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Turkey - Country ProfileGeographical SituationTurkey, a bridge between Asia and Europe, has a very rich cultural heritage. Perhaps no other land has witnessed so many diverse civilizations over the last nine thousand years. After the great Mesopotamian, the Hittite and Urartu kingdoms flourished, and in Western Anatolia the Ionian and Roman civilizations predominated. Istanbul holds the honor of having been the capital of two huge empires, first the Byzantine then the Ottoman. Anatolia itself became a crossroads of peoples, cultures and religions. Christianity, for example, thrived here, and Islam was glorified by the Seljuks and Ottomans, respectively. Turkey today still holds a very strategic position on the world map. This vast land of over 65 million people has tackled the challenges of the future through its journey along the road towards modernization, secularism and democracy. Today, it has a vigorous society, a dynamic economy, an active political life and great confidence in its future. Geographical SituationTurkey is located in an area where the Asian, European and African continents come very close to each other, and surrounded from west to east by Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan (Nakhichevan), Iran, Iraq and Syria. Geographically, the country is in the northern half of the hemisphere at a point that is about halfway between the equator and the north pole, at a longitude of 36° N to 42° N and a latitude of 26° E to 45° E. Turkey has been separated into seven large geographical regions by taking into consideration the factors such as climate, natural plant distribution and types of agriculture: the Mediterranean, Aegean, Black Sea, Marmara, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia Regions. Because of its geographical location the mainland of Anatolia has always found favor throughout history, and is the birthplace of many great civilizations like a melting pot. The history of Anatolia tells of a 10.000 year old civilization. It has also been prominent as a center of commerce because of its land connections to three continents and the sea surrounding it on three sides. Turkey is a passageway for the old Asian Turkish cultures to reach Europe due to her location and it is, at the same time, the window of the west opening to the east. The actual surface area of Turkey inclusive of its lakes and rivers, is 814.578 square kilometers of which 97% (790.200 km2) is on the Asian continent that is usually called Anatolia, and 3% (24.378 km2) is located in Thrace on the European continent. Turkey's coastlines, which encompass her on three sides with the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. There is also an important internal Sea, the Sea of Marmara between the straits of Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, important water ways that connect the Black Sea with the rest of the world. The length of the coastline is 8.333 km and the length of the land borders is 2.875 km. There are many rivers and streams in Turkey. A large portion of these rivers are used for energy production. Fairly large reservoir have been made in the past thirty years as the result of the dam construction activities. Most of the rivers of Turkey flow into the seas surrounding the country. The Euphrates and Tigris join together in Iraq and flow into the Bay of Basra. The Kızılırmak, Yeşilırmak and Sakarya rivers flow into the Black Sea. Seyhan, Ceyhan and Göksu rivers flow into the Mediterranean Sea. Some other rivers such as Büyük Menderes and Kücük Menderes flow into the Aegean Sea. The total area of Turkey's lakes is around 9.200 km2. The Eastern Anatolian is the most abundant region in terms of number of lakes. Van Lake (3.713 km2) in the Eastern Anatolia and Salt Lake (1.500 km2) in the Central Anatolia are Turkey's largest lakes. The main mountain ranges in Turkey, which is a mountainous country, generally extend parallel to the coasts to the north and to the south. The Great Ağrı (Mount Ararat) Mountain, is the highest pick (5.137 m) mentioned in the Bible as the place where the Noah's ark came to rest, in Turkey. Besides, there are numerous mountains in Turkey which are higher than 2.000 m. The coastal regions have moderate maritime climate while the internal regions surrounded by mountains have a continental climate. The Mediterranean Region, which is under the influence of the Mediterranean climate, has hot and arid summers and mild and rainy winters. This Mediterranean climate also manifests itself in the Aegean Region and in the South of the Marmara Region. The Black Sea Region is dominated by a more moderate and rainy maritime climate. In the interior regions, the summers are hot and slightly rainy and the winters are cold and snowy with limited precipitation. There are more than 10.000 species of plants in Turkey, about 20 % of which are endemic species in the country. Turkey also has a great variety of wild animals, with over 110 species of mammals. Some 400 species of native or migratory birds live in Turkey, some of which are considered endangered species and not available in Europe. HistoryThe history of Turkey tells of a 10.000 year-old civilization, through history the Turks have established numerous states in different geographical areas on the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. Therefore, they encountered different cultures, they influenced these cultures and were influenced by them. It is accepted that Turkish history starts with the Hun State in Asia which first appeared in the third century B.C. The Gökturk State (552-740) is the second great state established by the Turks. During the Seljuk State (1040-1157) which is another great Turkish state, Turks firmly placed in Anatolia after the victory of Sultan Alp Arslan against Byzantine army under the leadership of Romanus Diogenes at Malazgirt in 1071. Following the weakening of the Anatolian Seljuk State, the Ottoman State was established in Anatolia in 1299. In the year between 1299-1923, the Ottoman States extended her border from Crimae in the North to Yemen and Sudan in the South, and from Iran and Caspian Sea in the East to Vienna in the Northwest and Spain in the Southwest. The National War of Independence (1919-1923) was an effort to crate a new state from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire which had completed its life. The Turkish Grand National Assembly was initially established in Ankara on April 23, 1920 that was announced as a day of celebration and presented to the children by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The Turkish Grand National Assembly, which undertook the duties of saving and administrating the country and obtaining complete independence for the country, started activities on April 23, 1920 with extraordinary authority. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was elected as the first president. After the military victory of Turks under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Lausanne Treaty - by which Modern Turkey's independence was recognized - was signed on July 24, 1923. Finally, the Turkish Republic was proclaimed on October 29, 1923 in order to give the state a democratic form in the contemporary sense. PopulationThe population of Turkey is 62,5 million (mid-year population) of which 50,54 % is male according to the result of the General Population census made in 1997. It is estimated that the population will be 74 million in 2010. Population density (per km2) is 77. However, almost half of the population is concentrated in the coastal regions. Turkey is one of the countries with the most rapid process of urbanization in the world. There is a great migration into the cities from rural areas, and urban population has been gradually increasing. Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir are the largest provinces in terms of population which are approximately 9,2, 3,7 and 3,1 million, respectively. One of the most significant attributes of the population in Turkey is the fact that it is a young population.
In Turkey, the annual average population increase was 15,08 per thousand between 1990-1997. The annual crude Birth Rate is 21,60, crude Death Rate 6,50 per thousand at the same period.
Official Language of Turkey is Turkish. The Turkish spoken in Turkey represents the southwestern branch of the Turkish language community within the Ural-Altaic language branch. Turkish is the seventh most spoken and widespread language among the average of 4,000 languages spoken in the world today. More than 200 million people speak Turkish all over the world. Turkish alphabet is Latin alphabet which is accepted in 1928. PoliticsThe Republic of Turkey has a unitary state structure. This unitary state structure comes from the National Pact of 1920, which was accepted during the War of Independence. There is unity of the legislative, executive, judicial, legal and code of laws in the state. To provide this unity is under the authority and responsibility of the central administration. The unitary state has been organized in the form of the central administration and the local administration. The Constitution has regulated the legislative, executive, judicial organs, and authorities and functions of some public institutions and organizations in connection with the principle of the separation of powers. The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) is composed of 550 deputies. The Member of Parliament elections are held once every five years. The elections are held under the general management and supervision of the judicial organs and law determines method of election. The deputies represent the entire nation when they started their duties. The (TGNA), adopts, amends and abrogates the laws, supervises the council of Ministers and ministers, gives the authority to the Council of Ministers to promulgate decrees having the force of law and adopts the budget and final account draft laws. The executive organ is composed of the President and Council of Ministers. The administrative unit is also in the executive section of the Constitution and some administrative units are also included in this section. The President is the Head of the State. He/she represents the Republic of Turkey and the unity of the Turkish Nation in this capacity. The Parliament members of the TGNA elect the president. The president protects the application of the Constitution and organized and coordinated work of the state organs. The president appoints the Prime Minister and the Ministers upon the proposal of the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers is composed of the Prime Minister and the Ministers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President from among the members of the parliament. The Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister from among the deputies or from among those eligible for election as deputies and they are appointed by the president. The members of the Council of Ministers are jointly responsible for the executive of the general policies. Currently there are 35 ministries including