Geography
Location:
Southwestern Asia (that part west of the Bosporus is
sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Black
Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the
Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece
and Syria
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total area: 780,580 sq km
land area: 770,760 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries: total 2,627 km, Armenia 268
km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252
km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria
822 km
Coastline: 7,200 km
Maritime claims:
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 the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea
International disputes:
complex maritime, air
and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea;
Cyprus question; Hatay question with Syria; ongoing
dispute with downstream riparians (Syria and Iraq)
over water development plans for the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers
Climate:
temperate; hot, dry
summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Terrain:
mostly mountains;
narrow coastal plain; high central plateau
(Anatolia)
Natural resources:
antimony, coal,
chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulphur, iron ore
Land use:
arable land:
30%
permanent crops: 4%
meadows and pastures: 12%
forest and woodland: 26%
other: 28%
Irrigated land: 22,200 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: water pollution from dumping
of chemicals and detergents; air pollution,
particularly in urban areas; deforestation
natural hazards: very severe earthquakes,
especially in northern Turkey, along an arc
extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van
international agreements: party to - Air
Pollution, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed,
but not ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification,
Environmental Modification
Note: strategic location controlling the
Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara,
Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas .
People
Population: 63,405,526 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (female 10,815,288; male
11,203,723)
15-64 years: 60% (female 18,723,772; male
19,391,037)
65 years and over: 5% (female 1,764,363; male
1,507,343) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.97% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 25.33 births/1,000 population
(1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.64 deaths/1,000 population
(1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 45.6 deaths/1,000 live
births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.48 years
male: 69.11 years
female: 73.96 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.12 children
born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish
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