from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Turkmenistan
Introduction
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 Saparmurat 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
Location: Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran
and Kazakhstan
Geographic 40 00 N, 60 00 E
coordinates:
Map Asia
references:
Area: total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km
water: NEGL
Area - slightly larger than California
comparative:
Land total: 3,736 km
boundaries: 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 none (landlocked)
claims:
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 lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note -
extremes: 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)
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 petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
resources:
Land use: arable land: 4.51%
permanent crops: 0.14%
other: 95.35% (2005)
Irrigated 18,000 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural NA
hazards:
Environment - contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural
current chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of
issues: 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 - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
international Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous
agreements: Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
Geography - landlocked; the western and central low-lying, desolate
note: portions of the country make up the great Garagum
(Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the
country; eastern part is plateau
People
Population: 5,042,920 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35.2% (male 913,988/female 863,503)
15-64 years: 60.7% (male 1,501,486/female 1,557,155)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 79,227/female 127,561)
(2006 est.)
Median age: total: 21.8 years
male: 20.9 years
female: 22.7 years (2006 est.)
Population 1.83% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 27.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration -0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
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 (2006 est.)
Infant total: 72.56 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 68 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 61.83 years
expectancy at male: 58.43 years
birth: female: 65.41 years (2006 est.)
Total 3.37 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - less than 0.1% (2004 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - less than 200 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - less than 100 (2004 est.)
deaths:
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% (1999 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan
local long form: none
local short form: Turkmenistan
former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Government republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little
type: power outside the executive branch
Capital: name: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
geographic coordinates: 37 57 N, 58 23 E
time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington,
DC during Standard Time)
Administrative 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal
divisions: 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 Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
holiday:
Constitution: adopted 18 May 1992
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive chief of state: President and Chairman of the Cabinet
branch: 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)
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); in November
2005, the People's Council voted down NIYAZOV's
suggestion to hold presidential elections in 2009
elections: president elected by popular vote for a
five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992; 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 under the 1992 constitution, there are two
branch: 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);
membership is scheduled to be increased to 65 seats
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003
(next to be held December 2008); Mejlis - last held 19
December 2004 (next to be held December 2008)
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 Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
branch:
Political Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat
parties and NIYAZOV]
leaders: 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 National
Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan (NDMT) and the
United Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (UDPT); NDMT
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; UDPT is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy
KULIEV and is based out of Moscow
Political NA
pressure
groups and
leaders:
International AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO,
organization ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
participation: IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM,
OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Meret Bairamovich ORAZOV
representation chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500
FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge
representation d'Affaires Jennifer L. BRUSH
from the US: embassy: No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street),
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000
mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC
20521-7070
telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45
FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Flag green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist
description: 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
Economy
Economy - Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with intensive
overview: 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 an
almost 50% 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
1998-2005, 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 20% to
30% per year in 2003-2005, largely because of higher
international oil and gas prices. In 2005, Ashgabat
sought to raise natural gas export prices to its main
customers, Russia and Ukraine, from $44 per thousand
cubic meters (tcm) to $66 per tcm. 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 $39.14 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $13.99 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real IMF estimate: 6%
growth rate: note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth,
but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable
(2005 est.)
GDP - per $7,900 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 20.9%
composition by industry: 38%
sector: services: 41.1% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 48.2%
by occupation: industry: 13.8%
services: 37% (2003 est.)
Unemployment 60% (2004 est.)
rate:
Population 58% (2003 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 2.6%
income or highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 40.8 (1998)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 10.5% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 35.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $1.401 billion
expenditures: $1.542 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Agriculture - cotton, grain; livestock
products:
Industries: natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food
processing
Industrial 22% (2003 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 99.9%
production by hydro: 0.1%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 8.847 billion kWh (2002)
consumption:
Electricity - 1.136 billion kWh (2004)
exports:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2002)
imports:
Oil - 203,400 bbl/day (2003 est.)
production:
Oil - 80,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Oil - proved 273 million bbl (1 January 2002)
reserves:
Natural gas - 54.6 billion cu m (2004 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 15.5 billion cu m (2004 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 38.6 billion cu m (2004 est.)
exports:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2004 est.)
imports:
Natural gas - 2.01 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)
proved
reserves:
Current $236 million (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $4.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
commodities:
Exports - Ukraine 43.5%, Iran 15%, Hungary 5.4% (2005)
partners:
Imports: $4.175 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
commodities:
Imports - UAE 12.4%, Azerbaijan 10.9%, US 9.4%, Russia 8.9%,
partners: Ukraine 7.4%, Turkey 7.2%, Iran 6.1%, Germany 5.3%,
Kazakhstan 4.2% (2005)
Reserves of $2.963 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $16 million from the US (2001)
recipient:
Currency Turkmen manat (TMM)
(code):
Currency code: TMM
Exchange in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around
rates: 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar; the
official rate has consistently been 5,200 manat to the
dollar
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 376,100 (2003)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 52,000 (2004)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: poorly developed
system: 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 AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 1.225 million (1997)
Television 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 820,000 (1997)
Internet .tm
country code:
Internet 585 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 1
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 36,000 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 29 (2006)
Airports - total: 22
with paved over 3,047 m: 1
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006)
Airports - total: 7
with unpaved 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 4 (2006)
Heliports: 1 (2006)
Pipelines: gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006)
Railways: total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2005)
Roadways: total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km
unpaved: 4,512 km (1999)
Waterways: 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland
waterways) (2006)
Merchant total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,870 GRT/25,801 DWT
marine: by type: cargo 4, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum
tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2006)
Ports and Turkmenbasy
terminals:
Military
Military Ground Forces, Artillery and Rocket Forces, Navy, Air
branches: and Air Defense Forces (2006)
Military 18 years of age for compulsory military service;
service age conscript service obligation - two years (2004)
and
obligation:
Manpower males age 18-49: 1,132,833
available for females age 18-49: 1,162,569 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 759,978
for military females age 18-49: 940,179 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 56,532
reaching females age 18-49: 55,413 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $90 million (FY99)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 3.4% (FY99)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
international: 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
Refugees and refugees (country of origin): 12,085 (Tajikistan)
internally (2005)
displaced
persons:
Illicit drugs: transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian
and Western European markets; transit point for heroin
precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan