第 269 页

Transnational Issues Turkey

Disputes - international:

complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

IDPs: 1-1.2 million (fighting 1984-99 between Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs in southeastern provinces) (2007)

Illicit drugs:

key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and, to a lesser extent, the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin exist in remote regions of Turkey and near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and over output of poppy straw concentrate; lax enforcement of money-laundering controls

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

Turkmenistan

Introduction Turkmenistan

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.

Geography Turkmenistan

Location:

Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan

Geographic coordinates:

40 00 N, 60 00 E

Map references:

Asia

Area:

total: 488,100 sq km

land: 488,100 sq km

water: NEGL

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:

total: 3,736 km

border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km

Coastline:

0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 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)

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 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

60.9 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic / industrial / agricultural):

total: 24.65 cu km/yr (2%/1%/98%)

per capita: 5,104 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

NA

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

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

People Turkmenistan

Population:

5,179,571 (July 2008 est.)

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/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

6.11 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 51.81 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 56.01 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 47.4 deaths/1,000 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.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

fewer than 100 (2004 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Turkmen(s)

adjective: Turkmenistani

Ethnic groups:

Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)

Religions:

Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%

Languages:

Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 98.8%

male: 99.3%

female: 98.3% (1999 est.)

Government Turkmenistan

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:

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

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:

two parliamentary bodies, a People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of about 2,500 delegates, some elected by popular vote and some appointed; meets at least yearly) and a National Assembly or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

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:

Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW]

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

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

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, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Meret Bairamovich ORAZOW

chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500

FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard E. HOAGLAND

embassy: No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 744000

mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070

telephone: [993] (12) 35-00-45

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 welayats of Turkmenistan appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe

Economy Turkmenistan

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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$26.73 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$26.91 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

11.6% (IMF estimate)

note: official government statistics are widely regarded as unreliable (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$5,200 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 11.5%

industry: 40.8%

services: 47.7% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

2.089 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 48.2%

industry: 14%

services: 37.8% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:

60% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:

30% (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)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

6.4% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

31.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $1.664 billion

expenditures: $1.624 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:

cotton, grain; livestock

Industries:

natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing

Industrial production growth rate:

10.3% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 99.9%

hydro: 0.1%

nuclear: 0%