Question

Please summarize some information about geography, history, demography, and socio-politico-economic aspects of the Turkey. Please do NOT copy and paste from another source. Please write at least 500 words.

Answer 1

Turkey, which occupies a special geographical location, lies partly in Asia, partly in Europe. This has served as a barrier and as a link between the two continents throughout its existence. Turkey sits at the Balkan, Caucasus, Middle East, and eastern Mediterranean crossroads. It is, in terms of territory and population, among the region's larger countries, and its land area is greater than any European state. Nearly all of the nation is in Asia, including the oblong Asia Minor peninsula also known as Anatolia and, in the east, part of a mountainous area often referred to as the Armenian Highland.

The country has a north-south extent ranging from about 300 to 400 miles, and from west to east it stretches approximately 1,000 miles. Turkey is bordered on the north by the Black Sea, on the northeast by Georgia and Armenia, on the east by Azerbaijan and Iran, on the southeast by Iraq and Syria, on the southwest by the Mediterranean Sea and by the Aegean Sea, and on the northwest by Greece and Bulgaria. The capital is Ankara, and its largest city and seaport is Istanbul.

According to the Turkish constitution, the word "Turk" as a political term encompasses all citizens of the Republic of Turkey, regardless of ethnicity or religion; ethnic minorities do not have official status. Linguistic statistics indicate that a majority of the population declares Turkish as their mother tongue; most of the rest speak Kurdish as their first language, and a small minority Arabic. The population is more than nine tenths Muslim. Nevertheless, Turkey is a secular country. Islam was abolished as the official state religion in a constitutional amendment of 1928 and since that time the state has occasionally found itself at odds with religion. The armed forces have held close watch over the constitutional secularism of Turkey, which they believe is a keystone among the founding principles of Turkey. However, the military has not left to chance the preservation of a democratic political structure, and has interfered in politics on many occasions.

Turkey's economy's resilience is due to sound public finances, well-capitalized banks and a vibrant and diversified private sector. Nevertheless, heading into the largely open ranks of economic freedom would necessitate changes to make the labor market more competitive. More importantly, the government will need to improve judicial effectiveness and the battle against corruption, both of which were weakened in the aftermath of the crackdown that followed the 2016 coup attempt.

Turkey is a constitutionally secular republic but the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been promoting an Islamist agenda and eroding democracy. Following the 2018 elections, Erdogan further consolidated power for an AKP alliance with the Nationalist Action Party to maintain control of the national unicameral assembly while Erdogan eked out a slim victory for a second four-year term as president. While Turkey's relatively free-market and diversified economy is powered by its manufacturing and service sectors, traditional agriculture still accounts for around 25 percent of employment.

Political decision-making can be opaque, and the arbitrary implementation of legislation hampers companies. In the past year many business-friendly changes have been introduced, but it has become more costly to move land. While the workforce is fairly well trained, the labor market remains rigid. While Turkey traditionally had little price controls, the government tried to tamp down food price rises in 2019 by introducing wholesale-level price controls.