1

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

DisclaimerIOM has carried out the gathering of information with caution. IOM provides information at its best knowledge and in all conscience. Nevertheless, IOM cannot assume to be held accountable for the correctness of the information provided. Furthermore, IOM shall not be liable for any conclusions made or any results, which are drawn from the information provided by IOM.

REPUBLIC OFTURKEY

2

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

TaBLE OF COnTEnTs

TaBLE OF COnTEnTs 2I. GEnERaL InFORMaTIOn 3II. GOVERnanCE 3III. MILITaRY 4IV. EnVIROnMEnT 5 1. Climate 6 2. Environmental protection 7V. ECOnOMY 7 1. Banking system 9 2. Employment 10 2.1 Labour Law 10 3. Taxes 12 3.1 Taxable Income 12VI. RELIGIOn 13VII. TRansPORTaTIOn 14VIII. TELECOMMUnICaTIOns 16IX. EDUCaTIOn 18X. HEaLTHCaRE 19XI. POLITICaL DIsPUTEs 20XII. LInKs 21

3

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa Kemal, who was later honoured with the title Atatürk or “Father of the Turks.” Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster – popularly dubbed a “post-modern coup” – of the then Islamic-orientated government. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy enabling it to begin accession membership talks with the European Union.

II. GOVERnanCE

Turkey is a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The Constitution of Turkey was first amended on the 7 November 1982. Since then, there have been several amendments (most recently in 2007 concerning presidential elections). The civil law

I. GEnERaL InFORMaTIOn

• Fullname:Republic of Turkey• Population:78,785,548 (July 2011 est.)• Capital:Ankara• Majorcities:Major cities are Istanbul (pop. 13,255,685), Ankara (pop. 4,771,716),

Izmir (pop. 3,948,848), Bursa (pop. 2,605,495) and Adana (pop. 2,085,225).• Area:783,562 sq km• Majorlanguages:Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages• Majorreligions:Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and

Jews)• Majorethnicgroups:Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 18%, other minorities 7-12% (2008

est.)• Lifeexpectancy:Life expectancy at birth is 72.5 years.• Monetaryunit:1 Turkish lira = 100 kuruş• Main exports:Clothing and textiles, fruit and vegetables, iron and steel, motor

vehicles and machinery, fuels and oils• GNIpercapita:US $13,500 (World Bank, 2009)• Internetdomain:.tr• Borders:Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km,

Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, and Syria 822 km.• Flag:The flag has a red background with a white crescent, open to the right, on the

left side and a five-pointed white star in the centre. The precise origin of the crescent and star symbols, which are quite ancient in the Middle East, is unknown. The flag is an adaptation of the flag of the Ottoman Empire, which preceded the modern Turkish state.

• NationalDay:New Year’s Day (1 January), National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (23 April), Commemoration of Atatürk and Youth and Sports Day (19 May), Victory Day (30 August), the End of Ramadan (30 September – 2 October 2008; variable date determined by the Islamic calendar), Republic Day (29 October), and the Feast of the Sacrifice (8–11 December 2008; variable date determined by the Islamic calendar).

4

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

system is based on various European legal systems, notably the Swiss civil code.

The President of Turkey is directly elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term). The head of state is President Abdullah GUL (since 28 August 2007). The Council of Ministers is appointed by the President on the nomination of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President from sitting members of parliament. Since 14 March 2003, the Head of Government has been Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The legislative branch is the unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi. There are 550 seats, and members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The most recent elections were held on 12 June 2011 (next elections to be held by June 2015). A party must win at least 10 percent of the nationwide vote to secure representation in the parliament. Political parties have been shut down for having a programme that is not in agreement with the constitution, a condition that could be interpreted broadly.

The judicial branch consists of the Constitutional Court, High Court of Appeals (Yargitay), Council of State (Danistay), Court of Accounts (Sayistay), Military High Court of Appeals and Military High Administrative Court.

The constitution envisions an independent judiciary. The government in practice can influence judges through appointments, promotions, and financing, though much of the court system is still controlled by strict secularists who oppose the current government. The court system in general is undermined by procedural delays, with some trials lasting so long as to become a financial burden for the defense.

III. MILITaRY

The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, Navy (including naval aviation and naval infantry), and Air Force. The Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard, of which both have law enforcement and military functions, operate as components of the internal security forces in peacetime, and are subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. In wartime, they are subordinate to the Army and Navy.

The “National Security Policy Document”, adopted in October 2005, increases the TAF role in internal security, augmenting the General Directorate of Security and Gendarmerie General Command (Jandarma). The TAF leadership continues to play a key role in politics and considers itself guardian of Turkey’s secular state. In April 2007, it warned the ruling party about any pro-Islamic appointments. However, despite on-going negotiations on EU accession since October 2005, progress has been limited in establishing the required civilian supremacy over the military.

Primary domestic threats in Turkey are listed by the military as fundamentalism (with the definition in some dispute with the civilian government), separatism (the Kurdish problem), and the extreme left wing.

Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) has taken on increasing international peacekeeping responsibilities and took charge of a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command in Afghanistan in April 2007. The Turkish Navy is a regional naval power that looks to develop the capability to project power beyond Turkey’s coastal waters and it is also heavily involved in NATO, multinational and UN operations.

Reforms have increased civilian oversight of the military, but restrictions persist in areas

5

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

such as civilian supervision of defense expenditures. The military continues to intrude on issues beyond its purview, commenting on key domestic and foreign policy matters. A 2009 law restricting the use of military courts brought Turkey closer to EU norms, and the 2010 constitutional amendments limited the jurisdiction of military courts to military personnel. The amendments also removed an article that had prevented the prosecution of the leaders of the 1980 military coup.

Military ServiceAll males between the age of 19 and 41 years are obliged to undertake compulsory military service, which entails 15 months’ conscript obligation for non-university graduates and 6-12 months for university graduates. Women only serve in the Turkish Armed Forces as officers. There is a reserve obligation up to the age 41. The government does not recognise conscientious objection to military service, and those who oppose mandatory military service on religious grounds face charges in civil court and prison sentences.

