Map of Turkmenistan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885 Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1925. 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 can be worked out.


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Location: Central Asia bordering the Caspian Sea between Iran and Kazakhstan

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N 60 00 E

Map reference: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area
Total: 488,100 km²
Land: 488,100 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries
Total: 3,736 km
Border countries: (4) Afghanistan 744 km; , Iran 992 km; , Kazakhstan 379 km; , Uzbekistan 1,621 km

Coastline: 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1768 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 -81.00 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)
Extremes highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m

Natural resources: petroleum natural gas coal sulfur salt

Land use
Arable land: 3%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 63%
Forests and woodland: 8%
Other: 26% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 13,000 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked


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Population: 4,603,244 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 1.85% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: 58% (1999 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Turkmen
Adjective: Turkmen

Ethnic groups: Turkmen 77% Uzbek 9.2% Russian 6.7% Kazakh 2% other 5.1% (1995)

Languages: Turkmen 72% Russian 12% Uzbek 9% other 7%

Religions: Muslim 89% Eastern Orthodox 9% unknown 2%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 37.88% (male 891,758; female 852,104)
15-64 years: 58.09% (male 1,313,303; female 1,360,690)
65 years and over: 4.03% (male 70,800; female 114,589) (2001 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.85% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 28.55 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 8.98 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.04 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female (2001 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 73.25 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 61 years
Male: 57.43 years
Female: 64.76 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.58 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98%
Male: 99%
Female: 97% (1989 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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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

Capital: Ashgabat

Administrative divisions
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Dependent areas

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

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: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 by the Assembly (Majlis) 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 scheduled to be held NA); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the Assembly 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
Elections: People's Council - NA; Assembly - last held 12 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
Election results: Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - all 50 elected officials preapproved by President NIYAZOV; most are from the DPT

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

Political parties and leaders
Note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries

International organization participation: AsDB CCC CIS EAPC EBRD ECE ECO ESCAP FAO IBRD ICAO ICRM IDB IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Intelsat (nonsignatory user) IOC IOM (observer) ISO (correspondent) ITU NAM OIC OPCW OSCE PFP UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mered ORAZOV
In the us chancery: 2,207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500
In the us fax: [1] (202) 588-0697
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Steven R. MANN
From the us embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774,000
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [9] (9,312) 35-00-45
From the us fax: [9] (9,312) 51-13-05

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and huge gas (fifth largest reserves in the world) and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton making it the world's tenth largest producer. Until the end of 1993 Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994 Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. 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 1998-2000 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 sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty and the burden of foreign debt. IMF assistance would seem to be necessary yet the government is not as yet ready to accept IMF requirements. Turkmenistan's 1999 deal to ship 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas through Russia's Gazprom pipeline helped alleviate the 2000 fiscal shortfall. Inadequate fiscal restraint and the tenuous nature of Turkmenistan's 2001 gas deals combined with a lack of economic reform will limit progress in the near term.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 16% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 25%
Industry: 43%
Services: 32% (1999 est.)

Agriculture products: cotton grain; livestock

Industries: natural gas oil petroleum products textiles food processing

Industrial production growth rate: 18% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 2.34 million (1996)
By occupation agriculture: 44%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 37% (1996)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 58% (1999 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.6%
Highest 10: 31.7% (1998)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $588.6 million
Expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 14% (2000 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: gas 33% oil 30% cotton fiber 18% textiles 8% (1999)
Partners: Ukraine Iran Turkey Russia Kazakhstan Tajikistan Azerbaijan

Imports: $1.65 billion (c.i.f. 2000 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment 60% foodstuffs 15% (1999)
Partners: Ukraine Turkey Russia Germany US Kazakhstan Uzbekistan

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $2.5 billion (2000 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2001) 5,200 (January 2000) 5,350 (January 1999) 4,070 (January 1997) 2,400 (January 1996)


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Electricity
Production: 8.371 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 99.94%
Production by source hydro: 0.06%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1999)
Consumption: 4.785 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 4.1 billion kWh (1999)
Imports: 1.1 billion kWh (1999)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 363,000 (1997)
Mobile cellular: 4,300 (1998)

Telephone system
General assessment: poorly developed
Domestic: NA
International: 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

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .tm
Service providers isps: NA
Users: 2000 (2000)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $90 million (FY99)
Percent of gdp: 3.4% (FY99)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 76 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 13
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 63
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 10
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 41 (2000 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km

Railways
Total: 2,187 km
Broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.)

Roadways

Waterways: the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan

Merchant marine
Total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,459 GRT/8,865 DWT
Ships by type: container 1 (2000 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan Iran Kazakhstan Russia and Turkmenistan

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs