Sweden (2007) | Turkmenistan (2007) | |
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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) 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: 16.4% (male 759,488/female 717,812)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 3,007,899/female 2,926,220) 65 years and over: 17.9% (male 707,687/female 911,982) (2007 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 | barley, wheat, sugar beets; meat, milk | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 250 (2007) | 28 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 152
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 75 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 38 (2007) |
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: 98
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 92 (2007) |
total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
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 was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 by the global economic downturn, but fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum. | 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 | 10.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $221.6 billion
expenditures: $213.5 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $1.434 billion
expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Stockholm
geographic coordinates: 59 20 N, 18 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
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 | 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 |
Death rate | 10.27 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $598.2 billion (30 June 2006) | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael M. WOOD
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Vag 31, SE-11589 Stockholm mailing address: American Embassy Stockholm, US Department of State, 5750 Stockholm Place, Washington, DC 20521-5750 telephone: [46] (08) 783 53 00 FAX: [46] (08) 661 19 64 |
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 Gunnar LUND
chancery: 902 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 467-2600 FAX: [1] (202) 467-2699 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
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 | none | 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 - donor | ODA, $1.7 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $28.25 million from the US (2005) |
Economy - overview | Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole of the 20th 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 1% of GDP and 2% of employment. The government's commitment to fiscal discipline resulted in a substantial budgetary surplus in 2001, which was cut by more than half in 2002 due to the global economic slowdown, declining revenue, and increased spending. The Swedish central bank (the Riksbank) focuses on price stability with its inflation target of 2%. Growth remained sluggish in 2003 but picked up during 2004-06. Presumably because of generous sick-leave benefits, Swedish workers report in sick more often than other Europeans. In September 2003, Swedish voters turned down entry into the euro system concerned about the impact on the economy and sovereignty. | 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 | 134.1 billion kWh (2005) | 7.602 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 21.97 billion kWh (2005) | 2.918 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 14.58 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 153.2 billion kWh (2005) | 12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.41 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 damage to 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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | indigenous population: Swedes with 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 - 7.3731 (2006), 7.4731 (2005), 7.3489 (2004), 8.0863 (2003), 9.7371 (2002) | 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: 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 Fredrik REINFELDT (since 5 October 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by the parliament; election last held on 17 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2010) election results: Fredrik REINFELDT elected prime minister with 175 out of 349 votes |
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 | 231,100 bbl/day (2004) | 117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles |
Exports - partners | Germany 9.8%, US 9.3%, Norway 9.2%, UK 7.1%, Denmark 6.9%, Finland 6%, France 4.9%, Netherlands 4.7%, Belgium 4.5% (2006) | Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with a golden yellow cross extending 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 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 29% services: 69.6% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 17.7%
industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2006 est.) | IMF estimate: 6%
note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 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 | 2 (2007) | 1 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 22.2% (2000) |
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 | 580,600 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Germany 17.3%, Denmark 9.1%, Norway 8.2%, UK 6%, Netherlands 5.8%, Finland 5.7%, France 4.6%, Belgium 4.1% (2006) | 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 | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2006 est.) | 22% (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 | total: 2.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 2.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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) | 1.4% (2006 est.) | 11.5% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 6, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | 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 | 1,150 sq km (2003) | 18,000 sq km (2003) |
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 | 4.586 million (2006 est.) | 2.32 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 2%
industry: 24% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 48.2%
industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,233 km
border countries: Finland 614 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: 5.93%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 94.06% (2005) |
arable land: 4.51%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005) |
Languages | Swedish, small Sami- 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 and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 on 17 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democrats 37.2%, Moderates 27.8%, Center Party 8.3%, People's Party 8.0%, Christian Democrats 6.9%, Left Party 6.3%, Greens 5.4%; seats by party - Social Democrats 130, Moderates 97, Center Party 29, People's Party 28, Christian Democrats 24, Left Party 22, Greens 19 |
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: 80.63 years
male: 78.39 years female: 83 years (2007 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% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 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 | territorial sea: 12 nm (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas)
exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 194 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,883,695 GRT/2,451,123 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 23, carrier 1, chemical tanker 49, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 37, petroleum tanker 15, roll on/roll off 35, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 22 foreign-owned: 34 (Denmark 4, Finland 10, Germany 4, Italy 7, Japan 1, Norway 5, UK 2, US 1) registered in other countries: 198 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 5, Barbados 5, Bermuda 15, Cayman Islands 1, Cook Islands 9, Cyprus 2, Denmark 4, Finland 2, France 10, Gibraltar 10, Isle of Man 3, Italy 1, South Korea 2, Liberia 11, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 1, Netherlands 27, Netherlands Antilles 3, Norway 31, Panama 9, Portugal 2, Singapore 17, St Vincent and The Grenadines 2, UK 19, US 5) (2007) |
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 | Swedish Armed Forces (Forsvarsmakten): Army (Armen), Royal Swedish Navy (Marinen), Swedish Air Force (Svenska Flygvapnet) (2006) | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2005 est.) | 3.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Swedish Flag Day, 6 June (1916); National Day, 6 June (1983) | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Swede(s)
adjective: Swedish |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmenistani |
Natural hazards | ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic | NA |
Natural resources | iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | 1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 798 km (2006) | gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Maud OLOFSSON]; Christian Democratic Party [Goran HAGGLUND]; Environment Party the Greens [no formal leader but party spokespersons are Maria WETTERSTRAND and Peter ERIKSSON]; Left Party or V (formerly Communist) [Lars OHLY]; Moderate Party (conservative) [Fredrik REINFELDT]; People's Party [Lars LEIJONBORG]; Social Democratic Party [Mona SAHLIN] | 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 | 9,031,088 (July 2007 est.) | 5,097,028 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 27% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 0.159% (2007 est.) | 1.617% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 11,528 km
standard gauge: 11,528 km 1.435-m gauge (7,527 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Lutheran 87%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 13% | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.058 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.028 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.776 male(s)/female total population: 0.982 male(s)/female (2007 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: 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: country code - 46; 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: 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 | 6.379 million (2005) | 495,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9.087 million (2005) | 105,000 (2005) |
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 | 1.66 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.6% (2006 est.) | 60% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 2,052 km (2005) | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006) |