IV. EnVIROnMEnT

Turkey is a large, roughly rectangular peninsula situated bridge-like between south eastern Europe and Asia. The country has functioned as a bridge for human movement throughout history.

The European portion of Turkey, known as Thrace (Trakya), encompasses 3 percent of the total area but is home to more than 10 percent of the total population. Thrace is separated from the Asian portion of Turkey by the Bosporus Strait (Istanbul Bogazi or Karadeniz Bogazi), the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) and the Dardanelles Strait (Çanakkale Bogazi). The Asian part of the country is known by a variety of names, including Asia Minor, Asiatic Turkey, the Anatolian Plateau, and Anatolia (Anadolu). The term Anatolia is most frequently used in specific reference to the large, semiarid central plateau, which is rimmed by hills and mountains that in many places limit access to the fertile, densely populated coastal regions. Astride the straits separating the two continents, Istanbul is the country’s primary industrial, commercial, and intellectual centre. However, the Anatolian city of Ankara, which Atatürk and his associates picked as the capital of the new republic, is the political hub of the country and has emerged as an important industrial and cultural centre in its own right.

Turkey’s extremities are divided into the Black Sea coastline region, the Aegean coastline region, the Mediterranean coastline region, and the Arabian Platform along the Syrian border in the south. The interior is divided into the Pontus mountain range, which lines most of the Black Sea coastline; the Taurus mountain range, which extends from the Mediterranean coast north of Cyprus to east-central Anatolia; the Anatolian Plateau, which dominates the interior of western Anatolia; and the eastern highlands, which dominate far eastern Anatolia, east of the Pontus and Taurus chains.

The Black Sea region features rocky coastlines cut by rivers flowing from gorges in the Pontus Mountains. The European and Asian parts of the Aegean region mainly consists of rolling terrain favourable for agriculture. The narrow Mediterranean coastal region is flat farmland, separated from Anatolia by the Taurus Mountains and opening into wide plains at some points. The Arabian Platform is a region of rolling hills along the Syrian border.

The Pontus or North Anatolian Mountains are lower in the west but rise to more than 3,000 metres in their eastern reaches. The Taurus Mountains are more rugged than the Pontus, but they have fewer rivers and therefore form a more complete barrier between the sea and the interior. The Anatolian Plateau extends from the Aegean coastal region between the two major mountain ranges to form the semiarid heartland of Turkey. Elevation is

6

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

between 600 and 1,200 meters, with several major basins. The eastern highlands are formed by the convergence of the Taurus and Pontus ranges. Mountains here are more rugged than elsewhere in Turkey and the highest mountain, Mt. Ararat, is 5,166 meters high. Turkey’s largest lake, Lake Van, is in the eastern highlands.

Turkey’s longest rivers, the Kızılırmak, Sakarya and Yeşilırmak, flow northwards from the interior of the country into the Black Sea. The Dicle (Tigris) and Firat (Euphrates) originate in the eastern mountains and flow southward across the Arabian Platform into Syria and Iraq. The Büyük Menderes and Gediz are the major rivers flowing from the Anatolian Plateau westwards into the Aegean Sea. The Meric (known in Greece as the Evros and in Bulgaria as the Maritsa) forms the border between Greece and Turkish Thrace before flowing into the northern Aegean. The Seyhan flows south from the eastern highlands into the Mediterranean Sea.

Turkey has abundant arable land; its water resources are greater than those elsewhere in the Middle East but generally less than those in European countries. Rivers offer hydroelectric power generation and irrigation. Known oil and natural gas deposits are small, but relatively large amounts of coal are present. Other significant mineral resources include boron and chromium. The long coastlines with a temperate climate support commerce, tourism and fishing.

Some 30 percent of Turkey’s land is rated as arable, and another 11.5 percent is used as pasture. About 11 percent of the arable land (3.3 percent of the total) is planted with permanent crops, and 18 percent of the arable land is irrigated.

1. Climate

The climate in Turkey has varies greatly depending on the diverse topography and latitude.

The Aegean and Mediterranean coastal areas enjoy a typical Mediterranean climate. There is hardly a drop of rain during the sunny and hot summer (May to October). Winters are mild and rainy in these regions, and it rarely snows in coastal areas, with the exception of mountainous areas higher than 2,000 meters, which are quite susceptible to snowfall and are frequently impassable. The water temperature in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas is warm during the long summer season (May to October), which constitutes the swimming season, and fluctuates between 23° and 28°C from north to south.

The region around the Sea of Marmara, including Istanbul, has a transitional climate between an oceanic climate and a semi-Mediterranean climate, but it does rain, albeit infrequently, during the very warm summer (with rain showers that tend to last 15-30 minutes). Its winters are colder than those of the western and southern coasts. Snow is common in coastal areas, although it doesn’t stay on the ground for long and is limited to only a few days every winter. The water temperature in the Sea of Marmara is also colder than the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, with the water temperature reaching only between 20° and 24°C during the summer (June, July and August), and the swimming season is restricted to those summer months.

The Black Sea region has an oceanic climate (thanks to the protective shield effect of the Caucasus mountains) with the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimeters annually, which is the highest precipitation in the country. Summers are warm and humid while the winters are cool and damp. Snow is common in coastal areas, although it doesn’t stay on the ground for long and is limited to only a

7

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

few days every winter. However, mountains are very snowy as is to be expected and are frequently impassable; there are glaciers around the year in the highest zones. The water temperature along the entire Turkish Black Sea coast is always cool and fluctuates between 10° and 20°C throughout the year, and is even less suitable for swimming during the summer than in the Sea of Marmara.

Most of the coastal areas have a high level of relative humidity during most of the year, which makes hot weather feel hotter and cold weather feel colder than it actually is. Interior areas, like Ankara, generally have hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The more easterly the location is, the colder the winters are and the heavier the snow is. The northeastern part (around Erzurum and Kars) is the only inland area that has cool and rainy summers.

The southeastern region near the Syrian border has a desert-like climate, and the temperature is frequently above 40°C during summers with no rain. Snowfall is occasional in winter.

