Compare Saint Helena (2006) - Turkmenistan (2005)

Compare Saint Helena (2006) z Turkmenistan (2005)

	Saint Helena (2006)	Turkmenistan (2005)

Administrative divisions	1 administrative area and 2 dependencies; Ascension, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha*	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: 18.8% (male 717/female 692) 15-64 years: 71.2% (male 2,751/female 2,593) 65 years and over: 10% (male 342/female 407) (2006 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	coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha)	cotton, grain; livestock
Airports	1 note: Wideawake Field on Ascension Island (2006)	53 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	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: 413 sq km land: Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: negl.
Area - comparative	slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than California
Background	Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903. Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena. During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refueling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Tristan da Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases the site for a meteorological station on Gough Island.	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	12.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	27.68 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $11.2 million expenditures: $11 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93)	revenues: $3.05 billion expenditures: $3.05 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Jamestown geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Ashgabat
Climate	Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)	subtropical desert
Coastline	Saint Helena: 60 km Ascension Island: NA Tristan da Cunha: 40 km	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution	1 January 1989	adopted 18 May 1992
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Helena	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate	6.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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	$12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997)	$16 million from the US (2001)
Economy - overview	The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK.	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	4.65 million kWh (2003)	8.908 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	1.136 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	5 million kWh (2003)	11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 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	NA	contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25%	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates	Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001) note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound	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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since 15 October 2004) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch	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 bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners	Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.5% (2005)	Ukraine 46.6%, Iran 17.3%, Turkey 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship	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: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 28.5% industry: 42.7% services: 28.8% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	IMF estimate: 7.5% note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	Saint Helena: 15 57 S 5 42 W Ascension Island: 7 57 S 14 22 W Tristan da Cunha island group: 37 15 S 12 30 W	40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note	Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa	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: 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	-	transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6% (2005)	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	none (overseas territory of the UK)	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	official government estimate: 22% (2003 est.)
Industries	construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate	total: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 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)	3.2% (1997 est.)	9% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ICFTU, UPU	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	NA	17,500 sq km (2003 est.)
Judicial branch	Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force	2,486 note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.)	2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 6% industry: 48% services: 46% (1987 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: 12.9% permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2005)	arable land: 3.72% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001)
Languages	English	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system	British common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes	based on civil law system
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 12	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: 77.93 years male: 75.02 years female: 80.98 years (2006 est.)	total population: 61.39 years male: 58.02 years female: 64.93 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 20 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1995 est.)
Location	islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references	Africa	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	-	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 - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	3.4% (FY99)
National holiday	Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality	noun: Saint Helenian(s) adjective: Saint Helenian note: referred to locally as "Saints"	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen
Natural hazards	active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961	NA
Natural resources	fish, lobster	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-0.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	none	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	none	NA
Population	7,502 note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2006 est.)	4,952,081 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	58% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	0.56% (2006 est.)	1.81% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Turkmenbasy
Radio broadcast stations	Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005)	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic	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: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 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	NA years of age	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: can communicate worldwide domestic: automatic digital network international: country code - 290; international direct dialing; satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations - 5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1)	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	2,200 (2002)	374,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	52,000 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	0 note: three television channels are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by UHF (2005)	4 (government owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain	the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the 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	1.55 children born/woman (2006 est.)	3.41 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Transportation - note	there is no air connection to Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha; an international airport for Saint Helena is in development for 2010	-
Unemployment rate	14% (1998 est.)	60% (2004 est.)
Waterways	-	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003)

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