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Capital Ankara
41°1? N 28°57? E Largest city Istanbul Official language(s) Turkish
April 23, 1920
October 29, 1923 Area
• Total
• Water (%)
74,709,412 (17th)
67,844,903
89/km² (82th)
{{{population_densitymi²}}}/mi² 2004 estimate
$553 billion (17th)
$7,900 (76th) 0.750 (94th) – medium Currency Time zone
• Summer (DST) EET (UTC+3)
CEST (UTC+2) Internet TLD .tr Calling code +90 |
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Turkey Information
Main Articles: Politics of Turkey, Constitution of Turkey Turkey's political system is based on separation of powers. Its constitution is called 'Anayasa' (Main Law).
Head of State - The function of Head of State is performed by the President "Cumhurba?kan?". A president is elected every seven years by the Grand National Assembly. The President does not have to be a member of parliament.
Executive power - Executive power rests in the Prime Minister "Ba?bakan" and the Council of Ministers "Bakanlar Kurulu". The PM and Ministers have to be parliamentarians. The Prime Minister is elected by the parliament with a vote of trust to his government.
Parliament - Legislative power rests in the 550-seat Grand National Assembly "Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi", representing 81 provinces. The Grand National Assembly is elected every five years. To be represented in Parliament, a party must win at least 10% of the national vote in a national parliamentary election. Independent candidates may run. To be elected, they must win at least 10% of the vote in the province from which they are running.
Kemal Atatürk - Founder
Ahmet Necdet Sezer - President
Recep Tayyip Erdo?an - Prime Minister
Turkish Electoral System
Legal System
Main article: Legal System in Republic of Turkey
The freedom and independence of the Judicial System is protected within the constitution. There is no organisation, person, or institution which can interfere in the running of the courts, and the executive and legislative structures must obey the courts' decisions. The courts, which are independent in discharging their duties, must explain each ruling on the basis of the provisions of the Constitution, the laws, jurisprudence, and their personal convictions.
The Judicial system is highly structured. Turkish courts have no jury system; judges render decisions after establishing the facts in each case based on evidence presented by lawyers and prosecutors. For minor civil complaints and offenses, justices of the peace take the case. This court has a single judge. It has jurisdiction over misdemeanors and petty crimes, with penalties ranging from small fines to brief prison sentences. Three-judge courts of first instance have jurisdiction over major civil suits and serious crimes. Any conviction in a criminal case can be taken to a court of Appeals for judicial review.
All courts are open to public. When a case is closed to public, the court has to publish the reason. Judge and prosecution structures are secured by the constitution. Except with their own consent, no judge or prosecutor can be dismissed, have his/her powers restricted, or be forced to retire. However, the retirement age restrictions do apply. The child courts have their own structure.
If there is a need to inspect a judge, that can only be performed with the Ministry of Justice's permission, in which case a special task force of justice experts and senior judges is formed. The High Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors is the principal body charged with responsibility for ensuring judicial integrity, and determines professional judges acceptance and court assignments.
Turkey is adapting a new national "Judicial Networking System" (UYAP). The court decisions and documents (case info, expert reports, etc) will be accessible via the Internet.
Turkey accepts the European Court of Human Rights' decisions as a higher court decision. Turkey also accepts as legally binding any decisions on international agreements.
Foreign Relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Republic of Turkey
The modern Turkish Republic, which emerged from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, is pursuing peaceful policies in a region that has many conflicts. Some of these conflicts are result of the complications that arose at the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, and some are as old as Anatolian history. In this geopolitical region, the determining factor of Turkey's policies is its democratic and secular political system, its choice of a robust, free, market economy (Customs Union with the EU) and a social tradition of reconciling the modern society with cultural identity, and guided through the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's policy of "Peace at Home and Peace Abroad".
As detailed in the article "foreign relations of Turkey", Turkey pursues its stated objective by following a principled and proactive foreign policy that employs a broad spectrum of peaceful means. These entail, inter-alia, membership in the NATO Alliance and full integration with the European Union, taking the lead in regional cooperation processes, promoting good neighbourly relations and economic cooperation, extending humanitarian aid and assistance to the less fortunate, participating in peace-keeping operations and contributing to the resolution of disputes as well as post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction efforts.
