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Introduction | Turkmenistan

Background:

Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly.

Geography | Turkmenistan

Location: | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Geographic coordinates: | 40 00 N, 60 00 E
Map references: | Asia
Area: | total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: negl.
Area - comparative: | slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: | total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Coastline: | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Maritime claims: | none (landlocked)
Climate: | subtropical desert
Terrain: | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m) highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
Natural resources: | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Land use: | arable land: 3.72% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001)
Irrigated land: | 17,500 sq km (2003 est.)
Natural hazards: | NA
Environment - current issues: | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | landlocked; the western and central low-lying, desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau

People | Turkmenistan

Population: | 4,952,081 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 35.7% (male 909,113/female 860,128) 15-64 years: 60.2% (male 1,462,198/female 1,516,836) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 78,119/female 125,687) (2005 est.)
Median age: | total: 21.56 years male: 20.68 years female: 22.44 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate: | 1.81% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: | 27.68 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 73.08 deaths/1,000 live births male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 61.39 years male: 58.02 years female: 64.93 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 3.41 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | less than 0.1% (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | less than 200 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 100 (2004 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen
Ethnic groups: | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Religions: | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Languages: | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.)

Government | Turkmenistan

Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type: | republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Capital: | Ashgabat
Administrative divisions: | 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence: | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Constitution: | adopted 18 May 1992
Legal system: | based on civil law system
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president
note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty)
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council on 28 December 1999; deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president
election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5%

Legislative branch:

under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009)
election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV
note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government

Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Political parties and leaders:

Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe

Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Flag description: | green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe

Economy | Turkmenistan

Economy - overview:

Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; formerly it was the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2004, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil and gas revenues, and its unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $27.6 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | IMF estimate: 7.5% note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 28.5% industry: 42.7% services: 28.8% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 29% of GDP (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 58% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 40.8 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 9% (2004 est.)
Labor force: | 2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 48.2%, industry 13.8%, services 37% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate: | 60% (2004 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $3.05 billion expenditures: $3.05 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: | cotton, grain; livestock
Industries: | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: | official government estimate: 22% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production: | 11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 8.908 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: | 1.136 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: | 162,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 63,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA
Oil - imports: | NA
Oil - proved reserves: | 273 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: | 58.57 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 9.6 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 43.5 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 1.43 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: | $114 million (2004 est.)
Exports: | $4 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners: | Ukraine 49.8%, Iran 17.2%, Italy 5.3%, Turkey 4.7% (2004)
Imports: | $2.85 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: | Russia 14%, Ukraine 13.8%, US 11.1%, UAE 8.1%, Turkey 8%, Germany 6.8%, France 4.6% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $3.034 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $16 million from the US (2001)
Currency: | Turkmen manat (TMM)
Currency code: | TMM
Exchange rates: | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 10,100 (2004), 10,034 (2003), 10,098 (2002), 5,200 (2001) note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 21,000 manats to the dollar
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Turkmenistan

Telephones - main lines in use: | 374,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 52,000 (2004)

Telephone system:

general assessment: poorly developed
domestic: NA
international: country code - 993; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: | 1.225 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004)
Televisions: | 820,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .tm
Internet hosts: | 524 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1
Internet users: | 8,000 (2002)

Transportation | Turkmenistan

Railways: | total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003)
Highways: | total: 24,000 km paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003)
Pipelines: | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: | Turkmenbasy
Merchant marine: | total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT by type: cargo 3, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2005)
Airports: | 53 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 23 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)
Heliports: | 1 (2004 est.)

Military | Turkmenistan

Military branches: | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard
Military manpower - military age and obligation: | 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 18-49: 1,132,833 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 759,978 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 56,532 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 3.4% (FY99)

Transnational Issues | Turkmenistan

Disputes - international: | cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled
Illicit drugs: | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan

This page was last updated on 30 June, 2005