Compare Albania (2004) - Turkmenistan (2007)

Compare Albania (2004) z Turkmenistan (2007)

	Albania (2004)	Turkmenistan (2007)

Administrative divisions	12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Qarku i Beratit, Qarku i Dibres, Qarku i Durresit, Qarku i Elbasanit, Qarku i Fierit, Qarku i Gjirokastres, Qarku i Korces, Qarku i Kukesit, Qarku i Lezhes, Qarku i Shkodres, Qarku i Tiranes, Qarku i Vlores	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)
Age structure	0-14 years: 26.4% (male 489,363; female 446,586) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 1,184,670; female 1,130,065) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 135,177; female 158,947) (2004 est.)	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.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products	cotton, grain; livestock
Airports	11 (2003 est.)	28 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.)	total: 22 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Area	total: 28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly larger than California
Background	Between 1990 and 1992 Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks with links to high government officials, and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged parliamentary elections in 2001 and local elections in 2003 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but identified serious deficiencies. Many of these deficiencies have been addressed through bi-partisan changes to the electoral code in 2003 and 2005, but implementation of these changes will not be demonstrated until parliamentary elections in July 2005.	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.
Birth rate	15.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.36 billion expenditures: $1.627 billion, including capital expenditures of $406 million (2003 est.)	revenues: $1.434 billion expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	Tirana	name: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) geographic coordinates: 37 57 N, 58 23 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter	subtropical desert
Coastline	362 km	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution	a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998	adopted 18 May 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Albania conventional short form: Albania local long form: Republika e Shqiperise local short form: Shqiperia former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency	lek (ALL)	-
Death rate	5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.41 billion (2003)	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Marcie B. RIES embassy: Rruga Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing address: U. S. Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Dulles, VA 20189-9510 telephone: [355] (4) 247285 FAX: [355] (4) 374957 and [355] (4) 232222	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
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Fatos TARIFA chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342	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
Disputes - international	the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and the peaceful resolution of interethnic disputes; some ethnic Albanian groups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania," but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals	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
Economic aid - recipient	ODA: $315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000 est.)	$28.25 million from the US (2005)
Economy - overview	Poor and backward by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to spur economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from abroad of $400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy; this helps offset the sizable trade deficit. Agriculture, which accounts for one-half of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought and the need to modernize equipment and consolidate small plots of land. Severe energy shortages and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure make it difficult to attract and sustain foreign investment. The government plans to boost energy imports to relieve the shortages and is moving slowly to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth.	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.
Electricity - consumption	5.898 billion kWh (2001)	7.602 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	221 million kWh (2001)	2.918 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	1.2 billion kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	5.289 billion kWh (2001)	12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m	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
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents	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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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
Ethnic groups	Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb, and Macedonian or Bulgarian) (1989 est.) note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates	leke per US dollar - 121.863 (2003), 140.155 (2002), 143.485 (2001), 143.709 (2000), 137.691 (1999)	Turkmen manat per US$ - 11,100 (2006) official rate note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar
Executive branch	chief of state: President of the Republic Alfred MOISIU (since 24 July 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Fatos NANO (since 31 July 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by Parliament elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Alfred MOISIU elected president; People's Assembly vote by number - total votes 116, for 97, against 19	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%
Exports	NA (2001)	117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners	Italy 74.9%, Greece 12.8%, Germany 3.4% (2003)	Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	red with a black two-headed eagle in the center	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
GDP	purchasing power parity - $16.13 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 47.5% industry: 24.6% services: 27.8% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 17.7% industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	7% (2003 est.)	IMF estimate: 6% note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	41 00 N, 20 00 E	40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)	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
Heliports	1 (2003 est.)	1 (2007)
Highways	total: 18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (2000)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
Illicit drugs	increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a far lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens	transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports	NA (2001)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Italy 33.6%, Greece 20.2%, Turkey 6.6%, Germany 5.7% (2003)	UAE 15.5%, Turkey 11.1%, Ukraine 9.1%, Russia 9%, Germany 7.8%, Iran 7.6%, China 6.4%, US 4.5% (2006)