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Main article: Geography of Turkey, Provinces of Turkey
The territory of Turkey extends from 36° to 42° N and from 26° to 45° E. It is roughly rectangular in shape and is 1,660 kilometers wide. The area of Turkey inclusive of lakes is 814,578 square kilometres, of which 790,200 are in Asia and 24,378 are located in Europe. Many geographers consider Turkey politically and culturally in Europe, although it is a transcontinental country between Asia and Europe. The land borders of Turkey total 2,573 kilometres, and the coastlines (including islands) total another 8,333 kilometres.
 Geographical Regions
Geographical Regions
Turkey is generally divided into seven regions: the Marmara, the Aegean, the Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, East Anatolia, Southeast Anatolia and the Black Sea region. The uneven north Anatolian terrain running along the Black Sea resembles a long, narrow belt. This region comprises approximately 1/6 of Turkey's total land area.
Turkey forms a bridge between Europe and Asia, with the division between the two running from the Black Sea (Karadeniz) to the north down along the Bosporus (Istanbul Bo?az?) strait through the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) and the Dardanelles (Çanakkale Bo?az?) strait to the Aegean Sea (Ege Denizi) and the larger Mediterranean Sea (Akdeniz) to the south. It is considered that Turkey is in Asia not in Europe because of political and cultural reasons. The Anatolian peninsula, Anatolia (Anadolu) consists of a high central plateau with narrow coastal plains, in between the Köro?lu and East-Black Sea mountain range to the north and the Taurus Mountains (Toros Da?lar?) to the south. To the east is found a more mountainous landscape, home to the sources of rivers such as the Euphrates (F?rat), Tigris (Dicle) and the Araks (Aras), as well as Lake Van (Van Gölü) and Mount Ararat (A?r? Da??), Turkey's highest point at 5,137 m.
 Fault lines & Earthquakes
Fault lines & Earthquakes
Turkey is also prone to very severe earthquakes. The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles owe their existence to the fault lines running through Turkey, leading to the creation of the Black Sea. There is an earthquake fault line across the north of the country from west to east. Within the last century there were many earthquakes along this fault line, the sizes and locations of these earthquakes can be seen on the Fault lines & Earthquakes image. This image also includes a small scaled map that shows other fault lines in Turkey.
Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces (iller in Turkish; singular il). Each province is divided into subprovinces (ilçeler; singular ilçe). The province usually bears the same name as the provincial capital, also called the central subprovince; exceptions are Bursa 2.1 million, Konya 2.2 million, Adana 1.8 million.
The capital of Turkey is the city of Antalya and Samsun. See the list of cities in Turkey.
The climate is a Mediterranean temperate climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet and cold winters, though conditions can be much harsher in the more arid interior.
Average Temp
High Temp
Low Temp
Average Hum.
Average Rain
Marmara Region
13.5
44.6
-27.8
71.2
564.3
Aegean Region
15.4
48.5
-45.6
60.9
706.0
Mediteranian Region
16.4
45.6
-33.5
63.9
706.0
Black Sea Region
12.3
44.2
-32.8
70.9
828.5
Central Anatolia
10.6
41.8
-36.2
62.6
392.0
East Anatolia
9.7
44.4
-45.6
60.9
569.0
Southeast Anatolia
16.5
48.4
-24.3
53.4
584.5
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Demographics
Demographics of the Republic of Turkey
69,660,559
(July 2005 est.)
Growth:
1.09% (2005 est.)
Birth:
16.83 births/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Death:
5.96 deaths/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Life expectancy:
72.36 years (2005 est.)
Life expectancy (m):
69.94 years
Life expectancy (f):
74.91 years
Fertility:
1.94 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years:
26% (male 9,232,439; female 8,897,135)
15-64 years:
67.3% (male 23,806,367; female 23,053,536)
65-0ver years:
6.7% (male 2,140,242; female 2,530,840) (2005 est.)
Sex Ratio:
Total:
{{{total_mf_ratio}}}
At birth:
1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
65-0ver years:
1.03 male(s)/female
Nationality:
nationality:
noun: Turk(s) adjective: Turkish
Major ethnic:
Turkish
Minor ethnic:
Abkhaz, Albanians, Arabs, Bosniaks, Chaldeans, Chechens, Circassians, Kurds, Laz, Syriacs, and Zazas.
Minorities:
Armenians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Georgians, Hamshenis, Jews, Levantines, Ossetians, Pomaks, Roma and Syriacs.
Language:
Official:
Turkish
Spoken:
Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Greek.
