36.5 billion
expenditures:
$47.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 billion (1994)
Exports:
$14.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
manufactured products 72%, foodstuffs 23%, mining products 4%
partners:
EC countries 53%, US 6%, Russia 4%, Saudi Arabia 3%
Imports:
$22.9 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
commodities:
manufactured products 68%, fuels 17%, foodstuffs 4%
partners:
EC countries 44%, US 11%, Saudi Arabia 7%, Russia 5%
External debt:
$59.4 billion (1993)
Industrial production:
growth rate 4.3% (1992); accounts for 28% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
14,400,000 kW
production:
44 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
750 kWh (1991)
Industries:
textiles, food processing, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron
minerals), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Agriculture:
accounts for 16% of GDP and employs about half of working force;
products - tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus
fruit, variety of animal products; self-sufficient in food most years
Illicit drugs:
major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western
Europe and the US via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish,
Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out
of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into
heroin are in remote regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul;
government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy
cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.3 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.1
billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $665 million; Communist
countries (1970-89), $4.5 billion
note:
aid for Persian Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991), $4.1
billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund, $2.5 billion
Currency:
1 Turkish lira (TL) = 100 kurus
Exchange rates:
Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 15,196.1 (January 1994), 10,983.3
(1993), 6,872.4 (1992), 4,171.8 (1991), 2,608.6 (1990), 2,121.7 (1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
@Turkey, Communications
Railroads:
8,429 km 1.435-meter gauge (including 795 km electrified)
Highways:
total:
320,611 km
paved:
27,000 km (including 138 km of expressways)
unpaved:
gravel 18,500 km; earth 275,111 km (1988)
Inland waterways:
about 1,200 km
Pipelines:
crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km
Ports:
Iskenderun, Istanbul, Mersin, Izmir
Merchant marine:
390 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,664,205 GRT/8,163,379 DWT,
bulk 103, cargo 195, chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 5,
combination ore/oil 12, container 2, liquefied gas 4, livestock
carrier 1, oil tanker 41, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 5, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 2
Airports:
total:
113
usable:
105
with permanent-surface runways:
69
with runways over 3,659 m:
3
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
32
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
27
Telecommunications:
fair domestic and international systems; trunk radio relay microwave
network; limited open wire network; 3,400,000 telephones; broadcast
stations - 15 AM; 94 FM; 357 TV; 1 satellite ground station operating
in the INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean antennas) and EUTELSAT systems; 1
submarine cable
@Turkey, Defense Forces
Branches:
Land Forces, Navy (including Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force,
Coast Guard, Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 16,112,783; fit for military service 9,828,853; reach
military age (20) annually 614,252 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $14 billion, 5.6% of GDP (1994 est.)
@Turkmenistan, Geography
Location:
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Uzbekistan
Map references:
Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States,
Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
488,100 sq km
land area:
488,100 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total 3,736 km, Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km,
Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Coastline:
0 km
note:
Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Maritime claims:
landlocked, but boundaries in the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, and Iran are under negotiations
International disputes:
Russia may dispute current de facto maritime border to midpoint of
Caspian Sea from shore
Climate:
subtropical desert
Terrain:
flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the
south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in
west
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulphur, salt
Land use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
69%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
28%
Irrigated land:
12,450 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues:
contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals,
pesticides; salinization, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation
methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow
of the Amu Darya river into irrigation contributes to that river's
inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
party to - Ozone Layer Protection
Note:
landlocked
@Turkmenistan, People
Population:
3,995,122 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.01% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
30.42 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
7.44 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
69.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
65.14 years
male:
61.63 years
female:
68.82 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.77 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Turkmen(s)
adjective:
Turkmen
Ethnic divisions:
Turkmen 73.3%, Russian 9.8%, Uzbek 9%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.9%
Religions:
Muslim 87%, Eastern Orthodox 11%, unknown 2%
Languages:
Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Literacy:
age 9-49 can read and write (1970)
total population:
100%
male:
100%
female:
100%
Labor force:
1.573 million
by occupation:
agriculture and forestry 44%, industry and construction 20%, other 36%
(1992)
@Turkmenistan, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Turkmenistan
local long form:
Tiurkmenostan Respublikasy
local short form:
Turkmenistan
former:
Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph:
TX
Type:
republic
Capital:
Ashgabat
Administrative divisions:
5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan
Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty (formerly Tashauz), Lebap
Welayaty (Charjew), Mary Welayaty
note:
names in parentheses are administrative centers when name differs from
welayat name
Independence:
27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Constitution:
adopted 18 May 1992
Legal system:
based on civil law system
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Saparmurad NIYAZOV (since NA October 1990); election last
held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA 2002); results - Saparmurad
NIYAZOV 99.5% (ran unopposed); note - a 15 January 1994 referendum
extended NIYAZOV's term an additional five years until 2002 (99.99%
approval)
head of government:
Prime Minister (vacant); Deputy Prime Ministers Batyr SARDJAEV, Valery
G. OCHERTSOV, Orazgeldi AIDOGDIEV, Djourakuli BABAKULIYEV, Rejep
SAPAROV, Boris SHIKHMURADOV, Abad RIZAEVA, Yagmur OVEZOV (since NA)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
under 1992 constitution there are two parliamentary bodies, a
unicameral People's Council (Halk Maslahaty - having more than 100
members and meeting infrequently) and a 50-member unicameral Assembly
(Majlis)
Assembly (Majlis):
elections last held 7 January 1990 (next to be held late 1994 or early
1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (175 total)
elections not officially by party, but Communist Party members won
nearly 90% of seats; note - seats to be reduced to 50 at next election
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
ruling party:
Democratic Party (formerly Communist), chairman vacant
opposition:
Party for Democratic Development, Durdymurat HOJA-MUKHAMMED, chairman;
Agzybirlik, Nurberdy NURMAMEDOV, cochairman, Hubayberdi HALLIYEV,
cochairman
note:
formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition
movements exist
Member of:
CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Khalil UGUR
chancery:
1511 K Street NW, Suite 412, Washington, DC, 20005
telephone:
NA
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph S. HULINGS III
embassy:
Yubilenaya Hotel, Ashgabat
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[7] 36320 24-49-25 or 24-49-26
Flag:
green field, including a vertical stripe on the hoist side, with a
claret vertical stripe in between containing five white, black, and
orange carpet guls (an assymetrical design used in producing rugs)
associated with five different tribes; a white crescent and five white
stars in the upper left corner to the right of the carpet guls
@Turkmenistan, Economy
Overview:
Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with nomadic cattle raising,
intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and huge gas and oil
resources. Half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; it is the
world's tenth largest producer. It also is the world's fourth largest
producer of natural gas and has the fifth largest reserves.
Furthermore, Turkmenistan has substantial oil resources; its two oil
refineries make it an exporter of refined products. Profiting from the
move toward market prices for its oil and gas resources, Turkmenistan
has suffered the least economic decline of the 15 states of the former
USSR. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a
tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious
approach to questions of economic reform, using the profits from its
gas and cotton exports to sustain a generally inefficient economy.
Economic restructuring and privatization have just begun, and price
liberalization and price increases have been accompanied by generous
wage hikes and subsidies. At the same time, Turkmenistan faces serious
constraints on its gas and oil earnings because of the inability of
its traditional regional customers to pay for the current level of
purchases and the lack of pipeline access to hard currency markets.
Faced with financial shortfalls, rampant inflation, and the desire to
ensure a stable currency, the regime has become more receptive to
market reforms yet still seeks to offer widespread social benefits to
its population and to retain state domination over the economy.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $13 billion (1993 estimate from
the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and
published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as
extrapolated to 1993 using official Turkmen statistics, which are very
uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
National product real growth rate:
7.8% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
$3,330 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
45% per month (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
2.9% (1992 est.); includes only officially registered unemployed; also
large number of underemployed
Budget:
revenues:
$NA
expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
$1.2 billion to states outside the FSU (1993)
commodities:
natural gas, cotton, petroleum products, textiles, carpets
partners:
Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Eastern Europe,
Turkey, Argentina
Imports:
$490 million from states outside the FSU (1993)
commodities:
machinery and parts, grain and food, plastics and rubber, consumer
durables, textiles
partners:
Russia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey
External debt:
NEGL
Industrial production:
growth rate 5.3% (1993)
Electricity:
capacity:
2,920,000 kW
production:
13.1 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
3,079 kWh (1992)
Industries:
natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Agriculture:
cotton, grain, animal husbandry
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of cannabis and opium; mostly for CIS consumption;
limited government eradication program; used as transshipment points
for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Western Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
Turkmenistan has received about $200 million in bilateral aid credits
Currency:
Turkmenistan introduced its national currency, the manat, on 1
November 1993
Exchange rates:
NA
Fiscal year:
calendar year
@Turkmenistan, Communications
Railroads:
2,120 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
total:
23,000 km
paved and gravel:
18,300 km
unpaved:
earth 4,700 km (1990)
Pipelines:
crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km
Ports:
inland - Krasnowodsk (Caspian Sea)
Airports:
total:
7
usable:
7
with permanent-surface runways:
4
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
0
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
4
Telecommunications:
poorly developed; only 7.5 telephone circuits per 100 persons (1991);
linked by cable and microwave to other CIS republics and to other
countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway
switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been
established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic
through Turkey via INTELSAT; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1
INTELSAT
@Turkmenistan, Defense Forces
Branches:
National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops),
Joint Command Turkmenistan/Russia (Ground, Navy or Caspian Sea
Flotilla, Air, and Air Defense)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 962,987; fit for military service 787,991; reach
military age (18) annually 40,079 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP
@Turks and Caicos Islands
Header
Affiliation:
(dependent territory of the UK)
@Turks and Caicos Islands, Geography
Location:
Caribbean, in the western North Atlantic Ocean, 190 km north of the
Dominican Republic and southeast of The Bahamas
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total area:
430 sq km
land area:
430 sq km
comparative area:
slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
389 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
none
Climate:
tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry
Terrain:
low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps
Natural resources:
spiny lobster, conch
Land use:
arable land:
2%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
98%
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
freshwater scarcity, private cisterns collect rainwater
natural hazards:
subject to frequent hurricanes
international agreements:
NA
Note:
30 islands (eight inhabited)
@Turks and Caicos Islands, People
Population:
13,552 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.69% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
14.14 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
5.17 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
17.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
75.34 years
male:
73.41 years
female:
77.02 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.05 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
none
adjective:
none
Ethnic divisions:
African
Religions:
Baptist 41.2%, Methodist 18.9%, Anglican 18.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist
1.7%, other 19.9% (1980)
Languages:
English (official)
Literacy:
age 15 and over who have ever attended school (1970)
total population:
98%
male:
99%
female:
98%
Labor force:
NA
by occupation:
majority engaged in fishing and tourist industries; some subsistence
agriculture
@Turks and Caicos Islands, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Turks and Caicos Islands
Digraph:
TK
Type:
dependent territory of the UK
Capital:
Grand Turk
Administrative divisions:
none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence:
none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday:
Constitution Day, 30 August (1976)
Constitution:
introduced 30 August 1976, suspended in 1986, restored and revised 5
March 1988
Legal system:
based on laws of England and Wales with a small number adopted from
Jamaica and The Bahamas
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1953), represented by Governor
Martin BOURKE (since NA February 1993)
head of government:
Chief Minister Washington MISSICK (since NA March 1991)
cabinet:
Executive Council; consists of three ex-officio members and five
appointed by the governor from the Legislative Council
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Legislative Council:
elections last held on 3 April 1991 (next to be held NA); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (20 total, 13 elected) PNP 8, PDM
5
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Progressive National Party (PNP), Washington MISSICK; People's
Democratic Movement (PDM), Oswald SKIPPINGS; National Democratic
Alliance (NDA), Ariel MISSICK
Member of:
CARICOM (associate), CDB, INTERPOL (subbureau)
Diplomatic representation in US:
none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation:
none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag:
blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the
colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is
yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus
@Turks and Caicos Islands, Economy