Compare Eritrea (2004) - Turkmenistan (2008)

Compare Eritrea (2004) z Turkmenistan (2008)

	Eritrea (2004)	Turkmenistan (2008)

Administrative divisions	6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub, Debubawi K'eyih Bahri, Gash Barka, Ma'akel, Semenawi Keyih Bahri	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: 44.8% (male 998,404; female 993,349) 15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,140,892; female 1,166,481) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 72,776; female 75,405) (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	sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish	cotton, grain; livestock
Airports	18 (2003 est.)	28 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (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: 13 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Area	total: 121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Pennsylvania	slightly larger than California
Background	Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections.	Eastern Turkmenistan for centuries formed part of the Persian province of Khurasan; in medieval times Merv (today known as Mary) was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. 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 NYYAZOW died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a former NYYAZOW aide, emerged as the country's new president.
Birth rate	39.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $235.7 million expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.)	revenues: $1.641 billion expenditures: $1.6 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	Asmara (formerly Asmera)	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	hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert	subtropical desert
Coastline	2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution	the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented	adopted 18 May 1992
Country name	conventional long form: State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency	nakfa (ERN)	-
Death rate	13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$311 million (2000 est.)	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584	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 GIRMA Asmerom chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California)	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	Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but demarcation has been delayed, despite intense international intervention, by Ethiopian insistence that the decision ignored "human geography," made technical errors in the delimitation, and incorrectly awarded Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war, and other areas to Eritrea and Eritrea's insistence on not deviating from the commission's decision; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) continues to monitor a 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea until the demarcation; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999	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	$77 million (1999)	$28.25 million from the US (2005)
Economy - overview	Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding down growth in 2002. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to open its economy to private enterprise so the diaspora's money and expertise can foster 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 roughtly 15% per year from 2003-07, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. 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 Amu Darya railroad bridge in Lebap province, and to create special border trade zones in southern Balkan province - a hint that the new post-NYYAZOW government will work to create a friendlier foreign investment environment.
Electricity - consumption	205.1 million kWh (2001)	7.602 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh NA kWh (2001)	2.918 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh NA kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	220.5 million kWh (2001)	12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 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; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare	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 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	ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates	nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - NA (2003), 13.9582 (2002), 11.3095 (2001), 9.5 (2000), 7.6 (1999)	Turkmen manat per US$ - 11,250 (2007), 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 ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%	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	livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners	Malaysia 65.1%, Italy 10.4%, France 4.4% (2003)	Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle	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 - $3.3 billion (2002 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 12.4% industry: 25.3% services: 62.4% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 16.7% industry: 39.2% services: 44.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	2% (2002 est.)	IMF estimate: 7% note: official government statistics are widely regarded as unreliable (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	15 00 N, 39 00 E	40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note	strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993	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: 4,010 km paved: 874 km unpaved: 3,136 km (1999 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	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 (2001)	2,536 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000)	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	US 39.7%, Italy 19.1%, Turkey 6.8%, Russia 5.4%, France 4.7% (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	24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	7% (2007 est.)
Industries	food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate	total: 75.59 deaths/1,000 live births male: 83.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.94 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)	12.3% (2003)	11.3% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO	ABEDA, ADB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, 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	220 sq km (1998 est.)	18,000 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force	NA (1999)	2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 80%, industry and services 20%	agriculture: 48.2% industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,626 km border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km	total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use	arable land: 4.95% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.02% (2001)	arable land: 4.51% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005)
Languages	Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system	primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law	based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established) elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, that had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely	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: 52.7 years male: 51.32 years female: 54.12 years (2004 est.)	total population: 68.3 years male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 est.)
Location	Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references	Africa	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 1 (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	Army, Navy, Air Force	Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$77.9 million (2003)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	11.8% (2003)	3.4% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	NA (2004)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 24 May (1993)	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality	noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmenistani
Natural hazards	frequent droughts; locust swarms	NA
Natural resources	gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2004 est.)	-3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it	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 NYYAZOW
Political pressure groups and leaders	Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement) [leader NA]); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA]; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]	NA
Population	4,447,307 (July 2004 est.)	5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	53% (1993/94)	27% (2002)
Population growth rate	2.57% (2004 est.)	1.617% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 306 km narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge note: railway is being rebuilt; 117 km open (2003)	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 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: inadequate domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist	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	38,100 (2003)	495,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	105,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain	dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains	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	5.67 children born/woman (2004 est.)	3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA (2003 est.)	60% (2004 est.)
Waterways	-	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)

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