2. Environmental protection

Turkey’s main environmental problems are water pollution from the dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; and the potential for spills from the 5,000 oil and gas carrying ships that pass through the Bosporus annually. The most pressing needs are for water and wastewater treatment plants, solid waste management and the conservation of biodiversity. The release of pollutants by neighbouring countries has critically contaminated the Black Sea, and multinational cooperation has not adequately addressed the problem. Air pollution has accelerated since rapid economic growth began in the mid-1990s. The problem is especially acute in Istanbul, Ankara, Erzurum and Bursa, where the combustion of heating fuels increases particle density in winter. In Istanbul, in particular, increased car ownership and the slow development of public transportation cause frequent urban smog conditions. Industrial air pollution comes mainly from power plants and the metallurgy, cement, sugar and fertiliser industries, a large percentage of which lack filtration equipment. Land degradation is a critical agricultural problem, caused by inappropriate use of agricultural land, overgrazing, over-fertilisation and deforestation. Serious soil erosion has occurred in more than half of Turkey’s land surface. According to one estimate, Turkey loses 1 billion tons of topsoil annually. Large areas of Turkey are prone to major earthquakes.

The establishment of the Ministry of Environment in 1991 accelerated progress on some environmental problems such as urban air pollution. In the early 2000s, prospective membership of the European Union spurred the updating of some environmental legislation. However, in 2003 the merger of the Ministry of Environment with the Ministry of Forestry reduced the influence of environmental officials in policy-making, and enforcement procedures (such as those regulating traffic through the Bosporus) are considered weak. In general, private firms have responded more fully to environmental regulation than state-owned enterprises, which still constitute a large percentage of Turkey’s economy.

V. ECOnOMY

Its diversified economy, proximity to Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia, integration with European markets, a young and vibrant work force, crisis experienced businessmen and economy management make Turkey one of the most powerful economies in the region.

Turkey’s economy is increasingly driven by its industry and service sectors, although its

8

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

traditional agriculture sector still accounts for about 30% of employment. An aggressive privatisation programme has reduced state involvement in basic industry, banking, transport and communication, and an emerging cadre of middle-class entrepreneurs is adding dynamism to the economy. Turkey’s traditional textiles and clothing sectors still account for one-third of industrial employment, despite stiff competition in international markets that resulted from the end of the global quota system. Other sectors, notably the automotive, construction and electronics industries, are rising in importance and have surpassed textiles within Turkey’s export mix. Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking a major milestone that will bring up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian to market. Several gas pipelines are also being planned to help move Central Asian gas to Europe via Turkey, which will help address Turkey’s dependence on energy imports over the long term. After Turkey experienced a severe financial crisis in 2001, Ankara adopted financial and fiscal reforms as part of an IMF programme. When GDP contracted by 5.7 percent and the Government undertook an expensive banking recapitalisation, the country embarked on a concerted path of structural reforms. These included improved fiscal and public financial management, social security reform, and a completely new framework for macroeconomic management, in which an independent central bank is responsible for inflation targeting and the lira floats freely against other currencies. These reforms yielded spectacular results. GDP growth in the five years from 2003 to 2007 averaged nearly 7 percent and poverty fell from 27 percent to 17 percent.

Turkey was hit hard by the global economic crisis in 2008-2009 but demonstrated resilience. GDP fell by 4.8 percent in 2009. The concentration of exports in highly cyclical sectors and reliance on EU markets compounded the impact of the crisis. Low domestic savings and high energy imports made Turkey’s private sector a high net importer of foreign capital; between 2004 and 2009, the current account deficit (CAD) averaged 4.7 percent of GDP. EU-defined general government debt, which had fallen from 78 percent in 2001 to less than 40 percent in 2008, increased to 45.5 percent in 2009 (mainly due to a fall in GDP).

Turkey bounced back from the global economic downturn much faster than many other countries in the region. By the second quarter of 2009, the economy was already growing again. GDP grew by 8.9 percent in 2010 and 11 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Public debt has resumed its declining trend and was back down to 45 percent of GDP at the end of 2010. Turkey faces critical remaining challenges on the supply side, especially in the energy, taxation, labour markets, and investment climate areas, to promote sustained high growth while reducing the dependence on external financing.

Turkey has introduced a new monetary “policy mix” to reconcile inflation targeting with aggressive capital inflow management, combined with macro prudential measures. The mix combines low policy rates (to discourage carry trade positions in lira assets) with high reserve requirements (to curtail domestic credit creation).

Turkey has taken steps to implement its competitiveness and employment reform agenda. The Government’s programme aims to raise export competitiveness and foreign direct investment by improving the investment climate, enhance the financial sector’s depth and efficiency and broaden job creation.

The Government’s 2011 Annual Programme states its objective to create a competitive structure for the business environment. It focuses on the development of an enterprise friendly system, in which efficiency is increased and bureaucracy reduced.

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) growth is key to job creation in Turkey. Nearly 80 percent of jobs in Turkey are created by SMEs.

9

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

The three biggest constraints to growth are access to finance, the ability to adopt and use knowledge and remaining regulatory hurdles. Further to these issues, studies have shown that top management spends a large amount of time (27 percent) dealing with red tape. Some of this “time tax” relates to frequent changes in rules and a discretionary, unpredictable implementation of rules, be it for taxes, licenses, procurement or other transactions. This is much more than in comparator countries like Brazil (19 percent), Poland (13 percent) and Chile (9 percent). Moreover, nearly a quarter of Turkish firms surveyed rated the education and skills levels of the workforce as a “major” or “very severe” constraint to their operations and growth.

1. Banking system

All banks in Turkey are legally obliged to belong to the Banking Association of Turkey (Türkiye Bankalar Birligi). Represented by the bank’s Chairman or General Manager, the main aim is to develop banking in Turkey and to ensure that banks comply with the regulations. One of the important duties of the Association, while under the watchful eye of the government authorities is to represent and protect the interests of the banking sector.

The banking system and the Turkish financial system are closely intertwined. This is a consequence of the country’s economic and historical development. Banks carry out almost all financial activities, both in the money and capital markets.

Foreign banks, in spite of their small market share, play an important part in the banking system because of the new products and practices they have initiated.

