Compare Moldova (2004) - Turkmenistan (2007)

Compare Moldova (2004) z Turkmenistan (2007)

	Moldova (2004)	Turkmenistan (2007)

Administrative divisions	32 raions (raioane, singular - raionul), 3 municipalities (municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala) counties: Anenii Noi, Basarabeasca, Briceni, Cahul, Cantemir, Calarasi, Causeni, Cimislia, Criuleni, Donduseni, Drochia, Dubasari, Edinet, Falesti, Floresti, Glodeni, Hincesti, Ialoveni, Leova, Nisporeni, Ocnita, Orhei, Rezina, Riscani, Singerei, Soldanesti, Soroca, Stefan-Voda, Straseni, Taraclia, Telenesti, Ungheni municipalities: Balti, Bender, Chisinau autonomous territorial unit: Gagauzia territorial unit: Stinga Nistrului	5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat) and 1 independent city: Ahal Welayaty (Anew), Ashgabat, Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Age structure	0-14 years: 20.6% (male 466,485; female 449,645) 15-64 years: 69.1% (male 1,478,220; female 1,595,695) 65 years and over: 10.3% (male 169,026; female 287,384) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 34.7% (male 900,718/female 866,930) 15-64 years: 60.9% (male 1,537,638/female 1,567,049) 65 years and over: 4.4% (male 97,454/female 127,239) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk	cotton, grain; livestock
Airports	24 (2003 est.)	28 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 6 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2003 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 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 11 (2003 est.)	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Area	total: 33,843 sq km land: 33,371 sq km water: 472 sq km	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Maryland	slightly larger than California
Background	Formerly part of Romania, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Dniester River supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic. The poorest nation in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a Communist as its president in 2001.	Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. President for Life Saparmurat NIYAZOV died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a former NIYAZOV aide, emerged as the country's new president.
Birth rate	14.81 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $474.8 million expenditures: $443.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)	revenues: $1.434 billion expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	Chisinau	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	moderate winters, warm summers	subtropical desert
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution	new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979	adopted 18 May 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Moldova conventional short form: Moldova local long form: Republica Moldova local short form: none former: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic; Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency	Moldovan leu (MDL)	-
Death rate	12.76 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.515 billion (2003)	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Heather M. HODGES embassy: 103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [373] (22) 408-300 FAX: [373] (22) 23-30-44	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard E. HOAGLAND embassy: No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 744000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070 telephone: [993] (12) 35-00-45 FAX: [993] (12) 39-26-14
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Mihail MANOLI chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204	chief of mission: Ambassador Meret Bairamovich ORAZOW chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
Disputes - international	difficulties with the Transnistria region complicate controlling border crossing and customs regimes with Ukraine, despite concordance on 2003 delimitation and customs protocols and OSCE assistance	cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005, but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled with Azerbaijan, Iran, and Kazakhstan due to Turkmenistan's indecision over how to allocate the sea's waters and seabed
Economic aid - recipient	$100 million (2000)	$28.25 million from the US (2005)
Economy - overview	Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe despite recent progress from its small economic base. It enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import almost all of its energy supplies from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the World Bank and the IMF to promote growth and reduce poverty. The economy returned to positive growth, of 2.1% in 2000, 6.1% in 2001, 7.2% in 2002, and 6.3% in 2003. Further reforms will come slowly because of strong political forces backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors.	Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; formerly it was the world's 10th-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to an almost 50% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. From 1998-2005, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by an average of 15% per year from 2003-06, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. In 2006, Ashgabat raised its natural gas export prices to its main customer, Russia, from $66 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, a poor educational system, government misuse of oil and gas revenues, and Ashgabat's unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. President BERDIMUHAMEDOW's election platform included plans to build a gas line to China, to complete the AmuDarya railroad bridge in Lebap province, and to create special border trade zones in southern Balkan province - a hint that the new post-NIYAZOV government will work to create a friendlier foreign investment environment.
Electricity - consumption	3.216 billion kWh (2001)	7.602 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	2.918 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	60 million kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	3.394 billion kWh (2001)	12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Dniester River 2 m highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 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	heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods	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, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants	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	Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, Gagauz and other 5.2% (1989 est.) note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates	lei per US dollar - 13.9449 (2003), 13.5705 (2002), 12.8651 (2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999)	Turkmen manat per US$ - 11,100 (2006) official rate note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar
Executive branch	chief of state: President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), First Deputy Prime Minister Vasile IOVV (since 29 January 2002) cabinet: selected by president, subject to approval of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note - presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July 2000, Parliament canceled direct, popular elections; Parliament's failure to choose a new president in December 2000 led to early parliamentary elections in February 2001; prime minister designated by the president, upon consultation with Parliament; note - within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated 15 April 2001, cabinet received a vote of confidence 19 April 2001 election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101	chief of state: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 11 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW elected president; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW 89.2%
