TURKEY. Area and Population. The Ottoman Empire, embracing States in one way or another subject, includes an area of 1,609240 square miles, which, with the latest estimated population, is thus distributed as to geographical divisions: No accurate statements exist of the racial divisions of the inhabitants. It may, however, be said, in general terms, that in the European provinces under immediate Turkish rule, Turks (of Finno-Tataric race), Greeks, and Albanians are almost equally numerous, and constitute 70 per cent. of the population. Other races represented are Serbs, Bulgarians, Roumanians, Armenians, Magyars, Gypsies, Jews, Circassians. In Asiatic Turkey there is a large Turkish element, with some four million Arabs, besides Greeks, Syrians, Kurds, Circassians, Armenians, Jews, and numerous other races. Fiscal Affairs. The various branches of revenue and expenditure for the year ending February 2, 1898, are shown below, being budget estimates: The condition of the Turkish debt was as follows in the middle of 1897: Series A, B, C, D, outstanding, £79,781,702; various loans, 1888-94, £28,490,640; lottery bonds, £13,135,004; five per cent. customs loan, 1886, £5,160,320; four per cent. Tombac bonds, 1894, £870,600 five per cent. loan, 1896, £2,961,200; total loans, £130,399,466. Of debts which are not loans, the sum was, in 1896, £T31,551,958, including £T31,228,464, the outstanding amount of the Russian war indemnity; £T50,000 of indemnity to Russian subjects, and £T273,494 to the Damascus Serghis Railway. Industry and Commerce. The principal products are tobacco, cereals of all kinds, cotton, figs, nuts, almonds, grapes, olives, all varieties of fruits. Coffee, madder, opium, gums, are largely exported. It is estimated that 44 million acres of the Empire in Europe and Asia are under cultivation. About 21 million acres are under forest, of which 3% million acres are in European Turkey. The culture of silkworms, which had fallen off considerably, owing to disease among the worms, is again becoming an impor TURKEY. tant feature. The value of cocoons exported in 1894 was 40,000,000 piasters, and of raw silk exported 103,000,000 piasters. Most of the silk produced is exported, but some is used in the manufacturing of native dress material. The country is rich in minerals, coal, copper, lead, silver, iron, manganese, chrome, bitumen, sulphur, salt, alum; coal especially is abundant, but hardly worked. A royalty of 20 per cent. is paid on all minerals exported. Carpets, which constitute a considerable article of export (about £150,000), are made on hand-looms, and so also are a number of light materials for dress. The customs policy of Turkey aims simply at revenue, and imposes a uniform duty of 8 per cent. on all imports except salt and tobacco, which are Government monopolies; on exports of native products there is a duty of 1 per cent. The imports and exports are shown as follows (1895 and 1896 being estimates), expressed in thou:sands of £ T.: Imports.. Exports.. 1891. 22,914 12,836 1892. 24,554 15,370 1893. 24,467 15,725 1894. 24,108 13,262 1895. 1896. 1897. 23,279 17,130 24,070 14,933 18,448 13,750 The value of the trade by countries is shown below, in thousands of piasters: Imports -Exports 1891-2. 1892-3. 1893-4. 1,020,113 978,151 905,498 686,302 573,598 459,718 509,920 516,354 123,227 132,865 302,137 296,291 274,105 450,700 355,826 186,899 128,935 150,443 25,331 33,521 Italy. Bulgaria. 57,699 58,005 62,448 54,365 94,010 124,484 123,129 40,266 36,144 Persia. 65,321 55,864 76,158 1,526 1,720 Greece.. 42,285 37,280 42,814 54,779 Belgium.. 64,676 66,790 66,579 3,111 5,864 Roumania. 45,978 57,703 71,489 29.118 United States. 3,245 876 2,051 23,281 15,033 Tunis.. 6,129 6,173 2.042 220 Servia. 7,252 7,051 6,615 5,151 6,730 Holland. 12,172 12,483 13,795 23,592 39,684 Germany 18,434 27,978 28,170 13,996 Egypt.. 61,714 66,426 61,356 Sweden.. 6,661 8,064 5,294 Montenegro.. 832 796 1,246 Samos. 102 73 30 286 5 Denmark 13 32 25 318 682 Spain... Japan. Total.. 