Turkish banks have begun to modernise and install new services as well as increase profitability and competitive strength through better control of operating costs. Many banks in Turkey have ATMs (automatic teller machines), and credit and debit cards are widely accepted.

The number of banks operating in Turkey numbered 48 at the end of September 2011 with 31 in deposit banks group and 13 in non-deposit banks group, while there were also 4 participation banks.

Among deposit banks, there were 3 state-owned banks, 11 privately owned banks and 16 foreign banks. The following is contact information for the various banks in Turkey:

Türkiye İş Bankası A.Ş.Address: Musteri Iliskileri Isbank PK 134 34330 Levent IstanbulTel: +90 212 444 02 02Fax: +90 212 316 04 04Web: http://www.isbank.com.tr/

Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş.Address: Levent Nispetiye Mah. Aytar Cad. No:2 Beşiktaş 34340 İstanbulTel: +90 212 318 18 18Fax: +90 212 630 15 81E-mail: bilgi@garanti.com.trWeb: http://www.garanti.com.tr/tr/

Akbank T.A.Ş.Address: Sabanci Centre 34330 4. Levent/IstanbulTel: 90 212 444 25 25Fax: 90 212 329 35 35

10

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

Web: www.akbank.com

Türkiye Halk Bankası A.Ş.Address: 2. Cadde No: 63 Söğütözü 06520 AnkaraTel: +90 312 289 2000Fax: + 90 212 340 09 44E-mail: Halkbank.Dialog@halkbank.com.trWeb: http://www.halkbank.com.tr

Finans Bank A.Ş.Address: Büyükdere Cad. No: 129 34394 Gayrettepe, IstanbulTel: +90 212 444 0 900E-mail: customercommunicationandsolutioncenter@finansbank.com.trWeb: http://www.finansbank.com.tr

2. Employment

Despite rapid economic growth after 2001 and the strong performance after the recent global crisis, less than half of the working-age population (15-64) is working (20 percentage points below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average). Unemployment has fallen below pre-crisis levels, to 9.4 percent in April-June 2011.

Job informality has also come down remarkably, but it still affects 42.7 percent of workers, contributing to low labour productivity in Turkey relative to competitors. Low activity rates and labour productivity constrain Turkey’s high growth potential.

Women and young people continue to face challenges. Less than a quarter of working-age women are employed. Female labour force participation declined from 34.3 percent in 1988 to 24 percent in 2010. Increasing urbanisation and falling agricultural employment in rural areas are major reasons for this decrease. Unemployment is particularly high among young people (17.5 percent in April-June 2011), and more than 800,000 young people are joining the working age population each year. About 37 percent of young people are neither working nor going to school (mostly women).

2.1 Labour Law

Based on Turkish Labour Law, there are four different types of job contracts:a) Job contracts for “temporary” and “permanent” workb) Job contracts with “definite period” and “indefinite period”c) Job contracts for “part-time” workd) Job contracts for “work-upon-call”

A job contract does not have to be concluded in a specific format. However, if a job contract is signed for a definite period, it must be concluded in writing. Job contracts are exempt from stamp tax and other duties.

Any kind of discrimination among employees with respect to language, race, gender, political opinion, philosophical approach, religion or similar criteria is prohibited by law. Discrimination based on the gender of an employee is not allowed when determining the amount of remuneration for employees working in the same or equivalent jobs. In the case of violation of the principle of equality, the employee who is subject to discrimination can request monetary compensation.

11

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

According to the Labour Law, the maximum normal working hours is 45 hours per week. In principle, 45 hours should be distributed equally among the working days. However, based on the new rules introduced by the new Labour Law, working hours may be distributed unevenly over the working days provided that the total daily working hours do not exceed 11 hours a day and that the parties agree on the uneven distribution of the working hours over the working days. Hours exceeding the limit of 45 hours per week are to be paid as “overtime hours”. Payment for overtime must be 1.5 times the regular hourly wage/salary. Instead of the overtime payment, employees may be granted free time of 1.5 hours for each overtime hour worked. Overtime during weekends and public holidays is to be paid at twice the regular hourly rate. These rates are the minimum set by law and may be increased based on a collective or bilateral agreement between employees and the employer. The total number of overtime hours worked per year may not exceed 270 hours.

There are five paid public holidays per year (1 January, 23 April, 19 May, 30 August and 29 October) plus two paid periods of religious holiday, amounting to eight days in total.

Employees are entitled to paid annual holidays for the periods indicated below, provided that they have worked for at least one year including the probation period. If a person has worked for between 1 and 5 years (inclusive), he/she is entitled to 14 days of paid annual leave; 20 days if he/she has worked for 5-15 years; and 26 days if he/she has worked for 15 years or longer. These benefits are the minimum set by the law and may be increased based on a collective or bilateral agreement. In principle, paid holidays cannot be unilaterally divided by the employer. However, the total period can be divided into three parts (at most) based on an agreement between the employer and the employee, provided that a part of the holiday period would not be shorter than 10 days.

If a job contract is terminated either by the employer or the employee, the holiday pay earned by the employee as of the date of termination must be paid.

According to the law on the amendments to the Turkish Labour Law, wages and salaries are required to be paid in Turkish lira to the bank account of the employee. Unless the wage and salary amounts are paid to the bank account of the employees, an administrative penalty amount of 100 lira per employee (per month) is charged to the employer. It is possible to denominate wages/salaries in terms of a foreign currency. In this case, wages/salaries shall be paid in lira calculated on the basis of the related foreign currency rate prevailing as of the payment date. Wages/salaries cannot be paid in terms of promissory notes or any other forms of negotiable instruments. According to the relevant rules of the new Turkish Labour Law, employees whose salaries are not paid within twenty days following the regular payment date for reasons other than force majeure are allowed to refrain from work.

According to the relevant rules of the new Turkish Labour Law, female employees are now permitted to have a paid maternity leave period of eight weeks prior to and eight weeks after giving birth (i.e. a total paid maternity leave period of 16 weeks). It is also possible to take optional unpaid maternity leave of up to six months in addition to the paid leave period of 16 weeks.

