Economic Status of Turkey
Ataturk Dam
Turkey’s greatest strength lies in its resource of agricultural land and water. The climate is suitable for growing crops with almost one-third of the land being for agriculture. Of the 769,632 sq. kilometers of land, 29.81% is arable land which is used for crops replanted each year, 3.39% is used to grow permanent crops such as fruit trees and 66.8% is not suitable for growing crops. Since such a large portion of land is suitable for agriculture, Turkey is able to provide much of the crops needed for their large population.
The headwaters of the Tigris River and Euphrates River begin in Turkey, and are controlled by Turkey with the Ataturk Dam. The control of this resource has created great strife with Syria and Iraq due to the three-year drought. Deborah Amos states in her article published by National Public Radio that drought over the past three years has significantly affected the Arab countries ability to grow food. This drought and lack of food has caused what is being called “water refugees” in Syria. While Turkey has enough water for their population, neighboring countries like Iraq and Syria do not have enough water. In the past Turkey has cut off water to Iraq and Syria due to an ongoing argument regarding the release of water.
Turkey is also at an advantage because they border the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, which gives them easy access to trade routes for exporting and importing goods. They also have other natural resources such as coal, iron, ore, copper, mercury, gold, marble, limestone and hydropower.
The headwaters of the Tigris River and Euphrates River begin in Turkey, and are controlled by Turkey with the Ataturk Dam. The control of this resource has created great strife with Syria and Iraq due to the three-year drought. Deborah Amos states in her article published by National Public Radio that drought over the past three years has significantly affected the Arab countries ability to grow food. This drought and lack of food has caused what is being called “water refugees” in Syria. While Turkey has enough water for their population, neighboring countries like Iraq and Syria do not have enough water. In the past Turkey has cut off water to Iraq and Syria due to an ongoing argument regarding the release of water.
Turkey is also at an advantage because they border the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, which gives them easy access to trade routes for exporting and importing goods. They also have other natural resources such as coal, iron, ore, copper, mercury, gold, marble, limestone and hydropower.
