Turkey is at the northeast end of the Mediterranean Sea in southeast Europe and southwest Asia. To the north is the Black Sea and to the west is the Aegean Sea. Its neighbors are Greece and Bulgaria to the west, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania to the north and northwest (through the Black Sea), Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east, and Syria and Iraq to the south. The Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus divide the country. Turkey in Europe comprises an area about equal to the state of Massachusetts. Turkey in Asia is about the size of Texas. Its center is a treeless plateau rimmed by mountains.
Country lead by President: Ahmet Necdet Sezer (2000)
Prime Minister: Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2003)
Population
70,413,958 (growth rate: 1.1%); birth rate: 16.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 39.7/1000; life expectancy: 72.6; density per sq mi: 237
Land Area
297,591 sq mi (770,761 sq km); total area: 301,384 sq mi (780,580 sq km)
Monetary unit
Turkish lira (YTL) Language
Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli, Azeri, Kabardian
Ethnicity Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated)
Religion Islam (mostly Sunni) 99.8%, other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Transportation Railways: total: 8,607 km (2002). Highways: total: 385,960 km; paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of expressways); unpaved: 254,734 km (1999). Waterways: about 1,200 km. Ports and harbors: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon. Airports: 120 (2002).
