Cayman Islands (2007) | Turkmenistan (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western | 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: 20.3% (male 4,746/female 4,730)
15-64 years: 71% (male 16,135/female 16,964) 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 1,892/female 2,133) (2007 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 | vegetables, fruit; livestock; turtle farming | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 28 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007) |
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: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total: 262 sq km
land: 262 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than California |
Background | The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries, and were administered by Jamaica after 1863. In 1959, the islands became a territory within the Federation of the West Indies, but when the Federation dissolved in 1962, the Cayman Islands chose to remain a British dependency. | 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 | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $423.8 million
expenditures: $392.6 million (2004) |
revenues: $1.434 billion
expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: George Town (on Grand Cayman)
geographic coordinates: 19 18 N, 81 23 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 160 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | 1959; revised 1962, 1972, and 1994 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Death rate | 4.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $70 million (1996) | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
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 | none | 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 | $390,000 (2004) | $28.25 million from the US (2005) |
Economy - overview | With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 68,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 2003, including almost 500 banks, 800 insurers, and 5,000 mutual funds. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals exceeded 2.1 million in 2003, with about half from the US. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world. | 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 | 372 million kWh (2005) | 7.602 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 2.918 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 400 million kWh (2005) | 12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 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 | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments | 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 | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) |
Exchange rates | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.8496 (2006) | 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); represented by Governor Stuart JACK (since 23 November 2005)
head of government: Leader of Government Business Kurt TIBBETTS (since 18 May 2005) cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or coalition is appointed by the governor Leader of Government Business |
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 bbl/day | 117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles |
Exports - partners | mostly US (2006) | Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS | 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: 1.4%
industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
agriculture: 17.7%
industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.9% (2004 est.) | IMF estimate: 6%
note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 30 N, 80 30 W | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
Geography - note | important location between Cuba and Central America | 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) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe | 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 | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US, Netherlands Antilles, Japan (2006) | 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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 22% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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) | 4.4% (2004) | 11.5% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU | 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 | NA | 18,000 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 23,450 (2004) | 2.32 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 12.6% services: 86% (1995) |
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: 3.85%
permanent crops: 0% other: 96.15% (2005) |
arable land: 4.51%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005) |
Languages | English | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | British common law and local statutes | based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats; 3 appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by popular vote; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 May 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPM 9, UDP 5, independent 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: 80.2 years
male: 77.57 years female: 82.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 68.3 years
male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, three island (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman) group in Caribbean Sea, 240 km south of Cuba and 268 km northwest of Jamaica | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 124 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,953,923 GRT/4,597,716 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 11, chemical tanker 41, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: 122 (Denmark 3, Germany 17, Greece 23, Italy 10, Japan 6, Norway 2, Singapore 10, Sweden 1, UK 9, US 41) (2007) |
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 | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Force | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, first Monday in July | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Caymanian(s)
adjective: Caymanian |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmenistani |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to November) | NA |
Natural resources | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | 17.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2007 est.) |
-3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | United Democratic Party or UDP [McKeeva BUSH]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Kurt TIBBETTS]; note - no national teams (loose groupings of political organizations) were formed for the 2000 elections | 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 | NA |
Population | 46,600
note: most of the population lives on Grand Cayman (July 2007 est.) |
5,097,028 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 27% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 2.496% (2007 est.) | 1.617% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God, other Protestant, Roman Catholic | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.003 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.887 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 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: reasonably good system
domestic: liberalization of telecom market in 2003; introduction of competition in the mobile-cellular market in 2004 international: country code - 1-345; landing point for the MAYA-1 submarine telephone cable network that provides links to the US and parts of Central and South America; submarine cable provides connectivity to Jamaica; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
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 | 38,000 (2002) | 495,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,000 (2002) | 105,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 with cable system (2004) | 4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004) |
Terrain | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs | 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 | 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.4% (2004) | 60% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006) |