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Compare Korea, North (2004) - Turkmenistan (2002)

Compare Korea, North (2004) z Turkmenistan (2002)

 Korea, North (2004)Turkmenistan (2002)
 Korea, NorthTurkmenistan
Administrative divisions 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)

provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)

municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dasoguz Welayaty, Labap 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: 24.6% (male 2,836,991; female 2,755,127)


15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,575,590; female 7,812,878)


65 years and over: 7.6% (male 583,463; female 1,133,504) (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 37.3% (male 895,536; female 853,301)


15-64 years: 58.6% (male 1,350,142; female 1,399,879)


65 years and over: 4.1% (male 72,784; female 117,321) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs cotton, grain; livestock
Airports 78 (2003 est.) 76 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 35


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 23


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2003 est.)
total: 13


2,438 to 3,047 m: 9


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 43


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 14


under 914 m: 8 (2003 est.)
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 (2002)
Area total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
total: 488,100 sq km


land: 488,100 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Mississippi slightly larger than California
Background An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War; five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force, North Korea under its founder President KIM Il Sung adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as KIM's future successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994, when he assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the North since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international food aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in January 2003 declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Since August 2003 North Korea has participated in six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. 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 16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 28.27 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: NA


expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
revenues: $588.6 million


expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) (1999 est.)
Capital Pyongyang Ashgabat
Climate temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer subtropical desert
Coastline 2,495 km 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 adopted 18 May 1992
Country name conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea


conventional short form: North Korea


local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk


local short form: none


note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country


abbreviation: DPRK
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Turkmenistan


local long form: none


local short form: Turkmenistan


former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency North Korean won (KPW) Turkmen manat (TMM)
Death rate 6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 8.92 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $12 billion (1996 est.) $2.3 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) chief of mission: Ambassador Laura E. KENNEDY


embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45


FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Diplomatic representation in the US none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV


chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500


FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
Disputes - international with China, certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute; a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; China has been attempting to stop mass illegal migration of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and oppression into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South Korea Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; multilaterally-accepted Caspian Sea seabed and maritime boundaries have not yet been established in the Caspian - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan await ICJ decision to resolve sovereignty dispute over oil fields in the Caspian Sea
Economic aid - recipient $NA; note - over $133 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations $16 million from the US (2001)
Economy - overview North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its tenth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land, collective farming, weather-related problems, and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96, but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and unemployed, less able to buy goods. The regime, however, relaxed restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003, leading to an expansion of market activity. 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 1998-2001, Turkmenistan has 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 have risen sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented reforms. However, Turkmenistan's cooperation with the international community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may foreshadow a change in the atmosphere for foreign investment, aid, and technological support. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error.
Electricity - consumption 27.91 billion kWh (2001) 7.708 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 900 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 30.01 billion kWh (2001) 9.256 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 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 water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation 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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


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 racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995)
Exchange rates official: North Korean won per US dollar - 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001), 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002), 200 (December 2001) Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2002-January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997)
Executive branch chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam President of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju Premier


head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003)


cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA


elections: election last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008)


election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed
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 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 NA (2001) $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999)
Exports - partners South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002) Ukraine 27%, Iran 14%, Turkey 11%, Italy 9%, Switzerland 5% (1999)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star 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 - $29.58 billion (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 30.2%


industry: 33.8%


services: 36% (2002 est.)
agriculture: 27%


industry: 45%


services: 28% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1% (2003 est.) 10% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 40 00 N, 127 00 E 40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated 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 19 (2003 est.) -
Highways total: 31,200 km


paved: 1,997 km


unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.)
total: 22,000 km


paved: 18,000 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)


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%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 32% (1998) (1998)
Illicit drugs for years, from the 1970's into the 2000's, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; in recent years, police investigations in Taiwan and Japan have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003; all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan, Taiwan, the Russian Far East, and China transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; small-scale government-run eradication of illicit crops; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports NA (2001) $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999)
Imports - partners China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002) Turkey 17%, Ukraine 12%, Russia 11%, UAE 8%, France 6% (1999)
Independence 15 August 1945 (from Japan) 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA NA%
Industries military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate total: 24.84 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 26.59 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
73.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA (2003 est.) 10% (2001 est.)
International organization participation ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, 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) - NA
Irrigated land 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) 18,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force 9.6 million 2.34 million (1996) (1996)
Labor force - by occupation agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
total: 3,736 km


border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use arable land: 20.76%


permanent crops: 2.49%


other: 76.75% (2001)
arable land: 3.47%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 96.39% (1998 est.)
Languages Korean Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; the KWP approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
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: 71.08 years


male: 68.38 years


female: 73.92 years (2004 est.)
total population: 61.1 years


male: 57.57 years


female: 64.8 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98%


male: 99%


female: 97% (1989 est.)
Location Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references Asia Asia
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 203 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 921,577 GRT/1,339,929 DWT


by type: bulk 6, cargo 166, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 1


foreign-owned: Albania 1, Belize 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 3, Germany 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 2, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 1, Portugal 1, Romania 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Syria 9, Tanzania 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 5, Ukraine 2, United States 3


registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.)
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,600 GRT/5,000 DWT


ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure $5,217.4 million (FY02) $90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 22.9% (2003) 3.4% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 6,181,038 (2004 est.) males age 15-49: 1,206,920 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 3,694,855 (2004 est.) males age 15-49: 979,282 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 189,014 (2004 est.) males: 48,292 (2002 est.)
National holiday Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
noun: Turkmen(s)


adjective: Turkmen
Natural hazards late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall NA
Natural resources coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) -0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines oil 154 km (2004) crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km
Political parties and leaders major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong, chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae, chairman] (under KWP control) 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 none NA
Population 22,697,553 (July 2004 est.) 4,688,963 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA 34% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 0.98% (2004 est.) 1.84% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan Turkmenbasy
Radio broadcast stations AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios - 1.225 million (1997)
Railways total: 5,214 km


standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003)
total: 2,440 km


broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2001)
Religions traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)


note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 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 (2002 est.)
Suffrage 17 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
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 1.1 million (2001) 363,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 4,300 (1998)
Television broadcast stations 38 (1999) 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997)
Terrain mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east 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 2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.) 3.54 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA (2003) NA%
Waterways 2,250 km


note: most navigable only by small craft (2004)
the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan
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