Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Turkmenistan (2007)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Turkmenistan (2007)

 British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)Turkmenistan (2007)
 British Indian Ocean TerritoryTurkmenistan
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)
Age structure - 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 - cotton, grain; livestock
Airports 1 (2001) 28 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
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: 6


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Area total: 60 sq km


land: 60 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
total: 488,100 sq km


land: 488,100 sq km


water: NEGL
Area - comparative about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC slightly larger than California
Background Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. 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 - 25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget - revenues: $1.434 billion


expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)
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)
Climate tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds subtropical desert
Coastline 698 km 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution - adopted 18 May 1992
Country name conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory


conventional short form: none


abbreviation: BIOT
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Turkmenistan


local long form: none


local short form: Turkmenistan


former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate - 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external - $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Dependency status overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (overseas territory of the UK) 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 none (overseas territory of the UK) 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 Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain 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 - $28.25 million from the US (2005)
Economy - overview All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. 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 NA kWh 7.602 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports - 2.918 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports - 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military 12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 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 NA 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
Ethnic groups - Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates - 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)


head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK


cabinet: NA


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
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 - 117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities - gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners - Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)
Fiscal year - calendar year
Flag description white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag 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 - composition by sector - agriculture: 17.7%


industry: 39.2%


services: 43.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate - IMF estimate: 6%


note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 6 00 S, 71 30 E 40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility 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 (2007)
Highways total: NA km


paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia


unpaved: NA km
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10%: 2.6%


highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
Illicit drugs - transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports - NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities - machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners - 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 - 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate - 22% (2003 est.)
Industries - natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate - 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) - 11.5% (2006 est.)
International organization participation - 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
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 0 sq km (1998 est.) 18,000 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch - Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force - 2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture: 48.2%


industry: 13.8%


services: 37% (2003 est.)
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: NEGL


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
arable land: 4.51%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 95.35% (2005)
Languages - Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch - 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: 68.3 years


male: 65.23 years


female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)
Literacy - definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98.8%


male: 99.3%


female: 98.3% (1999 est.)
Location Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references Political Map of the World Asia
Maritime claims exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 3 NM
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine - 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 - note defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 -
Military branches - Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 3.4% (2005 est.)
National holiday - Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality - noun: Turkmen(s)


adjective: Turkmenistani
Natural hazards NA NA
Natural resources coconuts, fish, sugarcane petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate - -3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines - gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders - 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 - NA
Population no indigenous inhabitants


note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.)
5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line - 27% (2002)
Population growth rate - 1.617% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Diego Garcia -
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios NA -
Railways - total: 2,440 km


broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)
Religions - Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio - 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
Telephone system general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available


domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet


international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
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 NA 495,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular - 105,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations 1 (1997) 4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) 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 - 3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate - 60% (2004 est.)
Waterways none 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.