Sweden (2001) | Turkmenistan (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 21 counties (lan, singular and plural); Blekinge, Dalarnas, Gavleborgs, Gotlands, Hallands, Jamtlands, Jonkopings, Kalmar, Kronobergs, Norrbottens, Orebro, Ostergotlands, Skane, Sodermanlands, Stockholms, Uppsala, Varmlands, Vasterbottens, Vasternorrlands, Vastmanlands, Vastra Gotalands | 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:
18.19% (male 828,308; female 786,353) 15-64 years: 64.53% (male 2,911,949; female 2,814,730) 65 years and over: 17.28% (male 649,296; female 884,417) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.2% (male 904,627; female 857,601)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 1,423,836; female 1,477,224) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 76,670; female 123,211) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, sugar beets, potatoes; meat, milk | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 255 (2000 est.) | 69 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
147 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 80 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
108 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 103 (2000 est.) |
total: 45
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 36 (2003 est.) |
Area | total:
449,964 sq km land: 410,934 sq km water: 39,030 sq km |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: negl. |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly larger than California |
Background | A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both World Wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements has recently been undermined by high unemployment, rising maintenance costs, and a declining position in world markets. Indecision over the country's role in the political and economic integration of Europe caused Sweden not to join the EU until 1995, and to forgo the introduction of the euro in 1999. | 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 | 9.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$133 billion expenditures: $125.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.477 billion
expenditures: $3.908 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Stockholm | Ashgabat |
Climate | temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 3,218 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | 1 January 1975 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Sweden conventional short form: Sweden local long form: Konungariket Sverige local short form: Sverige |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Swedish krona (SEK) | Turkmen manat (TMM) |
Death rate | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $66.5 billion (1994) | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lyndon Lowell OLSON, Jr. embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds VAG 31, SE-11589 Stockholm mailing address: American Embassy Stockholm, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5750 (pouch) telephone: [46] (8) 783 53 00 FAX: [46] (8) 661 19 64 |
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 Jan ELIASSON chancery: 1501 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1702 telephone: [1] (202) 467-2600 FAX: [1] (202) 467-2699 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and 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 | prolonged regional drought created water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reached an agreement on improving water usage along the Amu Darya in 2004; delimitation of Caspian seabed remains unresolved |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.7 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $16 million from the US (2001) |
Economy - overview | Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole twentieth century, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for only 2% of GDP and 2% of the jobs. In recent years, however, this extraordinarily favorable picture has been somewhat clouded by budgetary difficulties, high unemployment, and a gradual loss of competitiveness in international markets. Sweden has harmonized its economic policies with those of the EU, which it joined at the start of 1995. GDP growth is forecast for 4% in 2001. | Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it at one time 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 1998-2003, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by 38% in 2003, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented reforms. However, Turkmenistan's cooperation with the international community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may foreshadow a change in the atmosphere for foreign investment, aid, and technological support. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the 20% rate of GDP growth is a guess. |
Electricity - consumption | 128.819 billion kWh (1999) | 8.509 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 15.9 billion kWh (1999) | 980 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 8.35 billion kWh (1999) | 20 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 146.633 billion kWh (1999) | 10.18 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
5.53% hydro: 47.24% nuclear: 45.42% other: 1.81% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 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 | acid rain damaging soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea | 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, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) |
Exchange rates | Swedish kronor per US dollar - 9.4669 (January 2001), 9.1622 (2000), 8.2624 (1999), 7.9499 (1998), 7.6349 (1997), 6.7060 (1996) | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (2003), 5,200 (2002), 5,200 (2001), 5,200 (2000), 5,200 (1999);note - the official exchange rate has not varied for the last six years; the unofficial rate has fluctuated slightly, hovering around 21,000 manats to the dollar |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 19 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, daughter of the monarch (born 14 July 1977) head of government: Prime Minister Goran PERSSON (since 21 March 1996) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; prime minister elected by the Parliament; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Goran PERSSON reelected prime minister with 131 out of 349 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 | $95.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals | gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) |