the Prime Ministry. The Judicial power in Turkey is exercised by the independent Court and Supreme Judiciary Organs. The Judicial section in the Constitution, by taking the principle of the legal state as the basis, has been placed on the foundation of the independence of the courts and the judges. The Supreme Courts are; The Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Council of State, the Supreme Military Court of Appeals, the Supreme Military Administrative Court and the Courts of Jurisdictional Conflicts. The organization and function of the Administration are based on the principle of centralization and local administration. The central administration in Turkey has been structured in the form of provinces (81), countries, sub-districts and villages. The local administrations are the special provincial administrations, the towns and the villages. The Republic of Turkey has adopted a unitary state model with Local Administrations, not a model of a centralized, single structured unitary state. The Local Administration Organizations (Provincial Special Administrations, Municipalities and Villages) have their own public juristic personality, duties and authorities and assets separate from the state. The Constitution has envisioned the local administration in two forms, as local and as functional. The local administrations are the special provincial administrations, municipalities and villages. These are public authorized personalities elected by the people for the general decision organs and to meet the local common needs. The functional administrations are also called "Local Service Administrations" or "Autonomous Administrations". Number of provinces, Greater Municipalities, District and Town Municipalities in Turkey are as follows:
Education and ScienceAccording to the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, everyone has the right to receive education. The objective of education is to educate individuals:
Furthermore, the objective of the National Education System also includes preparing individuals for the future and providing for them to acquire a profession that will contribute to the happiness of themselves and the society. The Turkish National Educational System is composed of two main sections: Non-formal Education and Formal Education. Formal Education means the school system and is composed of:
Non-formal Education includes all the activities organized outside the school or alongside the school. The Non-formal Education is composed of two basic components which are general and vocational technical non-formal educational programs. The Non-formal Education activities diversify in a range spectrum such as art schools, technical schools, technical education centers for adults, apprenticeship training centers, and public education centers. Vocational courses, literacy courses (the literacy rates, according to 1999 intermediate-census, for men and women age over 14 are 90% and 69%, respectively) and social and cultural courses are given at the public education centers for individuals at every age and educational level. Pre-school Education is optional and includes the education of preschool age children (3-6 year age group). Primary Education is eight-year uninterrupted compulsory education throughout the country. Education in these schools is continuous and the students who graduate are given primary education diploma. Secondary Education includes all the general high schools and high schools which give vocational and technical education for at least three years after the eight years primary education. Beside the state high schools, there are Special Training Schools and Private Educational Institutions. The objective of special training is to meet the educational needs of individuals who need special training, to integrate them into the society and provide them with an employment. These institutions continue their activities under the supervision and surveillance of the Ministry of National Education. Higher Education in Turkey has been adopted as the main principle for rising to the level of standards in globalization of the world both from the aspect of quality and quantity. Today in Turkey, there are a total of 73 universities, and 19 of these are foundation (private) universities. There are about 570 faculties, 210 higher education institutions (college), 270 institutes and 530 professional higher education institutions within the structure of the universities. The higher education institutions provide at least two years of higher education and educate students for the associate's, bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree levels, after secondary education. Each year a total of approximately 1,4 million undergraduate students, including the open university students, receive education at the higher education institutions and they to be taught by about 22.000 professors and 41.000 lecturers and research assistants. Universities also carry out scientific researches along with the routine education and training courses for public. The Scientific and Technical Research Institute of Turkey, TÜBITAK was established in 1963 in order to develop, organize and coordinate the research and development activities in the fields of basic and applied science. The TUBITAK provides consultancy to the government for the determination of policies on science and technology and provides financial support for the research and development activities undertaken by the universities, the public sector and the private sector.
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