1 7 406 2,820 1.020 3,316 3.224 1,326,242 The principal imports and exports for 1893-4 are shown below, in thousands of piasters: Railroads, Post-Office, Telegraphs. (See Index.) Shipping. The mercantile navy of the Turkish Empire in 1897 consisted of 104 steamers of 48,572 tons, and 1,010 sailing vessels of 200,634 tons. In 1895-96, there entered and cleared at all ports of Turkey 188,033 vessels of 38,409,144 tons. Banking and Money. The condition of the Ottoman Bank in December, 1896, compared with 1894, is shown as follows: The monetary system of Turkey is bimetallic, with the piaster (equal to 40 paras 3 aspes) as monetary unit. The gold coins are the 500, 250, 100, 50, and 25 piaster pieces, all of the same fineness, viz., 0.9162%. The ratio of gold to silver was originally 1 to 15.09. By a decree the Government lowered the value of the 20-piaster piece to 19 piasters, in consequence of which debasement the ratio of gold to silver is 1 to 15%. The coinage of silver is suspended. The mint charge for gold is one per cent. Such is the system as it exists on paper, but the actual coined money of the country is in a very unsatisfactory condition. For gold and silver coins, see Index. GREECE. GREECE. The area of Greece is 25,014 square miles. At the census of 1879, the population (including that of Thessaly in 1881) was 1,973,768; in 1889, 2,187,208; in 1896, 2,433,806, or 97.3 population per square mile. The areas and populations by provinces will be found in previous issues of the "Commercial Year Book." There are large numbers of Greeks in the Ottoman Empire, raising the whole Greek nationality to over 8,000,000, as under: Greece, about 2,200,000; Asia Minor, 2,000,000; Crete, Cyprus, and other Ottoman islands, 400,000; European Turkey, 3,500,000; total, 8,100,000. For 1897 the budget estimate of revenue and expenditure was as follows: Branches of Expenditure. Public debt.. Pensions. Drachmai. Drachmai. 19,792,364 21,690,895 33,245,552 5,742,600 18,676,775 Civil list... 1,325,000 11,402,906 Chamber of Deputies... 490,320 State property. 3,731,362 Ministries 966,650 Foreign Affairs.. 2,224,479 Repayments.. 1,023,330 Justice.. 5,364,325 Arrears...... 3,355,000 Interior.. 13,930,935 Light-houses.. 400,000 Instruction, etc.. 5,647,543 International telegraphs... 750,000 Army.. 16,345,311 Elementary instruction................... 100,000 Marine.. 7,000,487 Municipal contributions.. 1,200,000 Finance.... 1,523,952 Extraordinary.. 700,000 Collecting revenue... 8,963,478 Various.. 3,503,240 93,852,565 For five previous years the actual receipts and expenditures were as follows: The receipts for 1894 are given as 102,895,141 drachmai; for 1896, revenue, 97,100, 400, and expenditure, 90,901,700 drachmai. On January 1, 1897, the outstanding public debt of Greece was as follows: The details of the above, which are practically the same for 1897 as in 1895, will be seen in the "Commercial Year Book" for 1898. The annual interest being paid at the beginning of 1897 was 8,477,534 drachmai gold and 4,520,158 drachmai paper; the interest on the external debt being reduced 30 per cent. of amount due; that on the monopoly loan to 43 per cent., and that on other internal debts to 33 per cent. Greece agrees to pay to Turkey a war indemnity of £T4,000,000, and to accept international control in financial matters. Greece is mainly an agricultural country. In 1893 the agricultural production was approximately as follows: Cereals, 20,250,000 bush.; tobacco, 16,000,000 lbs. ; vineyards, 66,000,000 gall. ; currants, 350,000,000 lbs.; olives, 15,000,000 lbs. ; figs, etc., 60,000,000 lbs. Commerce. The imports and exports, including bullion and specie, are as follows, in thousands of drach The special commerce with the leading countries is shown below, in thousands of drachmai: The imports and exports of some of the leading articles are shown as follows, in thousands of drachmai: The trade in merchandise with the United States is shown as follows, for the years ending June 30: Shipping, Railroads, Telegraphs, Post-Office. (See Index.) Greece has a bimetallic monetary system, and its coins conform to the standard of the Latin Union. The ratio between the two metals is 15% to 1. The coinage of gold is unlimited and that of silver suspended. The coinage charge is 7 4-9 francs per kilogramme fine for gold and 1% francs per kilogramme fine for silver. Gold coins and the 5-franc silver pieces are unlimited legal tender. For gold and silver coins, see Index. The situation of the National Bank of Greece on August 31, 1897, was as follows: Gold and silver on hand, 1,700,000 drachmai; notes to bearer in circulation, 137,500,000 drachmai; private accounts current and deposits, 41,800,000 drachmai; portfolio, 13,000,000 drachmai; advances on real property, 37,400,000 drachmai; advances on personal property, 3,200,000 drachmai; funds abroad, 6,400,000 drachmai. |