29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
Religions
Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 Census)
Languages
Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European part of Turkey
local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
Exports
apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment
External Debt
$331,400,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar - 1.3179 (2008 est.), 1.319 (2007), 1.4286 (2006), 1.3436 (2005), 1.4255 (2004) note: on 1 January 2005 the old Turkish lira (TRL) was converted to new Turkish lira (TRY) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 new Turkish lira; on 1 January 2009 the Turkish government dropped the word "new" and the currency is now called simply the Turkish lira
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
5.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
8
0
Location
Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Area
783,562 km sq
12,189 km sq
Coastline
7,200 km
2,528 km
Climate
temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April
