Turkmenistan




                                 Geography


Location:
     Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Uzbekistan
Map references:
     Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States,
     Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     488,100 sq km
land area:
     488,100 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
     total 3,736 km, 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:
     landlocked, but boundaries in the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan,
     Kazakhstan, and Iran are under negotiations
International disputes:
     Russia may dispute current de facto maritime border to midpoint of
     Caspian Sea from shore
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, coal, sulphur, salt
Land use:
arable land:
     3%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     69%
forest and woodland:
     0%
other:
     28%
Irrigated land:
     12,450 sq km (1990)




Environment:
current issues:
     contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals,
     pesticides; salinization, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation
     methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow
     of the Amu Darya river into irrigation contributes to that river's
     inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
natural hazards:
     NA
international agreements:
     party to - Ozone Layer Protection
Note:
     landlocked


                                  People


Population:
     3,995,122 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.01% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     30.42 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     7.44 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     69.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     65.14 years
male:
     61.63 years
female:
     68.82 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     3.77 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Turkmen(s)
adjective:
     Turkmen
Ethnic divisions:
     Turkmen 73.3%, Russian 9.8%, Uzbek 9%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.9%
Religions:
     Muslim 87%, Eastern Orthodox 11%, unknown 2%
Languages:
     Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Literacy:
     age 9-49 can read and write (1970)
total population:
     100%
male:
     100%




female:
     100%
Labor force:
     1.573 million
by occupation:
     agriculture and forestry 44%, industry and construction 20%, other 36%
     (1992)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     none
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Tiurkmenostan Respublikasy
local short form:
former:
     Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph:
     TX
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Ashgabat
Administrative divisions:
     5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan
     Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty (formerly Tashauz), Lebap
     Welayaty (Charjew), Mary Welayaty
note:
     names in parentheses are administrative centers when name differs from
     welayat name
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
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     President Saparmurad NIYAZOV (since NA October 1990); election last
     held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA 2002); results - Saparmurad
     NIYAZOV 99.5% (ran unopposed); note - a 15 January 1994 referendum
     extended NIYAZOV's term an additional five years until 2002 (99.99%
     approval)
head of government:
     Prime Minister (vacant); Deputy Prime Ministers Batyr SARDJAEV, Valery
     G. OCHERTSOV, Orazgeldi AIDOGDIEV, Djourakuli BABAKULIYEV, Rejep
     SAPAROV, Boris SHIKHMURADOV, Abad RIZAEVA, Yagmur OVEZOV (since NA)




cabinet:
     Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
     under 1992 constitution there are two parliamentary bodies, a
     unicameral People's Council (Halk Maslahaty - having more than 100
     members and meeting infrequently) and a 50-member unicameral Assembly
     (Majlis)
Assembly (Majlis):
     elections last held 7 January 1990 (next to be held late 1994 or early
     1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (175 total)
     elections not officially by party, but Communist Party members won
     nearly 90% of seats; note - seats to be reduced to 50 at next election
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
ruling party:
     Democratic Party (formerly Communist), chairman vacant
opposition:
     Party for Democratic Development, Durdymurat HOJA-MUKHAMMED, chairman;
     Agzybirlik, Nurberdy NURMAMEDOV, cochairman, Hubayberdi HALLIYEV,
     cochairman
note:
     formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition
     movements exist
Member of:
     CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF, IMO,
     INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
     UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Khalil UGUR
chancery:
     1511 K Street NW, Suite 412, Washington, DC, 20005
telephone:
     NA
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Joseph S. HULINGS III
embassy:
     Yubilenaya Hotel, Ashgabat
mailing address:
     use embassy street address
telephone:
     [7] 36320 24-49-25 or 24-49-26
Flag:
     green field, including a vertical stripe on the hoist side, with a
     claret vertical stripe in between containing five white, black, and
     orange carpet guls (an assymetrical design used in producing rugs)
     associated with five different tribes; a white crescent and five white
     stars in the upper left corner to the right of the carpet guls


                                  Economy




Overview:
     Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with nomadic cattle raising,
     intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and huge gas and oil
     resources. Half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; it is the
     world's tenth largest producer. It also is the world's fourth largest
     producer of natural gas and has the fifth largest reserves.
     Furthermore, Turkmenistan has substantial oil resources; its two oil
     refineries make it an exporter of refined products. Profiting from the
     move toward market prices for its oil and gas resources, Turkmenistan
     has suffered the least economic decline of the 15 states of the former
     USSR. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a
     tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious
     approach to questions of economic reform, using the profits from its
     gas and cotton exports to sustain a generally inefficient economy.
     Economic restructuring and privatization have just begun, and price
     liberalization and price increases have been accompanied by generous
     wage hikes and subsidies. At the same time, Turkmenistan faces serious
     constraints on its gas and oil earnings because of the inability of
     its traditional regional customers to pay for the current level of
     purchases and the lack of pipeline access to hard currency markets.
     Faced with financial shortfalls, rampant inflation, and the desire to
     ensure a stable currency, the regime has become more receptive to
     market reforms yet still seeks to offer widespread social benefits to
     its population and to retain state domination over the economy.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $13 billion (1993 estimate from
     the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and
     published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as
     extrapolated to 1993 using official Turkmen statistics, which are very
     uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
National product real growth rate:
     7.8% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $3,330 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     45% per month (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     2.9% (1992 est.); includes only officially registered unemployed; also
     large number of underemployed
Budget:
revenues:
     $NA
expenditures:
     $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
     $1.2 billion to states outside the FSU (1993)
commodities:
     natural gas, cotton, petroleum products, textiles, carpets
partners:
     Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Eastern Europe,
     Turkey, Argentina
Imports:
     $490 million from states outside the FSU (1993)




commodities:
     machinery and parts, grain and food, plastics and rubber, consumer
     durables, textiles
partners:
     Russia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey
External debt:
     NEGL
Industrial production:
     growth rate 5.3% (1993)
Electricity:
capacity:
     2,920,000 kW
production:
     13.1 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     3,079 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Agriculture:
     cotton, grain, animal husbandry
Illicit drugs:
     illicit producer of cannabis and opium; mostly for CIS consumption;
     limited government eradication program; used as transshipment points
     for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Western Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
     Turkmenistan has received about $200 million in bilateral aid credits
Currency:
     Turkmenistan introduced its national currency, the manat, on 1
     November 1993
Exchange rates:
     NA
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     2,120 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
total:
     23,000 km
paved and gravel:
     18,300 km
unpaved:
     earth 4,700 km (1990)
Pipelines:
     crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km
Ports:
     inland - Krasnowodsk (Caspian Sea)
Airports:
total:
     7
usable:
     7




with permanent-surface runways:
     4
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     0
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     4
Telecommunications:
     poorly developed; only 7.5 telephone circuits per 100 persons (1991);
     linked by cable and microwave 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


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops),
     Joint Command Turkmenistan/Russia (Ground, Navy or Caspian Sea
     Flotilla, Air, and Air Defense)
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 962,987; fit for military service 787,991; reach
     military age (18) annually 40,079 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP