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, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, 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:
several previous; latest ratified 9 November 1982; amended 2001, 2007, 2010; note - work on a new constitution begun in 2011 has stalled in parliament (2015)
Legal system:
civil law system based on various European legal systems notably the Swiss civil code
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Turkey
dual citizenship recognized: yes, but requires prior permission from the government
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 10 August 2014)
head of government: Prime Minister Ahmet DAVUTOGLU (since 28 August 2014); Deputy Prime Ministers Yalcin AKDOGAN (since 29 August 2014), Yildirim Tugrul TURKES (since 29 August 2014), Lutfi ELVAN (since 24 November 2015),Numan KURTULMUS (since 29 August 2014), Mehmet SIMSEK (since 24 November 2015)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament; note - a 2007 constitutional amendment changed the presidential electoral process to direct popular vote; prime minister appointed by the president from among members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
election results: Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN elected president; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (AKP) 51.8%, Ekmeleddin IHSANOGLU (independent) 38.4%, Selahattin DEMIRTAS (HDP) 9.8%
Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 1 November 2015 (next to be held on June 2019); note - ERDOGAN was unable to form a coalition government and announced on 24 August 2015 that snap elections would be held; DAVUTOGLU formed the interim government
election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 49.5%, CHP 25.3%, MHP 11.9%, HDP 10.8%, other 2.6%; seats by party - AKP 317, CHP 134, MHP 40, HDP 59; note - only parties surpassing the 10% threshold can win parliamentary seats
Judicial branch:
highest court: Constitutional Court or Anayasa Mahkemesi (consists of 17 members); Supreme Court of Appeals (consists of about 390 judges and organized into 15 divisions with 23 civil and 15 criminal chambers); Council of State (organized into 15 divisions - 14 judicial and 1 consultative – each with a division head and at least 5 members)
judge selection and term of office: Constitutional Court members - 3 appointed by the Grand National Assembly and 14 by the president of the republic from among candidates nominated by the plenary assemblies of the high courts (with the exception of the Court of High Accounts), the Higher Education Council, and from among senior government administrators, lawyers, judges and prosecutors, and Constitutional Court rapporteurs; court president and 2 deputy presidents appointed from among its members for 4-year terms; judges appointed for 12-year, non-renewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65; Supreme Court of Appeals judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (SCJP), an independent body of judicial officials; judges appointed until retirement at age 65; Council of State members appointed by the SCJP and by the president of the republic; members appointed for renewable, 4-year terms
subordinate courts: basic (first instance) courts, military courts, specialized courts, including administrative and audit
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party or DP [Gultekin UYSAL]
Felicity Party or SP [Mustafa KAMALAK]
Grand Unity Party or BBP [Mustafa DESTICI]
Justice and Development Party or AKP [Ahmet DAVUTOGLU]
Nationalist Movement Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]
People's Democratic Party or HDP [Selahattin DEMIRTAS and Figen YUKSEKDAG]
Republican People's Party or CHP [Kemal KILICDAROGLU]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey or TUSKON [Rizanur MERAL]
Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Lami OZGEN, Sazyie KOSE, co-chairs]
Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Tayfun GORGUN]
Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Nail OLPAK]
Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Mahmut ARSLAN]
Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugrul KUDATGOBILIK]
Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Ergun ATALAY]
Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Bendevi PALANDOKEN]
Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem YILMAZ]
Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]
International organization participation:
ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CERN (observer), CICA, CPLP (associate observer), D-8, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (candidate country), FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF (partner), SCO (dialogue member), SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Serdar KILIC (since 21 May 2014)
chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700
FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John R. BASS (since 20 October 2014)
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara
mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823
telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555
FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019
consulate(s) general: Istanbul
consulate(s): Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir
Flag description:
red with a vertical white crescent moon (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening; the flag colors and designs closely resemble those on the banner of the Ottoman Empire, which preceded modern-day Turkey; the crescent moon and star serve as insignia for Turkic peoples (the crescent represents the mythical moon god, Ay Ata, and the star the sun goddess, Gun Ana); according to one legend, the flag represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors
National symbol(s):
star and crescent; national colors: red, white
National anthem:
name: "Istiklal Marsi" (Independence March)
lyrics/music: Mehmet Akif ERSOY/Zeki UNGOR
note: lyrics adopted 1921, music adopted 1932; the anthem's original music was adopted in 1924; a new composition was agreed upon in 1932
NOTE: The information regarding Turkey on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Turkey Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Turkey Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16