Turkey, following the cession by France of the territory of Hatay (see below, and hatay, in this App.), Now measures 767,119 sq km.
Physical conditions. – European geographers, to designate the regions of Turkey still use the ancient Greek names (Cilicia, Cappadocia, Misia, Caria, etc.), but a congress of Turkish geographers (June 1941) established the following division into 7 regions: 1, Black Sea Region; 2, Region of the Sea of Marmara; 3, Aegean Region; 4, Mediterranean Region; 5, SE Anatolia.; 6, Inner Anatolia; 7, Eastern Anatolia. These large regions were then divided into other smaller ones; for example, Inner Anatolia was divided into the upper Sakarya area, the Conia area, the middle Kïzil Irmak area, the upper Kïzil Irmak area.
An extremely violent earthquake of a linear tectonic nature struck a large part of the north-eastern provinces of Turkey, having as its epicenter the surroundings of Erzincan. The main shock occurred on December 27, 1939 during the night hours and precisely for this reason the number of victims was very high; other tremors followed in the following days. The death toll was 32,741; 30,000 homes were destroyed or heavily damaged.
Population. – The five-year population census was carried out in Turkey on October 20, 1940 and counted (not yet including the territory of Hatay) 17,869,901 residents. (dens. 23.4), with an increase of 18% compared to 1935. The most populated cities were the following:
The ethnic structure has shown a tendency to achieve greater uniformity, given that in recent years 15-20,000 Turks have immigrated from Romania, while groups of Armenians have returned from Turkey to Russian Armenia.
Economic structure. – According to ebizdir, the Turkish economy has been evolving in recent years, following the establishment of numerous factories. Industrialization began with the application of the first five-year plan (1934) and has given good results, especially in the field of the textile industry. New steel mills have sprung up in Karabük (near Safranbolu), with British capital and technicians. In 1948 the decision was announced to expand the plants at a cost of 9 million pounds, in order to bring the annual production of iron to 160,000 t. per year and that of steel at 200,000 tons; a caustic soda and chlorine factory was created in Izmit and new workshops for the manufacture of railway wagons began. With regard to breeding, the number of merino sheep is increasing. In the mining field, oil research continued, especially in 3 areas: 1) that of the Caucasian borders, where it was hoped to find a continuation of the Baku fields; 2) that of Mürefte on the Mar di Mamiara; 3) the part of el-Gezīrah left to Turkey. Positive results occurred in April 1940 in Beshiri Kazakhstan (Siirt vilâyet). Efforts have been made to increase the production of coal from the Zonguldak mines, chromium (Guleman mines near Diyarbekir), copper (Erghani) and lignite (Kütahya). April 1940 in Beshiri Kazakhstan (Siirt vilâyet). Efforts have been made to increase the production of coal from the Zonguldak mines, chromium (Guleman mines near Diyarbekir), copper (Erghani) and lignite (Kütahya). April 1940 in Beshiri Kazakhstan (Siirt vilâyet). Efforts have been made to increase the production of coal from the Zonguldak mines, chromium (Guleman mines near Diyarbekir), copper (Erghani) and lignite (Kütahya).
Works and studies have been carried out on the hydrographic network. From the use of the waterways of Anatolia, a nominal power of 1.5 million kW could be obtained, of which one third from the Seyhan (especially from its tributary Zamanti), 220,000 kW from Corum (especially from the tributary Tortum), 160,000 from the Sakarya and 132,000 from the Turkish Euphrates. On the other hand, the arrangement of the Amik plain (territory of Alessandretta) and that of Seyhan near Adana (where a large dam was inaugurated in June 1943) is related to the irrigation possibilities.
Foreign trade suffered from the displacements and hindrances caused by the war, but, as the following table shows, it recovered after the end of the world conflict.
The Smyrna Fair (Fuar), which began in 1933, returned to be held periodically after the war.
Routes and means of communication . – The rail network has been improved and completed. Continuing the Ankara-Sïvas line (602 km.), The Sïvas-Erzincan was opened in 1938. On 21 October 1939 the line reached Erzurum, in order to offer a rapid means of communication with the eastern provinces, economically enhancing a vast area that had remained isolated from the vital centers of the country and which at the same time has political and military importance, given which facilitates access to the eastern borders. On 17 July 1940, with the opening of the trunk between Baigi and Tell Küčuk (Syrian border), the railway line connecting Haidar Pasa (on the Bosphorus) with Baghdād and Basra (on the Persian Gulf) was completed. In May 1943, the 4 km long section was opened, linking the coal mines of Kozlu to the port of embarkation of Zonguldak; since in this stretch the coast is high and inaccessible, it was necessary to build a tunnel of 1350 meters. In June 1943, the Diyarbekir-Batman line was inaugurated, which will continue to the Iraqi border. The Elâziz-Van-Iranian border line is also under construction. Important works have been carried out in some ports, especially Alessandretta (500 m pier) and Mersina.
Finances. – During the Second World War, the rise in state spending led to large budget deficits, which were largely covered by resorting to the issuing institution. This circumstance was the primary cause of the expansion of monetary circulation and the rise in prices, while the effects of the export surplus, due to the growing difficulties for imports, were largely neutralized through the tax burden. After the end of the war, and particularly after the devaluation of September 1946, it was possible to significantly reduce the budget deficits and to resort to internal loans to cover them almost completely; for 1948, according to government forecasts, the deficit should have been covered by such means.
The public debt amounted to 1357 million Turkish lira on 20 October 1947, of which 942 million was foreign debt. Turkey’s shares in the Bank and the International Fund have been set at $ 43 million for each of the two institutions.
Foreign operations are subject to foreign exchange control (decree of 22 May 1947). In 1947 the balance of current payments showed a deficit of $ 38 million; The distribution of Turkish foreign trade, however, has the particularity that one third of exports go to countries with a strong currency and two thirds to countries with a weak currency, while imports come in equal parts from the former and the latter; This led to a growing deficit in strong currencies, especially in dollars, on the one hand, and an accumulation of credit balances in weak currencies on the other.
During the Second World War, circulation increased significantly from 189 million in 1938 to 875 million in September 1946. On 9 September 1946 the Turkish lira was devalued and the exchange rate with the US dollar was raised from 1.32 Turkish lira to the dollar. in Turkish lira 2.80 = $ i(average exchange rate); however, the additional quotas were abolished at the same time, fixed in different measure for each currency. As of December 31, 1948, the bills of the Central Bank of the Turkish Republic in circulation amounted to 935.1 million Turkish Lira. The Central Bank’s gold reserves amounted to $ 160 million in November 1938. Besides the central bank, there are 34 national banks in Turkey with a total nominal capital of approximately 680 million Turkish lira; in April 1948 deposits with banks amounted to 1.7 milliards.
