Compare Malta (2005) - Turkmenistan (2005)

Compare Malta (2005) z Turkmenistan (2005)

	Malta (2005)	Turkmenistan (2005)

Administrative divisions	none (administered directly from Valletta); note - Local Councils carry out administrative orders	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: 17.6% (male 36,056/female 34,097) 15-64 years: 68.8% (male 138,537/female 135,666) 65 years and over: 13.6% (male 23,184/female 30,994) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 35.7% (male 909,113/female 860,128) 15-64 years: 60.2% (male 1,462,198/female 1,516,836) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 78,119/female 125,687) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	potatoes, cauliflower, grapes, wheat, barley, tomatoes, citrus, cut flowers, green peppers; pork, milk, poultry, eggs	cotton, grain; livestock
Airports	1 (2004 est.)	53 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 23 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 316 sq km land: 316 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: negl.
Area - comparative	slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than California
Background	Great Britain formally acquired possession of Malta in 1814. The island staunchly supported the UK through both World Wars and remained in the Commonwealth when it became independent in 1964. A decade later Malta became a republic. Since about the mid-1980s, the island has transformed itself into a freight transshipment point, a financial center, and a tourist destination. Malta became an EU member in May of 2004.	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 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	10.17 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	27.68 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $2.27 billion expenditures: $2.549 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $3.05 billion expenditures: $3.05 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	Valletta	Ashgabat
Climate	Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers	subtropical desert
Coastline	196.8 km (does not include 56.01 km for the island of Gozo)	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution	1964 constitution; amended many times	adopted 18 May 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Malta conventional short form: Malta local long form: Repubblika ta' Malta local short form: Malta	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate	8 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$130 million (1997)	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires William GRANT embassy: 3rd Floor, Development House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana, Malta VLT 01 mailing address: P. O. Box 535, Valletta, Malta, CMR01 telephone: [356] 2561 4000 FAX: [356] 21 243229	chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador John LOWELL chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611, 3612 FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470 consulate(s): 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	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	NA	$16 million from the US (2001)
Economy - overview	Major resources are limestone, a favorable geographic location, and a productive labor force. Malta produces only about 20% of its food needs, has limited fresh water supplies, and has no domestic energy sources. The economy is dependent on foreign trade, manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism. Continued sluggishness in the European economy is holding back exports, tourism, and overall growth.	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; formerly it was the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% 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 1998-2004, 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 perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, 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, 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	2 billion kWh (2002)	8.908 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	1.136 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	2.15 billion kWh (2002)	11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Ta'Dmejrek 253 m (near Dingli)	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	very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination	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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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	Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians, with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates	Maltese liri per US dollar - 0.3444 (2004), 0.3773 (2003), 0.4337 (2002), 0.4501 (2001), 0.4382 (2000)	Turkmen manats per US dollar - 10,100 (2004), 10,034 (2003), 10,098 (2002), 5,200 (2001) note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 21,000 manats to the dollar
Executive branch	chief of state: President Eddie FENECH ADAMI (since 4 April 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Lawrence GONZI (since 23 March 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term; election last held 29 March 2004 (next to be held by April 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president for a five-year term; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election results: Eddie FENECH ADAMI elected president; percent of House of Representatives vote - 33 out of 65 votes	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: 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) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run); 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	NA
Exports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners	US 15.7%, France 15.5%, Singapore 14.5%, UK 11.2%, Germany 10.8% (2004)	Ukraine 46.6%, Iran 17.3%, Turkey 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	two equal vertical bands of white (hoist side) and red; in the upper hoist-side corner is a representation of the George Cross, edged in red	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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 23% services: 74% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 28.5% industry: 42.7% services: 28.8% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $18,200 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2004 est.)	IMF estimate: 7.5% note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	35 50 N, 14 35 E	40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note	the country comprises an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration	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 (2004 est.)
Highways	total: 2,222 km paved: 2,000 km unpaved: 222 km (2002)	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	minor transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe	transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports	NA	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured and semi-manufactured goods; food, drink, and tobacco	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Italy 25.4%, France 13.1%, UK 12%, Germany 8.9%, US 5.2%, Singapore 4.1% (2004)	US 11.8%, Russia 9.7%, UAE 9.2%, Ukraine 9%, Turkey 8.6%, Germany 8%, France 5%, Georgia 4.6%, Iran 4.5% (2004)
Independence	21 September 1964 (from UK)	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	official government estimate: 22% (2003 est.)
Industries	tourism; electronics, ship building and repair, construction; food and beverages, textiles, footwear, clothing, tobacco	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate	total: 3.89 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.38 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 73.08 deaths/1,000 live births male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.9% (2004 est.)	9% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	Australia Group, C, CE, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, 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	20 sq km (1998 est.)	17,500 sq km (2003 est.)
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force	160,000 (2002 est.)	2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 5%, industry 24%, services 71% (1999 est.)	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: 28.13% permanent crops: 3.13% other: 68.74% (2001)	arable land: 3.72% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001)
Languages	Maltese (official), English (official)	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system	based on English common law and Roman civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	based on civil law system
Legislative branch	unicameral House of Representatives (usually 65 seats; note - additional seats are given to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held by April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - PN 51.7%, MLP 47.6%, AD 0.7%; seats by party - PN 34, MLP 31	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) elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) 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: 78.86 years male: 76.7 years female: 81.15 years (2005 est.)	total population: 61.39 years male: 58.02 years female: 64.93 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 10 and over can read and write total population: 92.8% male: 92% female: 93.6% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1995 est.)
Location	Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references	Europe	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 1,140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 25,102,401 GRT/41,176,791 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 438, cargo 303, chemical tanker 70, combination ore/oil 2, container 54, liquefied gas 8, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 13, petroleum tanker 162, refrigerated cargo 43, roll on/roll off 26, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 13 foreign-owned: 1,080 (Austria 3, Azerbaijan 1, Bangladesh 3, Belgium 12, British 1, Bulgaria 18, Canada 9, China 15, Croatia 10, Cyprus 2, Czech Republic 2, Estonia 2, Finland 1, France 5, Germany 51, Greece 527, Hong Kong 1, Iceland 7, Iran 4, Israel 26, Italy 17, Japan 2, Latvia 30, Lebanon 6, Madagascar 1, Monaco 3, Netherlands 3, Norway 42, Pakistan 2, Poland 24, Portugal 4, Romania 5, Russia 64, Slovenia 3, South Korea 4, Sweden 3, Switzerland 32, Syria 6, Taiwan 1, Turkey 87, Ukraine 25, UAE 5, United Kingdom 8, United States 3) registered in other countries: 3 (2005)	total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT by type: cargo 3, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2005)
Military branches	Armed Forces of Malta (AFM; includes air and maritime elements) (2005)	Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$31.1 million (2004)	$90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.7% (2004)	3.4% (FY99)
National holiday	Independence Day, 21 September (1964)	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality	noun: Maltese (singular and plural) adjective: Maltese	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen
Natural hazards	NA	NA
Natural resources	limestone, salt, arable land	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate	2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-0.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Alternativa Demokratika/Alliance for Social Justice or AD [Harry VASSALLO]; Malta Labor Party or MLP [Alfred SANT]; Nationalist Party or PN [Lawrence GONZI]	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 SHIKHMURADOV 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; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	398,534 (July 2005 est.)	4,952,081 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	58% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	0.42% (2005 est.)	1.81% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Marsaxlokk, Valletta	Turkmenbasy
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 18, shortwave 6 (1999)	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Roman Catholic 98%	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: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 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 (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: automatic system satisfies normal requirements domestic: submarine cable and microwave radio relay between islands international: country code - 356; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	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	208,300 (2003)	374,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	290,000 (2003)	52,000 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	6 (2000)	4 (government owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain	mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs	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	1.5 children born/woman (2005 est.)	3.41 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	7% (2003 est.)	60% (2004 est.)
Waterways	-	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003)

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