El Salvador (2002) | Turkmenistan (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan | 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: 37.4% (male 1,211,156; female 1,162,317)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 1,735,744; female 1,922,395) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 144,864; female 177,205) (2002 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 | coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum; shrimp; beef, dairy products | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 83 (2001) | 76 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 78
914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 61 (2002) |
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: 21,040 sq km
land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km |
total:
488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | slightly larger than California |
Background | El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A 12-year civil war, which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms. | 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 | 28.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.1 billion
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$588.6 million expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | San Salvador | Ashgabat |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 307 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | 23 December 1983 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador
conventional short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador local short form: El Salvador |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Salvadoran colon (SVC); US dollar (USD) | Turkmen manat (TMM) |
Death rate | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.9 billion (2001 est.) | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rose M. LIKINS
embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Urbanizacion Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023 telephone: [503] 278-4444 FAX: [503] 278-6011 |
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 Rene Antonio LEON Rodriguez
chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
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 | El Salvador claims tiny Conejo Island off Honduras in the Golfo de Fonseca; many of the "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary remain undemarcated despite ICJ adjudication in 1992; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan |
Economic aid - recipient | total $252 million; $57 million from US (1999 est.) | $27.2 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | El Salvador is a struggling Central American economy which has been suffering from a weak tax collection system, factory closings, the aftermaths of Hurricane Mitch of 1998 and the devastating earthquakes of early 2001, and weak world coffee prices. On the bright side, in recent years inflation has fallen to single digit levels, and total exports have grown substantially. The trade deficit has been offset by remittances (an estimated $1.6 billion in 2000) from Salvadorans living abroad and by external aid. As of 1 January 2001, the US dollar was made legal tender alongside the colon. Growth in 2002 will depend largely on the speed of recovery in the US. | 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 | 4.07 billion kWh (2000) | 4.785 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 112 million kWh (2000) | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 750 million kWh (2000) | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3.69 billion kWh (2000) | 8.371 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 42%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 22% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
99.94% hydro: 0.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes | 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 | mestizo 90%, Amerindian 1%, white 9% | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) |
Exchange rates | Salvadoran colones per US dollar - 8.750 (fixed since January 2001), 8.755 (fixed rate since 1993)
note: since January 2001 the US dollar has also become legal tender; the exchange rate has been fixed at 8.75 colones per 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: President Francisco FLORES Perez (since 1 June 1999); Vice President Carlos QUINTANILLA Schmidt (since 1 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Francisco FLORES Perez (since 1 June 1999); Vice President Carlos QUINTANILLA Schmidt (since 1 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: Francisco FLORES Perez elected president; percent of vote - Francisco FLORES (ARENA) 52%, Facundo GUARDADO (FMLN) 29%, Ruben ZAMORA (CD) 7.5%, other (no individual above 3%) 11.5% |
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 | $2.9 billion (2001) | $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | US 65%, Guatemala 11%, Honduras 8%, EU 5% (2000) | Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band | 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 - $28.4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 43% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.4% (2001 est.) | 16% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 50 N, 88 55 W | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
Geography - note | smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea | landlocked |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 10,029 km
paved: 1,986 km (including 327 km of expressways) unpaved: 8,043 km (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%: 1%
highest 10%: 39% (2001) (2001) |
lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; domestic cocaine abuse on the rise | 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 | $5 billion (2001) | $1.65 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods, fuels, foodstuffs, petroleum, electricity | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) |
Imports - partners | US 50%, Guatemala 10%, EU 7%, Mexico 5%, (2000) | Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 18% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 27.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 73.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2001 est.) | 14% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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) | 4 (2000) | NA |
Irrigated land | 360 sq km (1998 est.) | 13,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 2.35 million (1999) (1999) | 2.34 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 15%, services 55% (1999 est.) | agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services 37% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 545 km
border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km |
total:
3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.27%
permanent crops: 12.11% other: 60.62% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 63% forests and woodland: 8% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FMLN 31, ARENA 27, PCN 16, PDC 5, CD 5 |
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: 70.32 years
male: 66.72 years female: 74.11 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
61 years male: 57.43 years female: 64.76 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 71.5% male: 73.5% female: 69.8% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 NM | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 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 | Army, Navy (FNES), Air Force | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $112 million (FY99) | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (FY99) | 3.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,500,712 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,173,500 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 951,715 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
952,218 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 68,103 (2002 est.) | males:
48,292 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Salvadoran(s)
adjective: Salvadoran |
noun:
Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen |
Natural hazards | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | NA |
Natural resources | hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | -3.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; Democratic Convergence or CD [Ruben ZAMORA, secretary general] (includes Social Democratic Party or PSD [Juan MEDRANO, leader); Democratic Party or PD [Jorge MELENDEZ]; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Fabio CASTILLO]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Kirio Waldo SALGADO, president]; National Action Party or PAN [Gustavo Rogelio SALINAS, secretary general]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ Zepeda, president]; National Republican Alliance or ARENA [Walter ARAUJO]; Social Christian Union or USC (formed by the merger of Christian Social Renewal Party or PRSC and Unity Movement or MU) [Abraham RODRIGUEZ, president] | 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 | labor organizations - Electrical Industry Union of El Salvador or SIES; Federation of the Construction Industry, Similar Transport and other activities, or FESINCONTRANS; National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers or CNTS; National Union of Salvadoran Workers or UNTS; Port Industry Union of El Salvador or SIPES; Salvadoran Union of Ex-Petrolleros and Peasant Workers or USEPOC; Salvadoran Workers Central or CTS; Workers Union of Electrical Corporation or STCEL; business organizations - National Association of Small Enterprise or ANEP; Salvadoran Assembly Industry Association or ASIC; Salvadoran Industrial Association or ASI | NA |
Population | 6,353,681 (July 2002 est.) | 4,603,244 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (1999 est.) | 58% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.83% (2002 est.) | 1.85% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo | Turkmenbashi |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 61 (plus 24 repeaters), FM 30, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 2.75 million (1997) | 1.225 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 562 km
narrow gauge: 562 km 0.914-m gauge note: length of operational route is reduced to 283 km by disuse and lack of maintenance (2001 est.) |
total:
2,187 km broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 83%
note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador |
Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
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 | 380,000 (1998) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40,163 (1997) | 4,300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau | 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 | 3.29 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | Rio Lempa partially navigable | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan |