Christians and Jews)

Languages:

Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian
note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European
part of Turkey

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4%
male: 95.3%
female: 79.6% (2004 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 11 years
male: 12 years
female: 11 years (2006)

Education expenditures:

4% of GDP (2004)

Government
Turkey

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey
local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkiye

Government type:

republican parliamentary democracy

Capital:

name: Ankara
geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 32 52 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:

81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman,
Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan,
Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol,
Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli,
Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir,
Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel (Mersin), Igdir,
Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman,
Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir,
Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus,
Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa,
Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond),
Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak

Independence:

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday:

Republic Day, 29 October (1923)

Constitution:

7 November 1982

Legal system:

civil law system derived from various European continental legal
systems; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR),
although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European
Convention on Human Rights; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Abdullah GUL (since 28 August 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 14
March 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Cemi