Main article: Demographics of Turkey
The legal use of term "Turkish" (a citizen of Turkey) is different than the ethnic definition (an ethnic Turk). However, the majority of the Turkish population (more than 80%) are of Turkish ethnicity. The ethnic minorities include, besides the legally defined minorities, Abkhazians, Albanians, Arabs, Assyrians, Bosniaks, Chechens, Circassians, Ingushetians, Laz, and Zazas.
The largest group of non-Turkic ethnicity are the Kurds, a distinct ethnic group concentrated in the east. The 1965 census determined that 7.1% of the population used Kurdish as their primary language and the knowledge of the language was stated by the 12.7% of the population in total, but there are many Turkish-speaking Kurds. According to the CIA fact book, 15% of the population are ethnic Kurds.
The term "minority" itself remains a sensitive issue in Turkey, since the Turkish State only considers the communities mentioned in the text of Treaty of Lausanne. Minorities include Armenians, Bulgarians, Syriacs, Greeks, Georgians, Hamshenis, Jews, Levantines, Ossetians, Pomaks, and Roma (Roma is a name for Gypsies).
Due to a demand for an increased labour force in Russia and other neighbouring countries.
Education
Main article: Turkish education system
Education is compulsory and free from ages 6 to 14. There are around 820 higher education institutes including universities, with a total student enrollment of over 1 million. The 15 main universities are in Istanbul and Ankara. Tertiary education is the responsibility of the Higher Education Council, and funding is provided by the state. From 1998 the universities were given greater autonomy, and were encouraged to raise funds from partnerships with industry.
There are approximately 85 universities in Turkey. There are two types of universities, state and (private) foundational. State universities charge very low fees and foundationals are highly expensive with fees up to $15 000 or sometimes even more. The capacity in total of Turkish universities is approximately 300.000. Some universities can compete with the best world universities whereas some are unable to provide the necessary educational standards due to financial problems and underfunding. However, university students are a lucky minority in Turkey. Universities provide either two or four years of education for undergraduate studies. For graduate studies, two further years is necessary, as is typical throughout the world.
The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey coordinates basic and applied research and development. There are 64 research institutes and organisations. R&D strengths include agriculture, forestry, health, biotechnology, nuclear technologies, minerals, materials, IT, and defence.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Turkey
Turkey has a very diverse culture derived from various elements of the Ottoman Empire, European, and the Islamic traditions. As Turkey successfully transformed from the religion-driven former Ottoman Empire into a modern nation-state with a very strong separation of state and religion, the increase in the methods of artistic expression followed. During the first years of the republic, the government invested a large amount of resources into the fine arts, such as paintings, sculptures and architecture amongst other things. This was done as both a process of modernisation and of creating a cultural identity. Today the Turkish economy is diverse enough to subsidise individual artists with great freedom.
Image:27px-Turkey-Regions.png
Cinema
Poetry
Prose
Turkish Cuisine
History of Turkish Literature
Religion
Main article: Islam in Turkey
Nominally, 95%-96% of the population is Muslim. Most belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. About 15-20% of the population are Alevi Muslims. There is also a Twelver Shia minority, mainly of Azeri descent. The remaining 4%-5% of the population are of other religions, mostly Christian (Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic (Gregorian), Syriac Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Protestants), Jewish, Bahá'ís, and the Yezidis.
Unlike other Muslim-majority countries, there is a strong tradition of separation of church and state (in this case mosque and state) in Turkey. Even though the state does not have any/or promote any religion, it actively monitors the area between the religions. The constitutional rule that prohibits discrimination on religious grounds, is taken very seriously. The Turkish constitution recognises freedom of religion for individuals, and the religious communities are placed under the protection of state, but the constitution explicitly states that they cannot become involved in the political process, by forming a religious party for example. No party can claim that it represents a form of religious belief. The religious sensibilities are represented through conservative parties, such as the currently ruling AKP party.
The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Diyanet ??leri Ba?kanl??? (Department of Religious Affairs). The Diyanet is the main Islamic framework established after abolition of the Ulama and Seyh-ul-Islam of the old régime. As a consequence, they control all mosques and Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at theology departments at universities. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues. The department is criticised by the Alevi Muslims for not supporting their beliefs.
The Ecumenical Israel. (See Jews of Turkey for more)
Because of different historical factors playing an important role in defining a Turkish identity, the culture of Turkey is an interesting combination of clear efforts to be "modern" and Western, combined with the necessity felt to maintain traditional religious and historical values.
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