Mauricio Aguilar

1914-1918 The Ottoman Empire enters World War I in alliance with Germany.

1919-1923 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (Father of Turk) organizes remaining Ottoman military units into an army of resistance, and establishes a government of resistance at Ankara.

1923 Defeat and expulsion of the invading armies. Abolishment of the last vestiges of the Ottoman Empire and Proclamation of the Turkish Republic by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, its founder and first president.

1923-1938 Atatürk's reforms: equal rights for women, secular government, prohibition of the fez and the veil, substitution of the Latin alphabet for the Arabic, Turkification of city names, everyone adopts a surname, etc.

1938 Death of Atatürk, continuation of one-party rule.

1939-1945 Turkey maintains a precarious neutrality during most of World War II.

1946-1950 Institution of multi-party democracy

1960 The 1960 coup d'état took place due to the level of influence the Islamists had gained in the nation

1965 Military rule bowed out to civilian rule, the political system was reestablished, and a new constitution was drafted that reaffirmed the "separation of religion and state/government"

1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus in response to a Greek-backed coup on the island.

1980 The 1980 coup d'état took place, martial law was almost immediately established and a quarter of the military (about 475,000) were mobilized to settle the resistance to the coup

• Bordering countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria

• Bordering bodies of water: Aegean Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea

• Area: 783,562 km² (37th largest)

• Climate: hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters

• Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower

Population: 76,805,524 (17th largest)

Ethnic groups: Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 18%, other minorities 7-12%

Median age: 27.7 years

Language: Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages

Religions: Muslim 99.8% (85-90% Sunni &

10-15% Alevi), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)

Literacy: 87.4% (95.3 male & 79.6% female)

Established

October 23, 1923

Type : Republican parliamentary democracy

Legal system: Civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems

Universal suffrage for both sexes for ages 18+

• Economic system: Market socialism

• Stage of Market Development: Upper middle income ($9,344.69 GNI per capita)

• Classification: Developed country

• Labor force: 23.21 million

• Unemployment rate: 10.7%

• Public dept: 40% of GDP

• Inflation rate: 10.4%

• Currency: Turkish liras ($0.652742 USD)

• GDP: $902.7 billion (15th largest)

• GDP per capita: $11,900

• GDP by sector: Agriculture 8.8%, industry 27.5%, services 63.8%

• Key sectors:

• Agricultural sector

• Industrial sector (consumer electronics and home appliances, textiles and clothing, motor vehicles and automotive products, shipbuilding)

• Construction and contracting sector

• Service sector (transport, communications, tourism, financial)

• Main industries: textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper

World Rank

Company Industry Revenue (billion $)

371 Türkiye İşBankası

Banking 12.53

384 Akbank Banking 8.7

405 Garanti Bankası Banking 8.13

639 Koç Holding Conglomerate 34.84

690 Sabancı Holding Conglomerate 11.95

879 Turkcell Telecommunications 4.75

893 Halk Bankası Banking 3.52

909 VakıfBank Banking 4.23

990 Tüpraş Oil and gas 14.19

1185 Enka İnşaat Construction 4.06

• Council of Europe - 1949

• Founding member of the United Nations – 1945

• Council of Europe (1949)

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - 1952

• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - 1961

• Associate member of the European Economic Community (EEC) -1963

• Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - 1973

• Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) - 1973

• Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) - 1985

• Full membership of the EEC – 1987

• Associate member of the Western European Union (WEU) – 1992

• G-20 major economies - 1999

• Applied for full membership of the EU - 2005

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)

Signed free trade agreements with European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

EU’s Customs Union

Turkey-Bosnia and Herzegovina free trade agreement

Turkey-Croatia free trade agreement

Turkey-Macedonia free trade agreement

Turkey-Palestinian Authority free trade agreement

Turkey-Tunisia free trade agreement

Intends to sign free trade agreement with Costa Rica

Exports: $140.8 billion

Imports: $193.9 billion

Moderate economic risk

Economy is based on agriculture

Has experienced erratic growth over the last few years due to a weak banking system, large current account deficits, and a lack of structural reforms and light manufacturing

High political risk

Population represents a mixture of Eastern and Western cultures.

Issues such as the status of Kurds in Turkey and the political treatment of Cyprus will negatively impact Turkey’s prospects of EU membership.

High financial system risk

The Insurance Supervisory Office is the primary insurance regulator

Overall regulation of Turkey’s financial system has been improving substantially

Ease of… Rank

Doing Business 63

Starting a Business 44

Dealing with Construction Permits 133

Employing Workers 143

Registering Property 33

Getting Credit 68

Protecting Investors 53

Paying Taxes 70

Trading Across Borders 65

Enforcing Contracts 26

Closing a Business 120

When meeting shake hands firmly. When departing it is not always customary to shake hands although it is practiced occasionally.

Gift giving has no real place in business relationships.

Spend time establishing a personal relationship.

Vital that you maintain eye contact while speaking.

Appointments are necessary and should be made 1 to 2 weeks in advance, preferably by telephone.

Primarily oral and visual communicators.

Decision making can be slow. Be patient.

You are expected to wear a suit and tie. Similarly women should wear smart professional outfits, it is advised to refrain from exposing their legs and arms and to ensure clothes are not tight-fitting.

Business cards are exchanged without formal ritual.