Exports - partners | EU 55% (Germany 11%, UK 10%, Denmark 6%, Finland 5%, France 5%), US 9%, Norway 8% (1999) | Ukraine 39.2%, Italy 18.1%, Iran 14.7%, Turkey 6.5% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) | 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 - $197 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $27.88 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2.2% industry: 27.9% services: 69.9% (1999) |
agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 46.2% services: 28.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.3% (2000 est.) | 23.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 15 00 E | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas | 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 (2000 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
210,760 km paved: 162,707 km (including 1,428 km of expressways) unpaved: 48,053 km (1999) |
total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.7% highest 10%: 20.1% (1992) |
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 | $80 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) |
Imports - partners | EU 67% (Germany 18%, UK 10%, Denmark 7%, France 6%), Norway 8%, US 6% (1999) | Russia 21.5%, Ukraine 15.3%, Turkey 9.4%, UAE 7.6%, Germany 4.2%, China 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 14% (2003 est.) |
Industries | iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 73.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (2000 est.) | 9.5% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 6, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 29 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1993 est.) | 17,500 sq km (2003 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen (judges are appointed by the prime minister and the cabinet) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 4.4 million (2000 est.) | 2.34 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 2%, industry 24%, services 74% (2000 est.) | agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,205 km border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km |
total: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 68% other: 24% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.72%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001) |
Languages | Swedish
note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Riksdag (349 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democrats 36.5%, Moderates 22.7%, Left Party 12%, Christian Democrats 11.8%, Center Party 5.1%, Liberal Party 4.7%, Greens 4.5%; seats by party - Social Democrats 131, Moderates 82, Left Party 43, Christian Democrats 42, Center Party 18, Liberal Party 17, Greens 16 |
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 which are elected by popular vote and some of which 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:
79.71 years male: 77.07 years female: 82.5 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.29 years
male: 57.87 years female: 64.88 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1979 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines territorial sea: 12 NM (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas) |
- |
Merchant marine | total:
167 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,205,370 GRT/1,663,091 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 28, chemical tanker 31, combination ore/oil 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 29, railcar carrier 1, roll on/roll off 40, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 17 (2000 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT
by type: combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 billion (FY98) | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY98) | 3.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,062,566 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,272,436 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,803,995 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,031,806 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
51,506 (2001 est.) |
males: 55,866 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 6 June | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun:
Swede(s) adjective: Swedish |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
Natural hazards | ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic | NA |
Natural resources | zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | 0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 84 km | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Lennart DALEUS]; Christian Democratic Party [Alf SVENSSON]; Communist Workers' Party [Rolf HAGEL]; Green Party [no formal leader but party spokesperson is Briger SCHLAUG]; Left Party or VP (formerly Communist) [Gudrun SCHYMAN]; Liberal People's Party [Lars LEIJONBORG]; Moderate Party (conservative) [Bo LUNDGREN]; New Democracy Party [Vivianne FRANZEN]; Social Democratic Party [Goran PERSSON] | 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 | 8,875,053 (July 2001 est.) | 4,863,169 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 34.4% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2001 est.) | 1.81% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall | Turkmenbasy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 8.25 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
12,821 km (includes 3,594 km of privately owned railways) standard gauge: 12,821 km 1.435-m gauge (7,918 km electrified and 1,152 km double track) (1998) |
total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Lutheran 87%, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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 (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
excellent domestic and international facilities; automatic system domestic: coaxial and multiconductor cables carry most of the voice traffic; parallel microwave radio relay systems carry some additional telephone channels international: 5 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Sweden shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway) |
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 | 6.017 million (December 1998) | 374,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.835 million (October 1998) | 52,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 169 (plus 1,299 repeaters) (1995) | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) |
Terrain | mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west | 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 | 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.45 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000 est.) | NA |
Waterways | 2,052 km
note: navigable for small steamers and barges |
1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) |