Those employers that have more than 50 employees are required by the Labour Law to employ a certain number of disabled persons as well as ex-convicts. In the private sector, the number of disabled persons employed must consist of 3% of the total number of employees while the number of ex-convicts to be employed must correspond to 2% of the total number of employees. In the event of failure to comply with this obligation, an administrative penalty of 1.357 lira for each disabled person or ex-convict not employed (per month) is charged to the employer.

12

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

Bonuses equal to one month’s salary are usually paid four times a year, in March, June, September and December. There is no obligation as to the number of bonus payments during a year. The timing for bonus payments can be decided between employees and the employer. Profit sharing is optional. There is no obligation for employers to distribute a share of profits to their employees.

3. Taxes

In general, individuals residing in Turkey are liable for personal income tax on all of their income derived in and outside Turkey. However, individuals who do not reside in Turkey but receive part of their income from Turkey are only liable for income tax on their income derived in Turkey. The former is known as “full liability taxpayers”, and the latter as “limited liability taxpayers”.

Expatriates who reside in Turkey for more than six months in one calendar year are generally considered as having permanent residence in Turkey and are taxed on their worldwide income.

In determination of the extent of the Turkish tax liability of an expatriate, the relevant provisions of double tax treaties should also be considered. In order for wages to be taxable in Turkey, the services must be performed or benefited in Turkey; the payment must be made in Turkey; or if the payment is made in a foreign country, it must be transferred to the account of a company in Turkey.

Regardless of their nationality, most Turkish residents, unless covered by an exemption, are subject to personal income tax. The emoluments of employees of some non-resident companies are exempt from income tax if they meet the following conditions:• the employer is non-resident;• the emoluments are paid in terms of a foreign currency;• the emoluments are paid from the gains of the employer outside Turkey and not deducted from the tax base in Turkey as a wage and salary expense.

The income tax exemption mentioned above is only applicable to employees of liaison offices.

3.1 Taxable Income

Income tax is levied on the following types of income:• Business profits (Commercial Income);• Agricultural profits;• Salaries and wages; • Income from professional services (such as services rendered by lawyers, tax consultants, engineers, etc.);• Income from immovable property (mainly rental income);• Income derived from securities (interests, dividends);• Other income (capital gains and nonrecurring income).

Each income item is defined in the Income Tax Law.

All income arising from an individual’s employment is subject to personal income tax. As a rule, all benefits received from the employer (in cash or in kind) fall within the definition of emoluments; however, there are some exceptions to this general rule (for example, equipment that the employer owns but assigns to the usage of the employee does not give rise to assessment).

13

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

Social security contributions (including contributions to be paid to the Unemployment Insurance Plan starting from 1 June 2000) are also acceptable expenses, as well as additional insurance premiums against sickness and life policies. Additionally, employees are granted a particular amount of subsistence allowance, varying according to their spouse’s working status and the number of their children.

VI. RELIGIOn

According to the government, 99 percent of the population is Muslim, the majority of which is Hanafi Sunni, though the representatives of various religious communities claim the actual percentage of Muslims is slightly lower. Academics also estimate that there are between 15 million and 20 million Alevis, followers of a belief system that incorporates aspects of both Shia and Sunni Islam and draws on the traditions of other religious groups indigenous to the region. The government considered Alevism a heterodox Muslim sect, and some Alevis and Sunnis maintain that Alevis are not Muslims.

There are several other religious groups constituting less than 1 percent of the country’s population, mostly concentrated in Istanbul and other large cities. While exact membership figures are not available, these religious groups include approximately 500,000 Shiite Caferi Muslims, 60,000 Armenian Orthodox Christians, 23,000 Jews, 20,000 Syrian Orthodox (Syriac) Christians, 10,000 Bahais, 5,000 Yezidis, 3,600 Jehovah’s Witnesses, 3,500 members of various other Protestant sects, approximately 3,000 Iraqi Chaldean Christians and up to 2,500 Greek Orthodox Christians. There are also small, undetermined numbers of Bulgarian Orthodox, Nestorian, Georgian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Syriac Catholic and Maronite Christians.

The 1982 constitution establishes the country as a secular state and provides for freedom of belief, worship and the private dissemination of religious ideas. The constitution prohibits discrimination on religious grounds and, in practice, the government generally enforces these protections; however, some constitutional provisions regarding the integrity and existence of the secular state restrict these rights. Core institutions of the state, including the presidency, armed forces, judiciary and state bureaucracy, have played the role of defending secularism throughout the history of the republic. In some cases, elements of the state have opposed the activities of the elected government on grounds that these actions threatened the secular state.

Some religious groups face difficulties regarding freedom of worship, registration with the government, property ownership and the training of their followers and clergy. Although religious speech and persuasion is legal, some Muslims, Christians, and Bahais face restrictions and occasional harassment for alleged proselytizing or providing religious instruction to children. The penal code also prohibits imams, priests, rabbis and other religious leaders from “reproaching or vilifying” the government or the laws of the state while performing their duties. Violations were punishable by prison terms of one month to one year, or three months to two years if the crime involved inciting others to disobey the law.

The constitution provides that no one shall be compelled to reveal his or her religious beliefs. Although there is a space in which to list one’s religious affiliation on national identity cards, citizens may choose not to include a religion on their cards.

Registration with the government is not mandatory for religious groups; however, unregistered religious groups have no legal standing and can face greater harassment than registered groups. Organisations, including religious groups, have the opportunity to register as an association or a foundation, but not on religious grounds. There are legal

14

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

restrictions against insulting a recognised religion, interfering with such a religious group’s services or defacing its property.

The government observes the following religious holidays as national holidays: three days at the end of Ramadan (Ramazan Bayram) and five days for the feast of the sacrifice (Kurban Bayram).

VII. TRansPORTaTIOn

Turkey enjoys a privileged position at the crossroads of Europe, the Caucasus, Middle East and Central Asia. As a result of being a regional logistics base, Turkey’s transportation sector is among the principal sectors in terms of economic growth and employment.

With the influence of economic development and the EU accession period, the modernisation of the transportation sector has been already excelled through privatisations and foreign direct investments. There are several ongoing projects, particularly in infrastructure, and many privatisations have been realised mainly through build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts.

