##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Korea, North (2004) - Turkmenistan (2003)
Compare Korea, North (2004) z Turkmenistan (2003)
| Korea, North (2004) | Turkmenistan (2003) | |
 |  | |
| 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), 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: 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: 36.8% (male 899,954; female 855,293)
15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,386,606; female 1,438,333) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 74,958; female 120,400) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | cotton, grain; livestock |
| Airports | 78 (2003 est.) | 76 (2002) |
| 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.) | 28.02 births/1,000 population (2003 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.) |
| 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.) | 8.87 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | $2.4 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 Tracey A. JACOBSON
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 | prolonged regional drought creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; Turkmenistan has not committed to follow either Iran or the other littoral states in the division of the Caspian Sea seabed and water column; ICJ decision expected to resolve dispute with Azerbaijan over sovereignty over Caspian oilfields; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan is underway - maritime boundary not resolved |
| 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 large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth-largest producer. 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 1998-2003, 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 38% in 2003, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall 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. In any event, GDP increased substantially in 2003 because of a strong recovery in agriculture and rapid industrial growth. |
| Electricity - consumption | 27.91 billion kWh (2001) | 8.509 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 980 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 20 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 30.01 billion kWh (2001) | 10.18 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| 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 (2002), 5,200 (2001), 5,200 (2000), 5,200 (1999), 4,890.17 (1998); note - the official exchange rate has not varied for the last four years; the unofficial rate has fluctuated slightly, hovering around 21,000 manats to the dollar |
| 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) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products | gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) |
| Exports - partners | South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002) | Ukraine 49.7%, Italy 18%, Iran 13.1%, Turkey 6.2% (2002) |
| 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 - $31.34 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30.2%
industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 50% services: 23% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2003 est.) | 21.1% (2002 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: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 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 | 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) | NA (2001) |
| 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) | Russia 19.8%, Turkey 12.8%, Ukraine 11.7%, UAE 10%, US 7.5%, China 6%, Germany 5.7%, Iran 4.4% (2002) |
| Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA | 1% (2002 est.) |
| 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.) |
total: 73.17 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 5% (2002 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, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, 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, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 |
| Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) | 17,500 sq km (2003 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) |
| 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 at least yearly) 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: 61.19 years
male: 57.72 years female: 64.84 years (2003 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: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT
ships by type: combination ore/oil 1, 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: 1,239,737 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,694,855 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,005,686 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 189,014 (2004 est.) | males: 53,825 (2003 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.) | -0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | oil 154 km (2004) | gas 6,634 km; oil 853 km (2003) |
| 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; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHUMRADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
| Population | 22,697,553 (July 2004 est.) | 4,775,544 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | 34.4% (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.98% (2004 est.) | 1.82% (2003 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) |
| 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 (2002) |
| 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 (2003 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.) | 3.5 children born/woman (2003 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, as is the man-made Kara Kum canal |
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