Background: Eastern Turkmenistan for centuries formed part of the Persian province of Khurasan; in medieval times Merv (today known as Mary) was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. 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 NYYAZOW died in December 2006 and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW a vice premier under NYYAZOW 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)

Total renewable water resources: 60.9 km³ (1997)

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: 5,179,571 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 1.596% (2008 est.)

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: 34.2% (male 902,811/female 868,428)
15-64 years: 61.5% (male 1,577,187/female 1,607,353)
65 years and over: 4.3% (male 97,480/female 126,312) (2008 est.)

Median age
Total: 22.6 years
Male: 22 years
Female: 23.1 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.596% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 25.07 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 6.11 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: -3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 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: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 51.81 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 56.01 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 47.4 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 68.6 years
Male: 65.53 years
Female: 71.82 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.07 children born/woman (2008 est.)

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

Education expenditures: 3.9% of GDP (1991)

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 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%, Amanyaz ATAJYKOW 3.2%, other candidates 7.6%

Legislative branch
Elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003 (next to be held in December 2008); National Assembly - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008)
Election results: People's Council - percent of vote by party - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 2,507; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 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 National Assembly and making the People's Council the supreme legislative organ; the People's Council can now legally dissolve the National Assembly, and the president is now able to participate in the National Assembly as its supreme leader; the National Assembly can no longer adopt or amend the constitution or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the chairman of the People's Council and the supreme leader of the National Assembly, 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 attack on President NYYAZOW's motorcade

International organization participation: ADB CIS EAPC EBRD ECO FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IDB IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO (correspondent) ITU MIGA NAM OIC OPCW OSCE PFP SCO (guest) 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 M. MILES
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; a white crescent moon representing Islam with five white stars representing the regions or welayats 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 roughly 15% per year from 2003-07 largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. 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 reluctance to adopt market-oriented reforms. In the past Turkmenistan's economic statistics were state secrets. The new government has established a State Agency for Statistics but GDP numbers and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. Since his election President BERDIMUHAMEDOW has sought to improve the health and education systems ordered unification of the country's dual currency exchange rate begun decreasing state subsidies for gasoline signed an agreement to build a gas line to China and created a special tourism zone on the Caspian Sea. All of these moves hint that the new post-NYYAZOW government will work to create a friendlier foreign investment environment.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $26.92 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate
Note: official government statistics are widely regarded as unreliable (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $5,300 (2007 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 11.5%
Industry: 40.8%
Services: 47.7% (2007 est.)

Agriculture products: cotton grain; livestock

Industries: natural gas oil petroleum products textiles food processing

Industrial production growth rate: 10.3% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 2.089 million (2004 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 48.2%
By occupation industry: 14%
By occupation services: 37.8% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate: 60% (2004 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)

Budget
Revenues: $1.664 billion
Expenditures: $1.624 billion (2007 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 11.3% (2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Current account balance: $1.705 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $7.567 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: gas crude oil petrochemicals textiles cotton fiber
Partners: Ukraine 51.3% Iran 18.5% Turkey 5% (2007)

Imports: $4.516 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals foodstuffs
Partners: UAE 14.3% Russia 11.6% Turkey 10.3% China 9.1% Ukraine 8.7% Iran 7% Germany 6.5% US 5.6% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $5.172 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $1.4 billion to $5 billion (2004 est.)

Exchange rates
Note: the commercial rate was 19,800 Turkemen manat per US$ (2007)

Electricity
Production: 12.83 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Consumption: 9.584 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 1.34 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 68.88 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 19.48 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 49.4 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 2.832 trillion m³ (1 January 2008 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 398,100 (2005)
Mobile cellular: 216,900 (2006)

Telephone system
General assessment: poorly developed
Domestic: Turkmentelekom, in cooperation with foreign investors, is planning to upgrade the country's telephone exchanges and install a new digital switching system; mobile-cellular usage remains limited
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: 640 (2008)
Users: 70,000 (2007)

Military expenditures: 3.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation (2007)

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 (2007)

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

Roadways
Total: 58,592 km
Paved: 47,577 km
Unpaved: 11,015 km (2002)

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

Merchant marine
Total: 7
By type: cargo 4, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2008)

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); less than 1,000 (Afghanistan) (2007)

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