Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Geography - note: 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 Turkey
Population: 67,308,928 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 27.8% (male 9,520,030; female 9,178,423) 15-64 years:
(male 1,946,523; female 2,284,697) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.2% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 17.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: 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 (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 45.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 74.01 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.07 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish
Ethnic groups: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%
Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians
and Jews)
Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 85% male: 94% female: 77% (2000)
Government Turkey
Country name: Republic of Turkey conventional short form: Government
type: republican parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ankara
Administrative divisions: 81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana,
Adiyaman, Afyon, 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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir,
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, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 29 October (1923)
Constitution: 7 November 1982
Legal system: derived from various European continental legal systems;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since
16 May 2000) elections: president elected by the National Assembly for
a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held NA
May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the
president note: a National Security Council serves as an advisory body to
the president and the cabinet cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by
the president on the nomination of the prime minister head of government:
Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third ballot; percent of
National Assembly vote - 60% note: president 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 18 April 1999 (next
to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - DSP 136, MHP 130, FP 110, DYP 86, ANAP 88; note -
as of 11 January 2002 seating was DSP 129, MHP 127, DYP 84, ANAP 79,
AK 53, Saadet 48, independents 20, vacancies 10
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the
president); Court of Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council
of Judges and Prosecutors)
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent
ECEVIT]; Justice and Development Party or AK [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN];
Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or
MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Saadet Party [Recai KUTAN]; note - KUTAN was head
of the Virtue Party or FP which was banned by Turkey's Constitutional
Court in June 2001; Socialist Democratic Party or TDP [Sema PISKINSUT];
True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Revolutionary
Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; Independent Industrialists and
Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers
Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's
Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of
Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor
or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and
Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS]
International organization participation: AsDB, Australia Group,
BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU
(applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA,
UNTAET, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Robert W. PEARSON embassy: Ataturk Bulvari
PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana
Flag description: 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
Economy Turkey
Economy - overview: Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern
industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector
that in 2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong
and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major
role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The
most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and
clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years
the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and
serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in most years,
but this strong expansion was interrupted by sharp declines in output
in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has
regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden
of interest payments, which in 2001 accounted for more than 50% of
central government spending - while inflation has remained in the high
double digit range. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct
investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. In
late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses
in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Ankara
to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Prospects for
2002 are much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF,
tighter fiscal policy, a major bank restructuring program, and the
enactment of numerous other economic reforms.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $443 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -6.5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14.5% industry: 28.4% services:
57.1% (2000)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 41.5 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 69% (2001)
Labor force: 23.8 million (2001 3rd quarter) note: about 1.2 million
Turks work abroad (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 39.7%, services 37.9%, industry
22.4% (2001 3rd quarter)
Unemployment rate: 10.6% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2001 4th
quarter)
Budget: revenues: $42.4 billion expenditures: $69.1 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
Industries: textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite,
copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
Industrial production growth rate: -8.9% (2001)
Electricity - production: 119.18 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 74.09% hydro: 25.65%
other: 0.26% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 114.192 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 437 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 3.791 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets,
pulse, citrus; livestock
Exports: $33.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: apparel 24.8%, foodstuffs 12.8%, textiles 12.7%,
metal manufactures 8.8%, transport equipment 8.5% (2000)
Exports - partners: Germany 17.4%, US 10.2%, Italy 7.5%, UK 7.0%,
France 6.1% (2001 est.)
Imports: $39.7 billion (c.i.f., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery 25.4%, chemicals 13.4%, semi-finished
goods 13.7%, fuels 14.0%, transport equipment 12.4% (2000)
Imports - partners: Germany 13.3%, Italy 8.6%, Russia 8.4%, US 8.1%,
France 5.7%, UK 4.5% (2001 est.)
Debt - external: $118.8 billion (September 2001)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $195 million (1993)
Currency: Turkish lira (TRL)
Currency code: TRL
Exchange rates: Turkish liras per US dollar - 1,223,140 (January 2002),
1,223,140 (2001), 625,219 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865
(1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Turkey
Telephones - main lines in use: 19.5 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 17.1 million (2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: undergoing rapid modernization
and expansion, especially with cellular telephones domestic: additional
digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the
construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk
lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay
is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are
reached by a domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to
mobile cellular telephone service is growing rapidly international:
international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables
in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece,
Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations,
and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems
(2002)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001)
Radios: 11.3 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: 20.9 million (1997)
Internet country code: .tr
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 50 (2001)
Internet users: 4 million (2001)
Transportation Turkey
Railways: total: 8,607 km standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131
km electrified) (2001)
Highways: total: 382,059 km paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of
expressways) unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: 1,200 km (approximately)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural
gas 708 km
Ports and harbors: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli
(Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon
Merchant marine: total: 553 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,674,099
GRT/9,108,819 DWT ships by type: bulk 138, cargo 239, chemical tanker 45,
combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 2, container 27, liquefied gas 6,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 45, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll
off 27, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5 note: includes some
foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1,
Cyprus 1, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Thailand 1, United Kingdom 11
(2002 est.)
Airports: 120 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 86 over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to
3,047 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 6 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 34 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to
2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 24 (2001) 914 to 1,523 m: 8
Heliports: 6 (2001)
Military Turkey
Military branches: Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval
Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 19,219,177 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 11,623,675
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 674,805
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $8.1 billion (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.5% (2002 est.)
Transnational Issues Turkey
Disputes - international: complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes
with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Greece; dispute with
downstream riparian states (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans
for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; traditional demands regarding former
Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided; Turkey is quick to rebuff any
perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province; border with Armenia remains
closed over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
Illicit drugs: key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western
Europe and - to a far lesser extent 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
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Tuvalu
Introduction
Tuvalu
Background: In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of
the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice
Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert
Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate
British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000,
Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv"
for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years.
Geography Tuvalu
Location: Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the
South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 S, 178 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 26 sq km
Area - comparative: 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 24 km
Maritime claims: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: Climate: tropical;
moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales
and heavy rain (November to March)
Terrain: very low-lying and narrow coral atolls
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point:
unnamed location 5 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997,
there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them very sensitive
to changes in sea level
Environment - current issues: since there are no streams or rivers and
groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment
systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one
desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion
because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance
of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the
spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about
global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising
sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in
2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in
Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary
Environment - international agreements: party to: Climate Change,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Geography - note: one of the
smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls
- Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have
lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons;
Niulakita does not have a lagoon
People Tuvalu
Population: 11,146 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32.6% (male 1,851; female 1,785) 15-64 years:
62.3% (male 3,335; female 3,607) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 233;
female 335) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.4% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 21.44 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 7.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 22 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 69.23 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 3.07 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan
Ethnic groups: Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%
Religions: Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day
Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
Languages: Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Literacy: definition: percentage of people over the age of 15 who can
read and write total population: 55% (1996) male: NA% female: NA%
Government Tuvalu
Country name: Tuvalu note: traditionally inhabited islands former:
Ellice Islands
Government type: constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy;
began debating republic status in 1992
Capital: Fongafale
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: 1 October 1978 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
Constitution: 1 October 1978
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
1952), represented by Governor General Sir Tomasi PUAPUA, M.D. (since
26 June 1998) elections: the recommendation of the prime minister;
prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members
of Parliament; election last held 13 December 2001 (next to be held by
August 2002) election results: cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor
general on the recommendation of the prime minister head of government:
Prime Minister Koloa TALAKE (since 13 December 2001); TALAKE took over
after Prime Minister Faimalaga LUKA was ousted in a vote of no-confidence
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called
House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms) elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA
2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15
Judicial branch: High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to
preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of
Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction)
Political parties and leaders: there are no political parties but
members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings
Political pressure groups and leaders: none
International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS
(associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO
(applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: Tuvalu does not have an embassy
in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does,
however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York,
New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy
in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu
Flag description: light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper
hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the
country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands
Economy Tuvalu
Economy - overview: Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered
group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known
mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are
the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average,
visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale
of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work
in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating
Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income
is received annually from an international trust fund established
in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and
South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals,
this Fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million
in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu,
with 1999 payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries at about $9 million,
a total which is expected to rise annually. In an effort to reduce its
dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector
reforms, including privatization of some government functions and
personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from
use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its
".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources
could raise GDP substantially over the next decade. With merchandise
exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must
be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances
from overseas workers, official transfers, and investment income from
overseas assets.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.2 million (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 7,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: people make a living mainly through
exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by
those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $22.5 million expenditures: $11.2 million, including
capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)
Industries: fishing, tourism, copra
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear:
NA% other: NA%
Agriculture - products: coconuts; fish
Exports: $276,000 (f.o.b., 1997)
Exports - commodities: copra, fish
Exports - partners: Sweden, Fiji, Iceland, Germany, Greece (2000)
Imports: $7.2 million (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports - commodities: food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery,
manufactured goods
Imports - partners: Fiji, Australia, Portugal, NZ (2000)