Background: Present-day Turkmenistan covers territory that has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. The area was ruled in antiquity by various Persian empires and was conquered by Alexander the Great Muslim crusaders the Mongols Turkic warriors and eventually the Russians. 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 in the late 1800s Turkmenistan later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1924 Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic; it achieved independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves which have yet to be fully exploited have begun to transform the country. Turkmenistan is moving to expand its extraction and delivery projects. The Turkmen Government is actively working to diversify its gas export routes beyond the still important Russian pipeline network. In 2010 new gas export pipelines that carry Turkmen gas to China and to northern Iran began operating effectively ending the Russian monopoly on Turkmen gas exports. President for Life Saparmurat NYYAZOW died in December 2006 and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential election in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW a deputy cabinet chairman under NYYAZOW emerged as the country's new president; he was chosen as president again in February 2012 in an election that the OSCE said lacked the freedoms necessary to create a competitive environment.

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N 60 00 E

Area
Rank: 53
Comparative: slightly larger than California

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

Natural resources: petroleum natural gas sulfur salt

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: 5,054,828 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 118
Growth rate: 1.143% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 101
Below poverty line: 30% (2004 est.)

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

Languages: Turkmen (official) 72% Russian 12% Uzbek 9% other 7%

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

Population growth rate: 1.143% (2012 est.)
Rank: 101

Birth rate: 19.55 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 91

Death rate: 6.21 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 158

Net migration rate: -1.9 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 162

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

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 60

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 153

Total fertility rate: 2.14 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 109

Physicians density: 2.438 physicians/1000 population (2007)

Hospital bed density: 4.06 beds/1000 population (2007)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 160
People living with hivaids: fewer than 200 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 156
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2004 est.)
Deaths rank: 150

Education expenditures: NA

Government type: defines itself as a secular democracy and a presidential republic; in actuality displays authoritarian presidential rule with power concentrated within the presidential administration

Administrative divisions: 5 provinces (welayatlar singular - welayat) and 1 independent city*: Ahal Welayaty (Anew) Ashgabat* Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat) Dashoguz Welayaty Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat) Mary Welayaty

Independence: 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day 27 October (1991)

Constitution: adopted 26 September 2008

Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law influences

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch: unicameral parliament known as the National Assembly (Mejlis) (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

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

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW Chairman; Kasymguly BABAYEW DPT Political Council First Secretary]; Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs or PIE [Orazmammet MAMMEDOW] (party registered 21 August 2012)

International organization participation: ADB CIS (associate member has not ratified the 1993 CIS charter although it participates in meetings and held the chairmanship of the CIS in 2012) 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 UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO

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; five white stars and a white crescent moon appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe; the green color and crescent moon represent Islam; the five stars symbolize the regions or welayats of Turkmenistan; the guls reflect the national identity of Turkmenistan where carpet-making has long been a part of traditional nomadic life

National symbols: Akhal-Teke horse

Economy overview: Turkmenistan is largely a desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and sizeable gas and oil resources. The two largest crops are cotton most of which is produced for export and wheat which is domestically consumed. Although agriculture accounts for roughly 8% of GDP it continues to employ nearly half of the country's workforce. Turkmenistan's authoritarian regime has taken a cautious approach to economic reform hoping to use gas and cotton export revenues to sustain its inefficient and highly corrupt 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 2003-08 largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Additional pipelines to China that began operation in early 2010 and increased pipeline capacity to Iran have expanded Turkmenistan's export routes for its gas. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of endemic corruption a poor educational system government misuse of oil and gas revenues and Ashgabat's reluctance to adopt market-oriented reforms. The majority of Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets. The present government established a State Agency for Statistics but GDP numbers and other publicized figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. Since his election President BERDIMUHAMEDOW unified the country's dual currency exchange rate ordered the redenomination of the manat reduced state subsidies for gasoline and initiated development of a special tourism zone on the Caspian Sea. Although foreign investment is encouraged and some improvements in macroeconomic policy have been made numerous bureaucratic obstacles impede international business activity.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 97

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 15

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 124

Agriculture products: cotton grain melons; livestock

Industrial production growth rate: 7.3% (2010 est.)
Rank: 38

Labor force: 2.3 million (2008 est.)
Rank: 116

Unemployment rate: 60% (2004 est.)
Rank: 197

Population below poverty line: 30% (2004 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index: 40.8 (1998)
Rank: 56

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -1.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 65

Taxes and other revenues: 78.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 4

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 12% (2011 est.)
Rank: 200

Stock of narrow money: $723.9 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 153

Stock of broad money: $1.41 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 155

Stock of domestic credit: $3.298 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 123

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: $1.005 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 39

Exports: $14.78 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 79
Commodities: gas crude oil petrochemicals textiles cotton fiber
Partners: China 59.2% Turkey 5% Italy 4.7% UAE 4.3% (2011)

Imports: $9.604 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 95
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals foodstuffs
Partners: Turkey 21% Russia 14% China 11.1% UAE 7.9% Germany 5.8% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $19.4 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 58

Debt external: $452.9 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 174

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 15.02 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 83
Consumption: 11.22 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 85
Exports: 1.568 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 51
Imports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 144
Installed generating capacity: 2.852 million kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 89
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 42
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 191
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 204
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 195

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 222,200 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 38
Crude oil exports: 67,000 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 40
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 131
Crude oil proven reserves: 600 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 46

Refined petroleum
Products production: 160,300 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 64
Products consumption: 145,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 69
Products exports: 74,430 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 49
Products imports: 2,542 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 175

Natural gas
Production: 59.5 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 17
Consumption: 25 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 33
Exports: 34.5 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 11
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 140
Proven reserves: 24.3 trillion m³ (June 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 5

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 62.05 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 56

Telephones
Main lines in use: 547,000 (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 94
Mobile cellular: 3.511 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 120

Broadcast media: broadcast media is government controlled and censored; 7 state-owned TV and 4 state-owned radio networks; satellite dishes and programming provide an alternative to the state-run media; officials sometimes limit access to satellite TV by removing satellite dishes (2007)

Internet
Country code: .tm
Hosts: 714 (2012)
Hosts rank: 176
Users: 80,400 (2009)
Users rank: 166

Military expenditures: 3.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 34

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation (2009)

Airports: 26 (2012)
Rank: 126

Heliports: 1 (2012)

Pipelines: gas 7,352 km; oil 1457 km (2010)

Railways
Rank: 56

Roadways
Rank: 73

Waterways: 1300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal are important inland waterways) (2011)
Rank: 55

Merchant marine
Rank: 110

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; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian

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