Middle East Research Institute - Turkey (Routledge Revival): Meri Report

Routledge Revivals

First published in 1985, this study, focusing on Turkey, looks at the underlying reasons why certain political, economic and social events have taken place in the countrys history. It provides vital analysis of the political and economic issues of the country, and those that have affected it, as well as providing statistical material on all the key data of the political economy.

The book was originally published as part of the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Reports on the Middle East which quickly established themselves as the most authoritative and up-to-date information on the state of affairs in the region.

Meri Report

Middle East Research Institute

First published in 1985
by Croom Helm

This edition first published in 2015 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

1985 Middle East Research Institute

The right of the Middle East Research Institute to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Publisher's Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.

Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those they have been unable to contact.

A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 84028554

ISBN 13: 978-1-138-90211-4 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-315-69756-7 (ebk)

MERI REPORT TURKEY

Middle East Research Institute University of Pennsylvania

1985 Middle East Research Institute
Croom Helm Ltd, Provident House, Burrell Row,
Beckenham, Kent BR3 1 AT

Croom Helm Australia Pty Ltd, First Floor,
139 King Street, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Turkey. - (Men report)

1. Turkey - Social conditions - I960

I. University of Pennsylvania. Middle East Research Institute II. Series

956.1'038 HN656.5.A8

]SBN 0-7099-3549-8

Croom Helm, 51 Washington Street, Dover,
New Hampshire 03820, USA

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

University of Pennsylvannia. Middle East Research Institute.

MERI report, Turkey.

1. Turkey Politics and government 1960-2. Turkey Foreign relations 1960- . 3. Turkey Economic conditions 1960- . I. Title. II. Title: M.E.R.I. report, Turkey.

DR593.U54 1985 330.9561'038 84-28554
ISBN 0-7099-3549-8 (pbk.)

Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham

Tutkey is situated at the junction of Europe and Asia. This location on two continents has been a central feature of Turkish history, culture and politics. The country shares common borders with Greece and Bulgaria in the northwest, with the USSR and Iran in the east, and with Iraq and Syria in the south. It is bounded to the north by the Black Sea, to the west by the Aegean Sea, and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea. The Turkish Straits the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardenelles - connect the Black Sea with the Aegean.

The area of Turkey is about 780,000 sq km (1 sq km = 0.386 sq mi), three times the size of the Federal Republic of Germany or slightly larger than Texas. The European part of the country is called Thrace (23,912 sq km), the larger Asian part, Anatolia. The country's total land frontiers extend over 2,625 km (1 km = 0.62 mi), while the length of the coastline is 7,110 km. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivets rise in eastern Turkey and flow southward to the Persian Gulf through Syria and Iraq. The largest river entirely within Turkey is the Kizilirmak, which flows northward from Sivas past Ankara (the capital city) to the Black Sea. Other major rivers include the Simav Cayi, feeding the Sea of Marmora, the Coruh, Yesil Izmak and Dakarya, discharging into the Black Sea, the Maritsa, flowing into the Aegean Sea, the Gedez, which drains into the Gulf of Izmir, and the Buyuk Mederes. Most rivers are unnavigable.

Turkey's topography is extremely varied. Its European region is an extension of the Balkan steppe of well watered, gently rolling terrain dipping into the Sea of Marmara. To the East, Asiatic Turkey rises gradually into a high plateau. This semi-arid upland is cut off from the Black Sea by the Pontus Mountains in the north and from the Mediterranean Sea by the Taurus and Anti-Taurus mountains in the south. Further east, where the increasingly rugged countryside is dominated by Mt. Ararat with an elevation of 5,165 m (1 m = 3.28 ft), the Anatolian Plateau runs into the Caucasus range without encountering a natural frontier.

The southern coastal plain is semi-tropical, with rainfall sufficient for citrus fruits and bananas. The average annual temperature is between 18-20 C (66-70 F). The Aegean coast enjoys hot, dry summers and mild winters, during which the average temperature falls to 14-15 C (58-60 F). Slightly cooler temperatures prevail along the Black Sea coast. The interior plateau has warm, dry summers, which become progressively shorter as one moves to the east. Winters are cool, and snow may persist from November into March near the Soviet border. East Anatolia and the interior parts of Turkey are subject to cold winters because they are shielded from the moderating effects of the sea breezes by the coastline mountains. The average temperatures over these areas are between -10 and 0 C in the winter (24-32 F). Rainfall is remarkably variable. Along the eastern Black Sea coast, towards the Soviet frontier, over 2,500 mm fall annually; elsewhere, amounts are very much smaller. Parts of the central plateau, being shut off by mountains from the influence of sea winds, are arid, with annual totals of under 250 mm and frequent expanses of salt steppe and desert. Precipitation, which comes for the most part in the winter, is adequate for cereal farming in the western part of the plateau.

Turkey's population was about 46,312,000 and the number of inhabitants pet sq km was 59 in 1982. The annual average rate of increase of population was 2.3 percent during the period 1975-1980. The birth rate was 34.88 per 1,000, while the death rate was 9.99 per 1,000. The growth rate has been decreasing slowly since 1960.

It is estimated that 49.62 percent of the population is under 20, the median age being 20.19. In 1982, 37.9 percent of the population was under 15, 57.4 percent was between 15 and 64, and 6.4 was aged 65 or over. During the period 1975-80, life expectancy at birth was 58.3 for males and 62.8 for females. The infant mortality rate was 110.0 per 1,000.