Compare Estonia (2008) - Turkmenistan (2008)

Compare Estonia (2008) z Turkmenistan (2008)

	Estonia (2008)	Turkmenistan (2008)

Administrative divisions	15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru) note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses	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: 15% (male 101,430/female 95,658) 15-64 years: 67.5% (male 423,664/female 464,813) 65 years and over: 17.5% (male 76,344/female 154,003) (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	potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish	cotton, grain; livestock
Airports	19 (2007)	28 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (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: 7 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007)	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Area	total: 45,226 sq km land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined	slightly larger than California
Background	After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.	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	10.17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $7.671 billion expenditures: $7.015 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $1.641 billion expenditures: $1.6 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Tallinn geographic coordinates: 59 26 N, 24 43 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	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	maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers	subtropical desert
Coastline	3,794 km	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution	adopted 28 June 1992	adopted 18 May 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Estonia conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate	13.3 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$20.24 billion (30 June 2007)	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Stanley Davis PHILLIPS embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134	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 Vaino REINART chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York	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	Russia recalled its signature to the 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia in 2005, rather than concede to Estonia's appending prepared a unilateral declaration referencing Soviet occupation and territorial losses; Russia demands better accommodation of Russian-speaking population in Estonia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen border rules with Russia	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	$135.5 million (2004)	$28.25 million from the US (2005)
Economy - overview	Estonia, a 2004 European Union entrant, has a modern market-based economy and one of the highest per capita income levels in Central Europe. The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors and strong trade ties with Finland, Sweden, and Germany. The current government has pursued relatively sound fiscal policies, resulting in balanced budgets and low public debt. In 2007, however, a large current account deficit and rising inflation put pressure on Estonia's currency, which is pegged to the euro, highlighting the need for growth in export-generating industries.	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	6.888 billion kWh (2005)	7.602 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	1.953 billion kWh (2005)	2.918 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	345 million kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	9.599 billion kWh (2005)	12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 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	air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations	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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census)	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates	krooni per US dollar - 11.535 (2007), 12.473 (2006), 12.584 (2005), 12.596 (2004), 13.856 (2003) note: the krooni is pegged to the euro	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 Toomas Hendrik ILVES (since 9 October 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Andrus ANSIP (since 12 April 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); if a candidate does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held 23 September 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2011); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Toomas Hendrik ILVES elected president on 23 September 2006 by a 345-member electoral assembly; ILVES received 174 votes to incumbent Arnold RUUTEL's 162; remaining 9 ballots left blank or invalid	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	3,958 bbl/day (2004)	117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001)	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners	Finland 18.2%, Sweden 12.2%, Latvia 9.1%, Russia 7.9%, US 6.6%, Germany 5%, Lithuania 4.8%, Gibraltar 4.5% (2006)	Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white	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: 2.9% industry: 28.9% services: 68.2% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 16.7% industry: 39.2% services: 44.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	7.3% (2007 est.)	IMF estimate: 7% note: official government statistics are widely regarded as unreliable (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	59 00 N, 26 00 E	40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note	the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands	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)	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 27.6% (2003)	lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
Illicit drugs	growing producer of synthetic drugs; increasingly important transshipment zone for cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and synthetic drugs since joining the European Union and the Schengen Accord; potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking is a concern, as is possible use of the gambling sector to launder funds; major use of opiates and ecstasy	transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports	54,000 bbl/day (2004)	2,536 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001)	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Finland 18.4%, Russia 12.9%, Germany 12.3%, Sweden 9.2%, Lithuania 6.4%, Latvia 5.8% (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	20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	6.1% (2007 est.)	7% (2007 est.)
Industries	engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate	total: 7.59 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.34 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)	6.3% (2007 est.)	11.3% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	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	40 sq km (2003)	18,000 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life)	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force	688,000 (2007 est.)	2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 11% industry: 20% services: 69% (1999 est.)	agriculture: 48.2% industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 633 km border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km	total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use	arable land: 12.05% permanent crops: 0.35% other: 87.6% (2005)	arable land: 4.51% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005)
Languages	Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system	based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations	based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 4 March 2007 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Estonian Reform Party 27.8%, Center Party of Estonia 26.1%, Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica 17.9%, Social Democratic Party 10.6%, Estonian Greens 7.1%, Estonian People's Union 7.1%, other 5%; seats by party - Reform Party 31, Center Party 29, Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica 19, Social Democrats 10, Estonian Greens 6, People's Union 6	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: 72.3 years male: 66.87 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)	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: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2000 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references	Europe	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 33 ships (1000 GRT or over) 393,655 GRT/93,245 DWT by type: cargo 7, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 23, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Norway 2) registered in other countries: 67 (Antigua and Barbuda 15, Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 5, Dominica 8, Latvia 1, Liberia 1, Malta 7, Norway 1, Panama 3, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 20, Vanuatu 1) (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 branches	Estonian Defense Forces: Land Force, Navy, Air Force (Eesti Ohuvagi), Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit, KL) (2008)	Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2% (2005 est.)	3.4% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 was the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20 August 1991 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality	noun: Estonian(s) adjective: Estonian	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmenistani
Natural hazards	sometimes flooding occurs in the spring	NA
Natural resources	oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate	-3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 859 km (2007)	gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR]; Estonian Greens (Rohelised) [Marek STRANDBERG]; Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN]; Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP]; Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR]; Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica (Isamaa je Res Publica Liit) [Mart LAAR]	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	Nochnoy Dozor/Night Watch anti-fascist movement (leader Alexander KOROBOV)	NA
Population	1,315,912 (July 2007 est.)	5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	5% (2003)	27% (2002)
Population growth rate	-0.635% (2007 est.)	1.617% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001)	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 968 km broad gauge: 968 km 1.520 m/1.524-m gauge (2006)	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census)	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.911 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.496 male(s)/female total population: 0.842 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 for all Estonian citizens	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode; Internet services are widely available; schools and libraries are connected to the internet, a large percentage of the population files income-tax returns online, and online voting was used for the first time in the 2005 local elections domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services is available throughout the country international: country code - 372; fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; 2 international switches are located in Tallinn (2001)	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	541,900 (2006)	495,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.659 million (2006)	105,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	3 (2001)	4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain	marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south	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	1.41 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.2% (2007 est.)	60% (2004 est.)
Waterways	320 km (2006)	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)

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