Turkey
 || align="center" width="140px" rowspan="2" height="130px" | Turkey has no national coat of arms\n|-\n| align="center" width="140px" | (In Detail)\n|}\n|-\n| align="center" colspan=2 style="border-bottom:3px solid gray;" | National motto: Yurtta Sulh, Cihanda Sulh(Turkish: "Peace at Home, Peace in the World")\n|-\n| align=center colspan=2 |  \n|-\n| Official language || Turkish\n|-\n| Capital || Ankara\n|-\n| President || Ahmet Necdet Sezer\n|-\n| Prime Minister || Recep Tayyip Erdogan\n|-\n| Area- Total - % water || Ranked 36th 780,580 km² 1.3%\n|-\n|width=100| Population - Total (2003) - Density || Ranked 17th 68,109,469 86.2/km²\n|-\n Independence | - Establishment - Empire from - Republic |
1281 1281-1923 July 24 1923\n|-\n| Currency || Turkish Lira1;\n|-\n| Time zone || UTC +2\n|-\n| National anthem || Istiklâl Marsi\n|-\n| Internet TLD || .tr\n|-\n| Calling Code || 90\n|-\n| colspan="2" align="left" | (1) From January 1, 2005, the New Turkish Lira (Yeni Türk Lirası) will replace the old lira\n|}
Geography\nMain article: Geography of Turkey
Turkey forms a bridge between Europe and Asia, with the division between the two running from the Black Sea to the north down along the Bosporus strait through the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles strait to the Aegean Sea and the larger Mediterranean Sea to the south. \nThe Anatolian peninsula consists of a high central plateau with narrow coastal plains, in between the Pontus range to the north and the Taurus Mountains to the south. To the east is found a more mountainous landscape, home to the sources of rivers such as the Euphrates, Tigris and the Araks, as well as Lake Van and Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest point at 5,166 m.
The climate is a Mediterranean temperate clime, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, though conditions can be much harsher in the more arid interior. Turkey is also prone to very severe earthquakes. \nThe capital city is Ankara, but the largest city is Istanbul.\nOther important cities include Izmir, Bursa, Adana, Izmit (Kocaeli), Konya, Diyarbakir, Antalya, and Samsun. See the list of cities in Turkey.
Economy\nMain article: Economy of Turkey Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The most important industry - and largest export - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. \nMeanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which in 2001 accounted for more than 50% of central government spending - while inflation has remained in the high double digit range. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than USD 1 billion annually. In late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Ankara to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. \nResults in 2002 were much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and serious political tensions in the Middle East cast a shadow over growth prospects in the future.Demographics\nMain article: Demographics of Turkey The majority of the Turkish population (around 80%) is of Turkic ethnicity, who speak the only official language of the country, Turkish. \nThe most significant minority is that of the Kurds, who constitute up to about 13% of the population and the Zaza people (11-13%), and who are found predominantly in the eastern provinces of Turkey and in major Turkish cities. \nOther smaller minorities include Levantines, Georgians (incl. Lazs who are ethnic Georgians), Syriacs, Arabs, Greeks, and Armenians. Nominally, some 98% of the population is Muslim. Most belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, but a significant number are Alevi Muslims, a branch related to Shi'a Islam. Smaller Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox (Gregorian), Jewish, Roman Catholic and Protestant minorities are also present.Culture\nMain article: Culture of Turkey
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