Saint Helena (2008) | Turkmenistan (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* | 5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty (formerly Tashauz), Lebap Welayaty (Charjew), 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: 18.7% (male 716/female 691)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 2,755/female 2,608) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 358/female 415) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
37.88% (male 891,758; female 852,104) 15-64 years: 58.09% (male 1,313,303; female 1,360,690) 65 years and over: 4.03% (male 70,800; female 114,589) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha); livestock | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 76 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | 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 (2000 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: 0 sq km |
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 a site for a meteorological station on Gough Island. |
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 | 11.93 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.09 million
expenditures: $32.16 million note: revenue data reflect locally raised revenues only; the budget deficit is resolved by grant aid from the United Kingdom (FY06/07 est.) |
revenues:
$588.6 million expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 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 |
Currency | - | Turkmen manat (TMM) |
Death rate | 6.63 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Steven R. MANN embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 51-13-05 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mered ORAZOV chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
Disputes - international | none | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan |
Economic aid - recipient | $29.56 million obtained in a grant from the United Kingdom (FY06/07) | $27.2 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which will amount to about $27 million in FY06/07 or almost 70% 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 huge gas (fifth largest reserves in the world) and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth largest producer. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. With an authoritarian ex-communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2000, 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 sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty and the burden of foreign debt. IMF assistance would seem to be necessary, yet the government is not as yet ready to accept IMF requirements. Turkmenistan's 1999 deal to ship 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas through Russia's Gazprom pipeline helped alleviate the 2000 fiscal shortfall. Inadequate fiscal restraint and the tenuous nature of Turkmenistan's 2001 gas deals, combined with a lack of economic reform, will limit progress in the near term. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.44 million kWh (2005) | 4.785 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 8 million kWh (2005) | 8.371 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
99.94% hydro: 0.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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 -81.00 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 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) |
Exchange rates | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5434 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound |
Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2001), 5,200 (January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997), 2,400 (January 1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Andrew GURR (since 11 November 2007) 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: 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 scheduled 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 | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.5% (2006) | Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan |
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 | - | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
25% industry: 43% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 16% (2000 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 |
Highways | - | total:
22,000 km paved: 18,000 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 4,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | limited illicit cultivator of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; limited government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Russia and Western Europe; also a transshipment point for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan |
Imports | 64.07 bbl/day (2004) | $1.65 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) |
Imports - partners | UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6% (2006) | Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 18% (2000 est.) |
Industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 17.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
73.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (1997 est.) | 14% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | NA | 13,000 sq km (1993 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.) |
2.34 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 6%
industry: 48% services: 46% (1987 est.) |
agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services 37% (1996) |
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% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 63% forests and woodland: 8% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | English common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, three 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 in 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 (more than 100 seats, some of which are elected by popular vote and some of which are appointed; meets infrequently) and a unicameral Assembly or Majlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - NA; Assembly - last held 12 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - all 50 elected officials preapproved by President NIYAZOV; most are from the DPT |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.09 years
male: 75.19 years female: 81.15 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
61 years male: 57.43 years female: 64.76 years (2001 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% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 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 | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,459 GRT/8,865 DWT ships by type: container 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,173,500 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
952,218 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
48,292 (2001 est.) |
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, coal, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km |
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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 7,543
note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2007 est.) |
4,603,244 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 58% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.53% (2007 est.) | 1.85% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Turkmenbashi |
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) |
Radios | - | 1.225 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,187 km broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.) |
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: 1.036 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.056 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.863 male(s)/female total population: 1.031 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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 (Saint Helena) - 290, (Ascension Island) - 247; 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: 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) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 4,300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (3 television channels are received via satellite and distributed by UHF) (2005) | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) |
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 (2007 est.) | 3.58 children born/woman (2001 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.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan |