OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Turkey.

The article presents information on the social, economic and political conditions in Turkey as of October 2003. The total geographic area of the country is 780,580 square kilometer and total population is 68.1 million. Some of the major industries are automative, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Modern Turkey spans bustling cosmopolitan centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. The country has been officially secular since 1924, although 98% of the population is Muslim. The presidency's powers are not precisely defined in practice, and the president's influence depends on his personality and political weight.