The richest place in Turkey is of course Istanbul. Turkey has been a melting pot of different races and cultures since prehistoric times. Starting from the 11th century AD, Turkic peoples entered from the east. They brought new elements of the Mediterranean Mongolian mixed race, which had a decisive impact on the racial composition of this country.
Turkish is the native language of more than 86% of the country's population. Other major ethnic minorities are Kurds and Arabs. Kurdish is the native language of the Kurds. About 11% of the population speaks this language, which is mainly spoken in rural areas in the east and southeast. Arabic-speaking people make up about 2% of the population, mainly in southeastern Anatolia.
Almost all Turks are Muslims, mainly Sunni. Small numbers of Christians and Jews live mainly in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Although Turkey has a high birth rate, its death rate is not very high, and its population growth rate is relatively high. Nearly 40% of the country's population is under 15 years old. Birth rate: 16.15‰ (2008 statistics), death rate: 6.02‰ (2008 statistics) Total population: 71,892,807 (July 2008 statistics), Turks account for more than 80%, and Kurds account for about 15%. Turkish is the national language, and 99% of the residents believe in Islam. 85% of them belong to the Nepalese sect, and the rest belong to the Alawite sect. Political system edit this paragraph Türkiye's administrative division levels are provinces, counties, townships and villages. The country is divided into 81 provinces, about 600 counties, and more than 36,000 villages.
The current constitution was adopted and came into effect on November 7, 1982. It is the third constitution of the Republic of China. The Constitution stipulates that the country is a country of nationality, democracy, separation of politics and religion, and the implementation of the rule of law. The Grand National Assembly is the highest legislative body. Universal direct elections will be implemented, and citizens aged 18 and above enjoy the right to vote. Only parties with more than 10% of the national vote can have parliamentary seats. The Grand National Assembly has 550 seats. Members are elected through general elections based on the population ratio of each province and serve a five-year term. The government is also called the Council of Ministers. Türkiye’s parliament passes new criminal code to pave the way for EU membership. President Abdullah Gul officially took office on August 28, 2007. On May 16, 2007, former President Cezer's seven-year term expired. After the collapse, Turkey held an election. In the end, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Gul was elected president and was sworn in. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, took office in March 2003. Turkey is a developing economy with coexisting private and public economic components, mainly based on agriculture and manufacturing. Although the GDP is growing faster than the population, the per capita GDP is still lower than that of European countries.
Agriculture accounts for nearly 1/5 of the GDP and uses about half of the labor force. Under normal circumstances, Turkey is self-sufficient in most food crops. Most of the arable land is used to grow food crops, with wheat and barley accounting for the largest areas. Cash crops (cotton and tobacco) are important export commodities. The lowlands of the narrow coastal region are extensively irrigated and produce hazelnuts, small grapes, raisins, and fruits (including citrus, lemons, and melons), as well as vegetables for foreign markets. Sheep, a small number of cattle and goats can be grazed in pastures with permanent grass. The forest is mainly coniferous forest, accounting for about 1/4 of the country's area. It is mainly distributed around the Black Sea and has rarely been developed so far.
The mining industry is dominated by state-owned companies and accounts for only 1% of GDP. Locally mined iron ore, coal, lignite, bauxite and copper provide raw materials for the country's important emerging industries. Türkiye is the main producer of chromite, most of which is exported. Due to limited domestic oil resources (can only meet 1/6 of demand), the country has to spend a lot of foreign exchange to import oil. 2/3 of the electricity is produced by thermal power plants, and about 1/3 of the electricity is provided by hydropower stations.
The manufacturing industry uses about 1/10 of the labor force and accounts for 1/5 of the GDP. Despite low productivity, the textile industry (including yarn, fabrics, and carpets) remained a rapidly growing industry in the 1970s and 1980s, as cotton was grown locally and workers were paid low wages. The petrochemical industry developed rapidly in the early 1980s. Türkiye has become a major steel producer in the Middle East. The construction machinery industry is also developing rapidly. Tourism is an important source of national income.
Unemployment is more severe in rural areas than in cities, but outside Istanbul there is still a shortage of skilled workers and management talent. According to the Labor Law promulgated in 1947, trade unions are legal organizations and have developed rapidly since then; the Federation of Workers' Unions is the largest organization. In the 1970s, many unskilled workers in Turkey went to Western European countries (mainly West Germany) to find jobs. However, after the 1980s, the trend of working abroad has shifted from Europe to the Middle East. The government's austerity spending program in the 1980s, coupled with increased remittances from workers abroad, allowed Turkey to significantly offset its long-standing trade deficit.
Turkey’s railway system has a total length of 8,400 kilometers. Only about 1/7 of the road system is paved, but car transportation still dominates.
International and domestic shipping relies on the ports of Istanbul, Izmir and Mersin, but the main shipping terminal for petrochemical products is near Iskenderun. International airports are located near Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Agricultural products and industrial products account for roughly half of the main export commodities. The main export trading partners are Germany, Italy and the United States. Iraq's oil is its main import. Germany provides Turkey with a large number of imported machines and equipment.
Industries: Textiles, food processing, automobiles, electronics, mining (coal, chromium, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, wood, paper.
Unemployment rate: 9.9%, underemployment rate: 4% (2007 statistics).
Poverty population ratio: 20% (statistics in 2002)
Exports: oil, electricity, clothing, food, textiles, metal products, transportation equipment.
Imports: electricity, machinery, chemicals, semi-finished products, fuel, transportation equipment. Turkey provides compulsory education for ages 6-14. There are approximately 820 educational institutions of various types, including universities, with a total number of students of approximately one million. 15 major national universities are located in Istanbul and Ankara. Non-compulsory education is primarily the responsibility of the Turkish Higher Education Council and funded by the government. Since 1998, the university has been given more autonomy and has actively cooperated with local business organizations to increase the university's funds.
There are about 85 universities in Turkey, mainly divided into state and private foundations. National universities charge very low tuition fees, while privately funded universities charge higher tuition fees, some even exceeding $15,000. The capacity of all universities is about 300,000 students, and about one million people take the joint entrance examination every year. The resource allocation of universities in Turkey is not the same. Some universities are enough to be ranked among the world's famous universities, while some universities even lack the most basic educational facilities and resources. In any case, Turkish university students are among the lucky few in the country. College students receive 2 to 4 years of bachelor's degree education, while master's degrees usually last 2 years.
Turkey’s scientific and technological research centers focus on basic scientific research, with a total of 64 scientific research centers and organizations. Scientific research results are concentrated in agriculture, forestry, medical care, biotechnology, nuclear technology, mining, IT industry and national defense.