Background: Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885 Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. 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 to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. President for Life Saparmurat NIYAZOV died in December 2006 and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW a former NIYAZOV aide emerged as the country's new president.

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: 4.51%
Permanent crops: 0.14%
Other: 95.35% (2005)

Irrigated land: 18,000 km² (2003)

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

Population: 5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate: 1.617% (2007 est.)
Below poverty line: 27% (2002)

Nationality
Noun: Turkmen
Adjective: Turkmenistani

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%

Age structure
0-14 years: 34.7% (male 900,718/female 866,930)
15-64 years: 60.9% (male 1,537,638/female 1,567,049)
65 years and over: 4.4% (male 97,454/female 127,239) (2007 est.)

Median age
Total: 22.3 years
Male: 21.7 years
Female: 22.9 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.617% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 25.36 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 6.17 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.01 migrant(s)/1000 population (2007 est.)

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.039 male/female
15-64 years: 0.981 male/female
65 years and over: 0.766 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 53.49 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 57.84 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 48.91 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 68.3 years
Male: 65.23 years
Female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2004 est.)
People living with hivaids: less than 200 (2003 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (2004 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98.8%
Male: 99.3%
Female: 98.3% (1999 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
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 divisions
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 and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007)
Cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 11 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
Election results: Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW elected president; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW 89.2%

Legislative branch
Elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003 (next to be held in December 2008); Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held in 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 the president
Note: in late 2003, a 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 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 in Moscow

International organization participation: AsDB CIS EAPC EBRD ECO FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDB IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO (correspondent) ITU MIGA NAM OIC OPCW OSCE PFP UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Meret Bairamovich ORAZOW
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard E. HOAGLAND
From the us embassy: No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 744,000
From the us mailing address: 7,070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20,521-7,070
From the us telephone: [993] (12) 35-00-45
From the us fax: [993] (12) 39-26-14

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

Economy overview: Turkmenistan is a 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 10th-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. From 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 an average of 15% per year from 2003-06 largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. In 2006 Ashgabat raised its natural gas export prices to its main customer Russia from $66 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty a poor educational system government misuse of oil and gas revenues and Ashgabat's 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. President BERDIMUHAMEDOW's election platform included plans to build a gas line to China to complete the AmuDarya railroad bridge in Lebap province and to create special border trade zones in southern Balkan province - a hint that the new post-NIYAZOV government will work to create a friendlier foreign investment environment.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $42.84 billion (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate
Note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $8,500 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 17.7%
Industry: 39.2%
Services: 43.2% (2006 est.)

Agriculture products: cotton grain; livestock

Industries: natural gas oil petroleum products textiles food processing

Industrial production growth rate: 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.)

Population below poverty line: 27% (2002)

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: $1.434 billion
Expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 11.5% (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Current account balance: $676 million (2006 est.)

Exports: $5.818 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: gas crude oil petrochemicals cotton fiber textiles
Partners: Ukraine 47.7% Iran 16.4% Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)

Imports: $4.057 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals foodstuffs
Partners: UAE 15.5% Turkey 11.1% Ukraine 9.1% Russia 9% Germany 7.8% Iran 7.6% China 6.4% US 4.5% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $3.601 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external: $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)

Exchange rates
Note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar

Electricity
Production: 12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Consumption: 7.602 billion kWh (2005)
Exports: 2.918 billion kWh (2005)
Imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Natural gas
Production: 60.42 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Consumption: 17.07 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Exports: 43.35 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2005)
Proven reserves: 1.928 trillion m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 495,000 (2006)
Mobile cellular: 105,000 (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: poorly developed
Domestic: Turkmenistan's telecommunications network remains woefully underdeveloped; Turkmentelekom, in cooperation with foreign investors, is planning to upgrade the country's telephone exchanges and install a new digital switching system
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 (2006)

Internet
Country code: .tm
Hosts: 97 (2007)
Users: 64,800 (2006)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 3.4% (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation (2006)

Airports: 28 (2007)
With paved runways total: 22
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 8
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 6
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 4 (2007)

Heliports: 1 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 6,441 km; oil 1361 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 2,440 km
Broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)

Roadways
Total: 24,000 km
Paved: 19,488 km
Unpaved: 4,512 km (1999)

Waterways: 1300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)

Merchant marine
Total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,870 GRT/25,801 DWT
By type: cargo 4, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2007)

Ports and terminals: Turkmenbasy

Disputes international: cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005 but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled with Azerbaijan Iran and Kazakhstan due to Turkmenistan's indecision over how to allocate the sea's waters and seabed

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 11,173 (Tajikistan) (2006)

Illicit drugs: transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan