*Turkey, Economy
Overview:
After an impressive economic performance through most of the 1980s, Turkey
has experienced erratic rates of economic growth since 1988 - ranging from a
high of 9.2% in 1990 to a low of 0.9% in 1991. Strong consumer demand and
increased public investment led the way to a strong 5.9% growth in 1992.
Chronic high inflation is Turkey's most serious economic problem, leading to
high interest rates and the rapid depreciation of the Turkish lira. The huge
public sector deficit - about 12% of GDP - and the Treasury's heavy reliance
on Central Bank financing of the deficit are the major causes of Turkish
inflation. Meanwhile, wage increases in both the public and private sector
have outpaced productivity gains, limited the government's ability to reduce
current expenditures, and hindered the return to profitability of many
private companies. Agriculture remains an important economic sector,
employing about half of the work force, contributing 18% to GDP, and
accounting for about 20% of exports. The government has launched a
multibillion-dollar development program in the southeastern region, which
includes the building of a dozen dams on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to
generate electric power and irrigate large tracts of farmland. The Turkish
economy will probably continue to grow faster than the West European average
in 1993, but the shaky coalition government of Prime Minister DEMIREL -
which has seen its parliamentary majority shrink from 36 to 11 seats during
its first year in power - is unlikely to risk further erosion of its support
by implementing the belt-tightening measures necessary to substantially
reduce inflation.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $219 billion (1992)
National product real growth rate:
5.9% (1992)
National product per capita:
$3,670 (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
70% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
11.1% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues $40.5 billion; expenditures $46.8 billion, including capital
expenditures of $5.5 billion (1993)
Exports:
$13.7 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
manufactured goods 69%, foodstuffs 22%, fuels 2%
partners:
EC countries 51%, US 7%, Iran 5%, former USSR 5%
Imports:
$21.1 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
manufactured goods 61%, foodstuffs 8%, fuels 21%
partners: EC countries 44%, US 12%, former USSR 5%
External debt:
$48.7 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
growth rate 3.2% (1991 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP
Electricity:
14,400,000 kW capacity; 44,000 million kWh produced, 750 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
textiles, food processing, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron minerals),
steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper
*Turkey, Economy
Agriculture:
accounts for 18% of GDP and employs about half of working force; products -
tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses, citrus fruit, variety
of animal products; self-sufficient in food most years
Illicit drugs:
major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish to Western Europe
and 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 have sprung up 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
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.3 billion; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.1 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $665 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4.5
billion; note - aid for Persian Gulf war efforts from coalition allies
(1991), $4.1 billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund, $2.5 billion
Currency:
1 Turkish lira (TL) = 100 kurus
Exchange rates:
Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 8,814.3 (January 1993), 6,872.4 (1992),
4,171.8 (1991), 2,608.6 (1990), 2,121.7 (1989), 1,422.3 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Turkey, Communications
Railroads:
8,429 km 1.435-meter gauge (including 795 km electrified)
Highways:
320,611 km total; 138 km limited access expressways, 31,062 km national
(main) roads, 27,853 km regional (secondary) roads, 261,558 km local and
municipal roads; 45,526 km of hard surfaced roads (of which about 27,000 km
are paved and about 18,500 km are surfaced with gravel or crushed stone)
(1988 est.)
Inland waterways:
about 1,200 km
Pipelines:
crude oil 1,738 km, petroleum products 2,321 km, natural gas 708 km
Ports:
Iskenderun, Istanbul, Mersin, Izmir
Merchant marine:
353 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,825,274 GRT/6,628,207 DWT; includes
7 short-sea passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 189 cargo, 1 container, 6
roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 livestock carrier, 39 oil
tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 3 liquefied gas, 9 combination ore/oil, 2
specialized tanker, 80 bulk, 3 combination bulk
Airports:
total:
110
usable:
102
with permanent-surface runways:
65
with runways over 3,659 m:
3
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
32
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
26
Telecommunications:
fair domestic and international systems; trunk radio relay microwave
network; limited open wire network; 3,400,000 telephones; broadcast stations
- 15 AM; 94 FM; 357 TV; 1 satellite ground station operating in the INTELSAT
(2 Atlantic Ocean antennas) and EUTELSAT systems; 1 submarine cable
*Turkey, Defense Forces
Branches:
Land Forces, Navy (including Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast
Guard, Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 15,691,874; fit for military service 9,579,453; reach
military age (20) annually 604,816 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $5.6 billion, 3.9% of GDP (1992)
*Turkmenistan, Geography
Location:
South Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Uzbekistan
Map references:
Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States, Standard
Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
488,100 km2
land area:
488,100 km2 comparative area:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total 3,736 km, Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km,
Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Coastline:
0 km
note:
Turkmenistan does border the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Maritime claims:
landlocked, but boundaries in the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
and Iran will have to be negotiated
International disputes:
none
Climate:
subtropical desert
Terrain:
flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; borders Caspian Sea in west
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulphur, salt
Land use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
69%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
28%
Irrigated land:
12,450 km2 (1990)
Environment:
contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals,
pesticides; salinization, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation
methods
Note:
landlocked