Independence	28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	2.7% (2003 est.)	22% (2003 est.)
Industries	food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate	total: 22.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 23.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 53.49 deaths/1,000 live births male: 57.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.4% (2003)	11.5% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	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
Irrigated land	3,400 sq km (1998 est.)	18,000 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court, Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term), and multiple appeals and district courts	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force	1.35 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (2003 est.)	2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 57%, non-agricultural private sector 20%, public sector 23% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 48.2% industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km	total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use	arable land: 21.09% permanent crops: 4.42% other: 74.49% (2001)	arable land: 4.51% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005)
Languages	Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system	has a civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; has accepted jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for its citizens	based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (140 seats; 100 are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote for four-year terms) elections: last held 24 June 2001 with subsequent rounds on 8 July, 22 July, 29 July, 19 August 2001 (next to be held July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 41.5%, PD and coalition allies 36.8%, PDR 5.2%, PSD 3.6%, PBDNJ 2.6%, PASH (now PAA) 2.6%, PAD 2.5%; seats by party - PS 73, PD and coalition allies 46, PDR 6, PSD 4, PBDNJ 3, PASH (now PAA) 3, PAD 3, independents 2; note - seats by party as of January 2005: PS 65, PD and coalition allies 46, LSI 9, PDR 6, PSD 3, PBDNJ 3, PASH (now PAA) 3, PAD 3, PDS 1, independents 1	two parliamentary bodies, a People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 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); 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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.06 years male: 74.37 years female: 80.02 years (2004 est.)	total population: 68.3 years male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 86.5% male: 93.3% female: 79.5% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 est.)
Location	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references	Europe	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 40,878 GRT/62,676 DWT by type: bulk 1, cargo 19, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Denmark 1, Honduras 1, Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 7 (2004 est.)	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)
Military branches	General Staff Headquarters, Land Forces Command (Army), Naval Forces Command, Air Forces Command, Doctrine and Exercises Command, Logistics Support Command	Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$56.5 million (FY02)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.49% (FY02)	3.4% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 956,107 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 775,422 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 36,584 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 28 November (1912)	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality	noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmenistani
Natural hazards	destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought	NA
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate	-4.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2004)	gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Agrarian Environmentalist Party or PAA [Lufter XHUVELI]; Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Nikolle LESI]; Communist Party of Albania or PKSH [Hysni MILLOSHI]; Democratic Alliance Party or PAD [Neritan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Legality Movement Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIU]; Liberal Union Party or PBL [Arjan STAROVA]; National Front Party (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Adriatik ALIMADHI]; New Democratic Party or PDR [Genc POLLO]; Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQIRI]; Renewed Democratic Party or PDR [Dashamir SHEHI]; Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Social Democracy Party or PDS [Paskal MILO]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI]; Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI [Ilir META]; Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albanian Party of Labor) [Fatos NANO]; Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vangjel DULE]	Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT 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
Political pressure groups and leaders	Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kastriot MUCO]; Front for Albanian National Unification or FBKSH [Gafur ADILI]; Omonia [Jani JANI]; Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA]	NA
Population	3,544,808 (July 2004 est.)	5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	30% (2001 est.)	27% (2002)
Population growth rate	0.51% (2004 est.)	1.617% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001)	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% note: percentages are estimates; there are no available current statistics on religious affiliation; all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.981 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.766 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: Despite new investment in fixed lines, the density of main lines remains the lowest in Europe with roughly 8 lines per 100 people. However, cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective. domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003 two companies were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of Albania's Balkan neighbors international: country code - 355; inadequate fixed main lines; adequate cellular connections; international traffic carried by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2003)	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	255,000 (2003)	495,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.1 million (2003)	105,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001)	4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain	mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast	flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
Total fertility rate	2.05 children born/woman (2004 est.)	3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	15.8% officially; may be as high as 30% (2003 est.)	60% (2004 est.)
Waterways	43 km (2004)	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)

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