Map of Turkmenistan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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.


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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: Asia

Area
Total: 488,100 km²
Land: 488,100 km²
Water: negl.
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 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 sulfur salt

Land use
Arable land: 3.72%
Permanent crops: 0.14%
Other: 96.14% (2001)

Irrigated land: 17,500 km² (2003 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: NA

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


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Population: 4,952,081 (July 2005 est.)
Growth rate: 1.81% (2005 est.)
Below poverty line: 58% (2003 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Turkmen
Adjective: Turkmen

Ethnic groups: Turkmen 85% Uzbek 5% Russian 4% other 6% (2003)

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

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

Demographic profile

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.)

Dependency ratios

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/1000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 8.78 deaths/1000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.81 migrant(s)/1000 population (2005 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: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female (2005 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 73.08 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 76.9 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 69.07 deaths/1000 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.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2004 est.)
People living with hivaids: less than 200 (2003 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (2004 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: 98.8%
Male: 99.3%
Female: 98.3% (1995 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; authoritarian presidential rule with little power outside the executive branch

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: 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
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
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

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
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 Tracey A. JACOBSON
From the us embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774,000
From the us mailing address: 7,070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20,521-7,070
From the us telephone: [9] (9,312) 35-00-45
From the us fax: [9] (9,312) 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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $27.6 billion (2004 est.)

Real gdp growth rate
Note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 28.5%
Industry: 42.7%
Services: 28.8% (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.)

Labor force: 2.32 million (2003 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 48.2%
By occupation industry: 13.8%
By occupation services: 37% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate: 60% (2004 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 58% (2003 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: 40.8 (1998)

Budget
Revenues: $3.05 billion
Expenditures: $3.05 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 9% (2004 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: $114 million (2004 est.)

Exports: $4 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: gas crude oil petrochemicals cotton fiber textiles
Partners: Ukraine 46.6% Iran 17.3% Turkey 4.2% Italy 4.1% (2004)

Imports: $2.85 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals foodstuffs
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.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates
Note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 21,000 manats to the dollar


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Electricity
Production: 11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.)
Consumption: 8.908 billion kWh (2002)
Exports: 1.136 billion kWh (2004)
Imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 58.57 billion m³ (2004 est.)
Consumption: 9.6 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 43.5 billion m³ (2004 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 1.43 trillion m³ (1 January 2002)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 374,000 (2002)
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

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .tm
Hosts: 524 (2004)
Users: 8,000 (2002)

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: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 53 (2004 est.)
With paved runways total: 23
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 10
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 9
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 30
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)

Pipelines: gas 6,549 km; oil 1395 km (2004)

Railways
Total: 2,440 km
Broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2004)

Roadways

Waterways: 1300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003)

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)

Ports and terminals


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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

Refugees and internally 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