| |
| |
 |
|
|
 |
National Map
Of |
Turkmenistan |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Flag
Of |
Turkmenistan |
|
|
Flag Description:
green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side,
containing five tribal guls (designs used in producing
carpets) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to
the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon
representing Islam with five white stars representing the
regions or velayats of Turkmenistan appear in the upper
corner of the
field just to the fly side of the red stripe
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Emblem(Coat Of Arms)
Of |
Turkmenistan |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Anthem
Of |
Turkmenistan |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Categories National Symbol Of |
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. |
|
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 |
|
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: 98.8%
male: 99.3%
female: 98.3% (1995 est.) |
|
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 - 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.) |
|
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.) |
|
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.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
29% of
GDP (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
46.6%, Iran 17.3%, Turkey 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2004) |
|
Imports:
|
$2.85
billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
machinery
and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs |
|
Imports - partners:
|
US 11.8%,
Russia 9.7%, UAE 9.2%, Ukraine 9%, Turkey 8.6%, Germany
8%, France 5%, Georgia 4.6%, Iran 4.5% (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 (code):
|
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 |
|
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) |
|
Railways:
|
total:
2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2004) |
|
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 branches:
|
Ground
Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2004) |
|
Military service age and obligation:
|
18 years
of age for compulsory military service; conscript
service obligation - 2 years (2004) |
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males
age 18-49: 1,132,833 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males
age 18-49: 759,978 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
|
males:
56,532 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$90
million (FY99) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
3.4%
(FY99) |
|
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
20 October, 2005 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
