Bahrain (2001) | Turkmenistan (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 12 municipalities (manatiq, singular - mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
note: all municipalities administered from Manama |
5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty (formerly Tashauz), Lebap Welayaty (Charjew), 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:
29.6% (male 96,697; female 94,330) 15-64 years: 67.43% (male 257,360; female 177,839) 65 years and over: 2.97% (male 9,721; female 9,414) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
37.88% (male 891,758; female 852,104) 15-64 years: 58.09% (male 1,313,303; female 1,360,690) 65 years and over: 4.03% (male 70,800; female 114,589) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 76 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
63 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 41 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
620 sq km land: 620 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than California |
Background | Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Possessing minimal oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining, and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The new amir is pushing economic and political reforms, and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In 2001, the International Court of Justice awarded the Hawar Islands, long disputed with Qatar, to Bahrain. | Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1925. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can be worked out. |
Birth rate | 20.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.8 billion expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$588.6 million expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Manama | Ashgabat |
Climate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 161 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | adopted late December 2000 (new constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary) | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
State of Bahrain conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Dawlat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Bahraini dinar (BHD) | Turkmen manat (TMM) |
Death rate | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.7 billion (2000) | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Johnny YOUNG embassy: #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 321, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 273-300 FAX: [973] 272-594 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Steven R. MANN embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 51-13-05 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-0741 FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mered ORAZOV chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
Disputes - international | in March of 2001, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the Hawar Islands to Bahrain and also adjusted Bahrain's maritime boundary with Qatar | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan |
Economic aid - recipient | $48.4 million (1995) | $27.2 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | In Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil revenue granted as aid. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. | Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and huge gas (fifth largest reserves in the world) and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth largest producer. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. 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. In 1998-2000, 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 sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty and the burden of foreign debt. IMF assistance would seem to be necessary, yet the government is not as yet ready to accept IMF requirements. Turkmenistan's 1999 deal to ship 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas through Russia's Gazprom pipeline helped alleviate the 2000 fiscal shortfall. Inadequate fiscal restraint and the tenuous nature of Turkmenistan's 2001 gas deals, combined with a lack of economic reform, will limit progress in the near term. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.752 billion kWh (1999) | 4.785 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 6.185 billion kWh (1999) | 8.371 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
99.94% hydro: 0.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m |
lowest point:
Vpadina Akchanaya -81.00 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 | desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural fresh water resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only sources for all water needs | 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, 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 | Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8% | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) |
Exchange rates | Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.3760 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2001), 5,200 (January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997), 2,400 (January 1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969) head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since NA 1971) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
chief of state:
President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 by the Assembly (Majlis) during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next scheduled to be held NA); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the Assembly on 28 December 1999); deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5% |
Exports | $5.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 61%, aluminum 7% | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | India 14%, Saudi Arabia 5%, US 5%, UAE 5%, Japan 4%, South Korea 4% (1999) | Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the hoist side | green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 46% services: 53% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 43% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 16% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 00 N, 50 33 E | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
Geography - note | close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean | landlocked |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
3,164 km paved: 2,433 km unpaved: 731 km note: there is a paved causeway connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia (1997) |
total:
22,000 km paved: 18,000 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 4,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | limited illicit cultivator of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; limited government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Russia and Western Europe; also a transshipment point for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan |
Imports | $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $1.65 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | nonoil 59%, crude oil 41% | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) |
Imports - partners | France 20%, US 14%, UK 8%, Saudi Arabia 7%, Japan 5% (1999) | Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan |
Independence | 15 August 1971 (from UK) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 18% (2000 est.) |
Industries | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 19.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 73.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 14% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | NA |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 13,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Civil Appeals Court | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 295,000 (1998 est.)
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.) |
2.34 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry, commerce, and service 79%, government 20%, agriculture 1% (1997 est.) | agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services 37% (1996) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 0% other: 92% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 63% forests and woodland: 8% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and English common law | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly was dissolved 26 August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet; appointed Advisory Council established 16 December 1992; the National Action Charter created a bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum of 14 February 2001 | under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (more than 100 seats, some of which are elected by popular vote and some of which are appointed; meets infrequently) and a unicameral Assembly or Majlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - NA; Assembly - last held 12 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - all 50 elected officials preapproved by President NIYAZOV; most are from the DPT |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.2 years male: 70.81 years female: 75.67 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
61 years male: 57.43 years female: 64.76 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.2% male: 89.1% female: 79.4% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Middle East | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 175,609 GRT/207,652 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 3, container 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,459 GRT/8,865 DWT ships by type: container 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Police Force | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $318 million (FY99) | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.2% (FY99) | 3.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
222,141 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,173,500 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
121,833 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
952,218 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 15 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
5,926 (2001 est.) |
males:
48,292 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun:
Bahraini(s) adjective: Bahraini |
noun:
Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; dust storms | NA |
Natural resources | oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | 1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas 32 km | crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km |
Political parties and leaders | political parties prohibited | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically 1994-97, demanding the return of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active | NA |
Population | 645,361
note: includes 228,424 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
4,603,244 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 58% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.73% (2001 est.) | 1.85% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah | Turkmenbashi |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 338,000 (1997) | 1.225 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
2,187 km broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.) |
Religions | Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30% | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.45 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.29 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | none | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones international: tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997) |
general assessment:
poorly developed domestic: NA international: 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 152,000 (1997) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 58,543 (1997) | 4,300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment | 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 | 2.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan |