Turkey

Population: 65,666,677

Literacy rate: 82.3%

Life expectancy at birth: male – 68.63 yrs, female – 73.41 yrs

Infant mortality rate: 48.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Population growth rate: 1.27%

GDP growth rate: -5%

GDP per capita: £4,200

Unemployment: 7.3% plus underemployment of 6.9%

Inflation: 65%

TI index: 3.8

Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior

Time: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Country Guide

Turkey is really a very interesting country. Its salvation was a dictator called Kemel Atatürk (his statue and name are everywhere). When he took power, only one tenth of the population was deemed literate. He dragged Turkey into the 20 th century in the 1920s by decreeing that the language (previously a mixture of Arabic, Ottoman Turkish and Persian written in Arabic script) should henceforth be written in Roman script and cleansed of non-Turkish words; replacements were taken from (principally) French. He also distanced the church from the government and even tried to stop Turks wearing the Fez – the last proved his downfall. Anybody wishing to learn the language now should remember that it is in the same group as Finnish and Hungarian, in other words an agglutinative language in which one adds bits to root words to make verb cases, possessives etc. It takes practice and dedication.

At present, Turkey is trying desperately to get into the EU, but its economy and human rights record go against it. There are great contrasts between the city and the country, both culturally and financially.

Agriculture employs about two fifths of the workforce and accounts for one sixth of the economy. Turkey is a major exporter of chromite and has oil reserves, but they don’t come close to supplying the country’s needs, However, Turkey is the Middle East’s leading steel producer.

This is an Islamic country, and while the big cities may appear to be westernised, the interior is still very conservative. Respect Islam at all times. There have been hints of unrest recently, so check with the Foreign Office’s website, as well as the BBC’s and The Economist’s for up-to-date information.

Entry requirements

Only UK nationals need an entry visa. Everyone needs a work permit.

Vaccinations

Hepatitis A, Polio, Typhoid and Malaria.

Tax and Insurance

Tax is 25%, but salaries are usually quoted net. Get health insurance. State care is available, but of poor quality.

Gap Year Programmes

Click here to find gap year programmes and placements in Turkey

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