Exports	NA (2001)	117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	foodstuffs, textiles, machinery	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners	Russia 39%, Romania 11.4%, Italy 10.4%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 7.1%, Belarus 5.2%, US 4.3% (2003)	Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow	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 - $7.792 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 21% industry: 27% services: 52% (2003)	agriculture: 17.7% industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	6.3% (2003 est.)	IMF estimate: 6% note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	47 00 N, 29 00 E	40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone	landlocked; the western and central low-lying desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau
Heliports	-	1 (2007)
Highways	total: 12,657 km paved: 11,012 km unpaved: 1,645 km (1999)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.7% (1997)	lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
Illicit drugs	limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia via Central Asia to Russia, Western Europe, and possibly the US; widespread crime and underground economic activity	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	mineral products and fuel 32%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000)	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Ukraine 22%, Russia 13%, Germany 9.7%, Italy 8.3%, Romania 7% (2003)	UAE 15.5%, Turkey 11.1%, Ukraine 9.1%, Russia 9%, Germany 7.8%, Iran 7.6%, China 6.4%, US 4.5% (2006)
Independence	27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	17% (2003 est.)	22% (2003 est.)
Industries	food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate	total: 41 deaths/1,000 live births male: 43.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 37.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 53.49 deaths/1,000 live births male: 57.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	11.6% (2003 est.)	11.5% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, 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, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Irrigated land	3,070 sq km (1998 est.)	18,000 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature)	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force	1.383 million (2003)	2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998)	agriculture: 48.2% industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,389 km border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km	total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use	arable land: 55.3% permanent crops: 10.79% other: 33.91% (2001)	arable land: 4.51% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005)
Languages	Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system	based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents	based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PCRM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance (now Our Moldova Alliance) 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCRM 71, Braghis Alliance (now Our Moldova Alliance) 19, PPCD 11	two parliamentary bodies, a People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some elected by popular vote and some appointed; meets at least yearly) and a National Assembly or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003 (next to be held in December 2008); Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008) election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by the president note: in late 2003, a law was adopted reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 65.03 years male: 60.88 years female: 69.39 years (2004 est.)	total population: 68.3 years male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.1% male: 99.6% female: 98.7% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references	Europe	Asia
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,636 GRT/1,088 DWT by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 2 Russia 1 registered in other countries: 4	total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,870 GRT/25,801 DWT by type: cargo 4, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2007)
Military branches	National Army: Ground Forces, Air Force	Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$9.5 million (FY03)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.4% (FY02)	3.4% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 1,186,818 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 942,071 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 44,466 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 August (1991)	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality	noun: Moldovan(s) adjective: Moldovan	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmenistani
Natural hazards	landslides (57 cases in 1998)	NA
Natural resources	lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate	-0.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 606 km (2004)	gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Democratic Modova Bloc [Serafim URECHEANU] includes: Democratic Party [Dumitru DIACOV], Our Moldova Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS, Serafim URECHEANU], Social Liberal Party [Oleg SEREBRIAN]; Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]	Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been National Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan (NDMT) and the United Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (UDPT); NDMT was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; UDPT is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based in Moscow
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	4,446,455 (July 2004 est.)	5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	80% (2001 est.)	27% (2002)
Population growth rate	0.18% (2004 est.)	1.617% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	none	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998)	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 1,138 km broad gauge: 1,124 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 14 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000)	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.981 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.766 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau; some effort to modernize is under way domestic: new subscribers face long wait for service; mobile cellular telephone service being introduced international: country code - 373; service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik	general assessment: poorly developed domestic: Turkmenistan's telecommunications network remains woefully underdeveloped; Turkmentelekom, in cooperation with foreign investors, is planning to upgrade the country's telephone exchanges and install a new digital switching system international: country code - 993; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat (2006)
Telephones - main lines in use	706,900 (2002)	495,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	338,200 (2002)	105,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995)	4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain	rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea	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	1.78 children born/woman (2004 est.)	3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.)	60% (2004 est.)
Waterways	424 km (2004)	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)

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