Air travelThere are 99 airports in Turkey, of which 88 have paved runways. The main cities are served by reasonably priced airlines, which is better than travelling by bus over longer distances. Tickets can be conveniently bought at the Istanbul domestic terminal and local ticket offices of Turkish Airlines, Onur Air, Pegasus Airlines and Atlasjet, among others. Many of the large cities have daily connections to the hubs of Ankara and Istanbul, while other airlines only have flights on specific days. Upon arrival at regional airports, there will often be a connecting Havaş bus to the city centre, which is far cheaper than taking a taxi. They may wait for half an hour but are available upon the arrival of major flights. At some locations, a whole fleet of minibuses will await the arrival of an important flight, and will then proceed to cities in the region.

Turkish Airlineshttp://www.turkishairlines.comOnur Airhttp://www.onurair.com.tr/Pegasus Airlineshttp://www.flypgs.com/Atlasjethttp://www.atlasjet.com/SunExpresshttp://www.sunexpress.com

Bus travelTurkey has a very good long-distance bus network, with air-conditioned buses, reserved seats and generally good-quality service, at least with the major operators. There are now a few firms providing luxury buses with 1st class seats and service. Standard buses, however, have seats narrower than those of economy class on airplanes. Buses are often crowded and smoking is strictly prohibited. Mobile phone usage is also restricted on many buses.

Buses are staffed by drivers and a number of assistants. During the journey, you will be offered free drinks and some snacks, and stops will be made every two and half hours or so at well-stocked road restaurants. The further east you travel, the less frequent buses will be, but even places as far as Dogubeyazit or Van have regular services to many

15

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

places hundreds of kilometres away. Only the smallest towns do not have a direct bus link to Istanbul or Izmir at least once every two days. Seating within buses is partly directed by the “koltuk numarası” or seat number on your ticket, partly by the ritualistic seating of women next to women, couples together and so forth.

Metrohttp://www.metroturizm.com.tr/Kâmil Koçhttp://www.kamilkoc.com.tr/Pamukkalehttp://www.pamukkale.com.tr/index.htmlUlusoyhttp://www.ulusoy.com.tr/

Rail travelTCDD (Turkish Republic State Railways) operates passenger trains throughout the country. As Turkey has fewer than 11,000 km of rail network in total, many cities are not within rail coverage.

The Istanbul-Ankara rail line is the busiest in the country. There are several daily trains on this line, and a journey takes between 6 and a half to more than 10 hours, depending on the train and any delays experienced, which are quite frequent.

The Istanbul-Ankara and Istanbul-Edirne lines are the only electric lines, and the rest of the lines are serviced by diesel trains.

The first high speed train service in Turkey began in 2009, between Ankara and Eskişehir, a city lying about 240 km west of Ankara with seven departures back and forth every day.

1st and 2nd class tickets are available across the country, while some trains only consist of 1st class carriages. 1st class generally means a Pullman carriage (which has ample legroom between the seats and usually air-conditioning), and 2nd class typically means a compartment having 6 or perhaps 8 seats. Many trains have couchettes and sleeping cars. However, even some night trains lack one, so ensure that you ask before choosing your departure. All carriages have lavatories, although they may not be always particularly clean or have toilet paper.

Train tickets can be bought online, at the station of departure, certain central post offices, authorised tourism agencies or from automatic ticket machines, which are sometimes located at the main stations of the big cities. For reservation and timetables, see the website of State Railways of the Turkish Republic: http://www.tcdd.gov.tr/

Car travelThere are total of 352,046 km of roadways in Turkey. Like all of its neighbours (except Cyprus off the southern coast of Turkey), motorists drive on the right side of the road in Turkey.

It is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving. The maximum permitted amount of alcohol blood level for drivers is 0.05 grams per litre (g/1000 ml), which is roughly equal to two cups (a cup=500 ml) of beer or two glasses (a wine glass=330 ml) of wine. The use of seat belts both in the front and back is obligatory, and failing to do so carries a penalty.

There are no fees to use the highways except on intercity motorways. While Turkish highways vary widely in quality and size, the toll motorways have three lanes and are

16

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

very smooth and fast. Motorways are explicitly identifiable with distinct green signs and have road numbers prefixed with the letter O. The motorway network currently consists of two lines stretching out to east and west from Istanbul (towards Ankara and Edirne respectively), a network in Central Aegean fanning out from Izmir, and another motorway connecting the major eastern Mediterranean city of Adana to neighbouring cities in all directions.

Despite bordering countries that have the richest oil resources, fuel in Turkey is ridiculously expensive; in fact, it is one of the most expensive in the world due to the very heavy taxes. For example, one litre of unleaded petrol costs more than 4.00 lira (~€ 1.80/~US$ 2.40). Petrol stations are frequently lined along the highways; most are open 24 hours and accept credit cards.

Dolmuş travelThis minibus is a small bus (sometimes car) that will ride near-fixed routes. The ride may be from the periphery of a major city to the centre or within a city, but it may also travel three to four hours from one city to the next on a route that is not commercially viable for large busses. They sometimes make a detour to bring old people home or collect some extra heavy luggage. The fare is collected all through the journey, by either a specially appointed passenger who will receive a reduction, a steward who may get off halfway through the journey to pick up a dolmuş of the same company heading back or the driver himself.

The concept of a dolmuş in Istanbul is somehow different than the rest of Turkey. The vehicles are different, they take a maximum number of 7 seated passengers and they have no standing passengers. They do not tend to take passengers along the way, they depart as soon as they are full and many of them operate 24 hours a day. They usually leave when they are full, but sometimes start at fixed times, whatever the number of passengers.

Boat travelFast ferries are catamaran-type ferryboats that connect cities such as Istanbul to the other side of the Marmara Sea. They can reduce travel time dramatically. Similar services are operated to connect several parts of Istanbul with the Asian side, or places farther up the Bosporus. This type of fast ferry is increasingly seen all over the country wherever there is enough water. There are also ferry connections between Istanbul and Izmir and between Istanbul and Trabzon in the eastern Black Sea region; ships operating on the latter line also stop at all of the significant cities along the Turkish Black Sea coast. However, both of these lines unfortunately only operate during the summer months.

