Jamaica (2004) | Turkmenistan (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation |
5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (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: 28.2% (male 390,966; female 372,961)
15-64 years: 65% (male 883,053; female 880,296) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 82,788; female 103,066) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.2% (male 913,988/female 863,503)
15-64 years: 60.7% (male 1,501,486/female 1,557,155) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 79,227/female 127,561) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 35 (2003 est.) | 29 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (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 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.) |
total: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly larger than California |
Background | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. | Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President Saparmurat 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 were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. |
Birth rate | 16.94 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 27.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.596 billion
expenditures: $3.111 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $1.401 billion
expenditures: $1.542 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | 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; hot, humid; temperate interior | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | - |
Death rate | 5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.962 billion (2003 est.) | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jennifer L. BRUSH
embassy: No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Meret Bairamovich ORAZOV
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; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled |
Economic aid - recipient | $16 million (2003) | $16 million from the US (2001) |
Economy - overview | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 70% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003, with one of the best tourist seasons on record. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering 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 tenth-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. In 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 20% to 30% per year in 2003-2005, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. In 2005, Ashgabat sought to raise natural gas export prices to its main customers, Russia and Ukraine, from $44 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $66 per tcm. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil and gas revenues, and its 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.833 billion kWh (2001) | 8.847 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.136 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 6.272 billion kWh (2001) | 11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 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)
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 | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions | 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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 | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 57.7409 (2003), 48.4159 (2002), 45.9962 (2001), 42.7011 (2000), 39.0435 (1999) | in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar; the official rate has consistently been 5,200 manat to the dollar |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
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) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty); in November 2005, the People's Council voted down NIYAZOV's suggestion to hold presidential elections in 2009 elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992; note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council 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 | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles |
Exports - partners | US 29.6%, UK 11%, Canada 10.8%, France 7.9%, Norway 6.8%, Germany 6.2%, China 6%, Netherlands 4.4% (2003) | Ukraine 43.5%, Iran 15%, Hungary 5.4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) | 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 - $10.61 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.7%
industry: 37.2% services: 56.2% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 20.9%
industry: 38% services: 41.1% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,900 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2003 est.) | IMF estimate: 6%
note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | 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 (2006) |
Highways | total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.3% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 39.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 9.7%, Germany 5.6%, Venezuela 4.5%, France 4.5%, Japan 4.2% (2003) | UAE 12.4%, Azerbaijan 10.9%, US 9.4%, Russia 8.9%, Ukraine 7.4%, Turkey 7.2%, Iran 6.1%, Germany 5.3%, Kazakhstan 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | 22% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 72.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 68 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.3% (2003 est.) | 10.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 18,000 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 1.13 million (2003) | 2.32 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 21%, industry 19%, services 60% (1998) | 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: 16.07%
permanent crops: 10.16% other: 73.77% (2001) |
arable land: 4.51%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005) |
Languages | English, patois English | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); membership is scheduled to be increased to 65 seats
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003 (next to be held December 2008); Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held 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 President NIYAZOV note: in late 2003, a new 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: 76.07 years
male: 74.04 years female: 78.21 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 61.83 years
male: 58.43 years female: 65.41 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT
by type: bulk 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Greece 2, Iceland 1, Latvia 1, United States 2 (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 (2006) |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing | Ground Forces, Artillery and Rocket Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $31 million (2003) | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.4% (2003) | 3.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 764,266 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 533,768 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 27,126 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | NA |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | -4.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
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 out of Moscow |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | NA |
Population | 2,713,130 (July 2004 est.) | 5,042,920 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19.7% (2002 est.) | 58% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.66% (2004 est.) | 1.83% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003) |
total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7% | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
general assessment: poorly developed
domestic: NA 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 444,400 (2002) | 376,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.4 million (2002) | 52,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | 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 | 1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.37 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15.9% (2003 est.) | 60% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006) |