levation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m

Natural resources: antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper,
borate, sulfur, iron ore

Land use:
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 16%
forests and woodland: 26%
other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 36,740 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: very severe earthquakes, especially in northern
Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van

Environment--current issues: water pollution from dumping of
chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban
areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing
Bosporus ship traffic

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Environmental Modification

Geography--note: strategic location controlling the Turkish
Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and
Aegean Seas

People

Population: 65,599,206 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 30% (male 10,148,457; female 9,781,452)
15-64 years: 64% (male 21,255,506; female 20,560,070)
65 years and over: 6% (male 1,775,164; female 2,078,557) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.57% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 20.92 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 5.27 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 35.81 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.29 years
male: 70.81 years
female: 75.88 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.41 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish

Ethnic groups: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%

Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and
Jews)

Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.3%
male: 91.7%
female: 72.4% (1995 est.)