All inhabited Turkish islands have at least one daily cruise to the nearest mainland city or town during summer. But as winter conditions on the seas can be harsh, the frequency of voyages drops significantly due to bad weather.

By bicycleSpecial bicycle lanes are virtually non-existent, except for a few short routes, which are built mainly for sport, not transportation, along coastal avenues or parks in big cities such as Istanbul or Izmir. The terrain of the country is mostly hilly, which is another factor that makes long-distance cycling in Turkey more difficult.

VIII. TELECOMMUnICaTIOns

MediaNearly all media organisations are owned by giant holding companies with interests in

17

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

other sectors, contributing to self-censorship. In 2009, the Dogan holding company, which owns many media outlets, was ordered to pay crippling fines for tax evasion in what was widely described as a politicised case stemming from Dogan’s criticism of the Justice and Development Party and its members. The Internet is subject to the same censorship policies that apply to other media, and a 2007 law allows the state to block access to websites deemed to insult Atatürk or whose content includes criminal activities. This law has been used to block access to the video-sharing website YouTube – from 2008 until October 2010 – as well as several other websites. Kurdish-language publications and television broadcasts are now permitted. However, Kurdish newspapers in particular often face closure or website blocking.

TV and RadioThe national public broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) operates multiple TV and radio networks and stations; multiple privately-owned national television stations and up to 300 private regional and local television stations. Also multi-channel cable TV subscriptions are obtainable. There are more than 1,000 private radio broadcast stations.

TelephoneA comprehensive telecommunications network is undergoing rapid modernisation and expansion, especially in mobile phone services. Additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers. The construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating communication between urban centres. Remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system. The number of subscribers to the mobile phone service is growing rapidly.

While not as common as they used to be, possibly because of the widespread use of mobile phones, which are used by virtually the whole population, public pay phones can still be found at the sides of central squares and major streets in towns and cities and around post offices (PTT), especially around their outer walls. With the phase-out of old magnetic cards, public phones now operate with chip Telekom cards, which are available in 30, 60 or 120 units and can be purchased from post offices, newspaper and tobacco kiosks. You can also use your credit card on these phones. There are also telephones available in some kiosks and shops where you pay cash after your call.

It is estimated that approximately 98% of the population of Turkey lives within the coverage areas of Turkey’s three cell phone line providers.

Here is a list of telephone codes for some major cities and towns:212—Istanbul – European Side216—Istanbul – Asian Side, and Princes’ Islands224—Bursa and Uludağ232—Izmir and Çeşme242—Antalya, Alanya, Kemer and Kaş252—Muğla, Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye256—Aydın and Kuşadası258—Denizli and Pamukkale286—Çanakkale and Gallipoli312—Ankara332—Konya384—Nevşehir and most of Cappadocia (though a few well-known Cappadocian towns, which are parts of Aksaray Province have 382 as their area code)

18

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

Prior to the telephone code, dial 0 for intercity calls. Numbers starting with 0800 are pay-free, whereas numbers beginning with 0900 are high-fee services. 7-digit numbers starting with 444 (mainly used by companies) are charged as local calls wherever they are dialed in Turkey.

PostPost offices are recognisable by their yellow-black PTT signs. Postage for cards and letters costs 0.80 lira for domestic mail, and 1.10 lira (about €0.55) for international mail to most countries, although this may be a little more (up to 1.35 lira) for more distant countries. Please check the PTT webpage (http://www1.ptt.gov.tr) for the most current rates. The main post offices in cities are open between 8:30 am and 8:30 pm, while post offices in towns and smaller post offices in cities are usually open between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm.

InternetAlthough not as widespread as they used to be in the last decade with more and more Turkish households tuning in DSL connections, Internet cafes or net cafes are still available in reasonable numbers in cities and towns. In fact, any major town has at least one. All of them have good DSL connections, and the price for connection is about 1.50 lira/hour. Free wireless connections are available at some airports, hotels and restaurants/cafés (especially in big cities). The Turkish government, from time to time, blocks access to some webpages – the blocking of Youtube being the most prominent and robust example – although most Internet cafes get around these blocks by changing the proxy settings.

Please see the Türk Telekom web page for information on telecommunication services: http://www.turktelekom.com.tr

IX. EDUCaTIOn

The age of entry to school is six or seven. Secondary education follows eight years of basic education and covers general, vocational and technical high schools that provide three or four years of education. General high schools do not prepare students for a specific profession but rather for higher education. The following institutions are considered to fall within general secondary education: high schools; high schools with intensive foreign language teaching; Anatolian high schools where a foreign language – English, French or German – is taught during the preparatory year and the teaching of certain subjects is provided in that language in upper grades; science high schools; teacher training high schools; Anatolian fine arts schools; multi-curricula high schools; evening high schools and private high schools.

In general high schools, the average number of weekly periods of teaching in each grade varies from a minimum of 33 to a maximum of 41. In their second year, students in high schools where the general programme is applied may choose to attend branches that specialize in the natural sciences, literature and mathematics, the social sciences, foreign languages, art or physical education. Vocational high schools provide three-year secondary education, train qualified people for various professions and also prepare students for higher education. Technical high schools offer a four-year programme. Subjects offered in the first year are the same as in vocational high schools. Secondary education students obtain the Lise Diplomasi, which is the prerequisite for entry to higher education. Admission to university is centralised and based on the Student Selection Examination.

Higher education is provided by more than 100 universities. There are both state and private universities. The supreme authority for the regulation of higher education is the Council of Higher Education, which is a fully autonomous national board of trustees without any political or government affiliation. The Interuniversity Council consists of the

19

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

rectors of all the universities and one member elected by the senate of each university. Universities, faculties, institutes and four-year schools are founded by law, while the two-year vocational schools, departments and divisions are established by the Council of Higher Education. The foundation universities are under the supervision of the Council of Higher Education and their programmes must be regularly accredited. In the universities, the medium of instruction is Turkish. Some universities use English, French and German as the language of instruction with one preparatory year.

Turkey has made significant progress in increasing access to schools. Since 1997, the Turkish education system has made progress in improving access to basic education, achieving almost universal primary school enrolment (98 per cent in 2010/11). Similar improvements have been made at the secondary education level (69 per cent in 2009/10). However, pre-primary education (3 to 5 year olds) and higher education net enrolment rates are about 30 per cent. While the access gap has also narrowed significantly, in some cases enrolment continues to vary by locality and gender.

The constitution establishes compulsory religious and moral instruction in public primary and secondary schools, with content determined by the Ministry of National Education’s Department of Religious Instruction. Only Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Jewish religious foundations may operate schools under the supervision of the Education Ministry. The curriculum of these schools includes information unique to the cultures of the three groups. The ministry reportedly verifies if the child’s father or mother is a Turkish citizen from that minority community before the child can enroll. Other non-Muslim communities may not operate schools of their own.

Ministry of National EducationTel: +90(312) 418 6417/425 5330Fax: +90(312) 417 7027Webpage: http://www.meb.gov.tr

Council of Higher EducationTel: +90(312) 266 4725/ 266 4726Fax: +90(312) 266 5153Webpage: http://www.yok.gov.tr

X. HEaLTHCaRE

The Ministry of Health (http://www.saglik.gov.tr) is responsible for health issues in Turkey. Health care in Turkey is better compared to the past but it still has not reached the expected standards, especially in most of the state hospitals. Private hospitals do a better job in raising their quality of their physicians and medical equipment by investing more money in this sector. Most of the hospitals and doctors are concentrated in the cities and big towns where there are more people. Meanwhile, there is little health service in the countryside and rural areas. Besides state and private sector, universities and the Ministry of Defence also operate hospitals in the country.

The healthcare system has three main sources of financing, which include money from the government budget funded by taxation revenue, contributions from employed citizens and out- of pocket payments by each individual who uses the health service.

Employers must register their employees with the health insurance fund known as the Social Insurance Organisation for Health. Income is then automatically deducted from each person‘s salary. Dependant family members are covered by the contributions paid by employed family members. The unemployed, old age pensioners and people on long-term

20

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

sickness benefit or maternity leave do not have to pay healthcare contributions, as the government pay; however, they only receive very basic healthcare cover.

The state fund covers most medical services including treatment by specialists, hospitalisation, prescriptions, pregnancy and childbirth and rehabilitation. Citizens who belong to vulnerable groups of society e.g. pregnant women, war veterans, diabetics and tuberculosis patients do not have to pay any charges.

Turkey has achieved near universal health insurance coverage, increasing financial protection and improving equity in access to health care nationwide. By 2010, 94.3 per cent of the population was covered by some form of health insurance, and the ability to meet the costs of healthcare has risen dramatically. Turkey has increased access to, and utilization of, health services through improved coverage (mainly through the expansion of the Green Card Program) and the introduction of family medicine in 2004.

XI. POLITICaL DIsPUTEs

Kurds in TurkeyAnkara has strongly opposed the establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – now known as the People’s Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel (KGK) – has dominated the Turkish military’s attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group’s leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey, mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. In 2009, serious peace negotiations began with the PKK, and the government announced a major initiative to improve democracy and minority rights. After protests erupted over the banning of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in December of that year, the initiative was shelved. Two bombings in Istanbul in 2010 were attributed to the PKK, and bombings by various other radical groups are not infrequent. The PKK declared a ceasefire ahead of the September 2010 referendum, and they extended it into 2011.

The state claims that all Turkish citizens are treated equally, but because recognised minorities are limited to the three defined by religion, other minorities and Kurds in particular have faced restrictions on language, culture and freedom of expression. The situation has improved with EU-related reforms. In October 2010, Diyarbakir city council voted to restore Kurdish names to villages in the region. However, some municipal officials in the southeast have faced criminal proceedings for communicating in Kurdish. Alleged collaboration with the PKK is still used as an excuse to arrest Kurds who challenge the government. Also, in October 2010, 151 suspects, including 12 mayors from the BDP, were put on trial for alleged ties to a group called the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an urban extension of the PKK. The court rejected a request by the defendants for permission to present their defence in Kurdish; while the law grants the right to such a defence, the judge argued that the defendants were sufficiently fluent in Turkish.

Turkish Republic of Northern CyprusTurkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” which only Turkey recognises. Attempts to reach a solution to the dispute have so far been unsuccessful. In 2004, a fifth revision of the UN Annan Plan to settle the Cyprus dispute was accepted by a majority of Turkish Cypriots in a referendum, but rejected by a majority of Greek Cypriots. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with its presence supported and approved by the local government, whereas the Republic of Cyprus and the international community regard it as an illegal occupation force with its presence denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

21

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

XII. LInKs

Nation Masterhttp://www.nationmaster.comCIA – The World Factbookhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.htmlWikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TurkeyU.S. Department of Statehttp://www.state.gov/p/eur/ci/tu/BBChttp://www.bbc.co.ukLonely Planethttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkeyLegislationlinehttp://www.legislationline.org/Social Security Onlinehttp://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/International Finance Corporationhttp://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/turkeyHuman Rights Watchhttp://www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/turkeyCentral Bank of the Republic of Turkeyhttp://www.tcmb.gov.tr/Turkish Posthttp://www1.ptt.gov.tr/Ministry of Foreign Affairshttp://www.mfa.gov.trPrime Ministry of Turkeyhttp://www.basbakanlik.gov.trMinistry of Justicehttp://www.adalet.gov.tr/Ministry of Interiorwww.icisleri.gov.tr Ministry of Financewww.mt.gov.trMinistry of Labor and Social Securitywww.calisma.gov.trMinistry of Environmentwww.cevre.gov.trMinistry of National Educationwww.meb.gov.trMinistry of Healthwww.saglik.gov.trMinistry of Transportationwww.mt.gov.trMinistry of Tourismwww.turizm.gov.trMinistry of National Defencewww.msb.gov.trMinistry of Agriculture and Rular Affairswww.tarim.gov.trMinistry of Industry and Tradewww.sanayi.gov.tr

22

COUNTRY FACT SHEET

Ministry of Culturewww.kultur.gov.trMinistry of Forestrywww.orman.gov.tr