Tunisia (2004) | Turkmenistan (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 24 governorates; Ariana (Aryanah), Beja (Bajah), Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), Bizerte (Banzart), Gabes (Qabis), Gafsa (Qafsah), Jendouba (Jundubah), Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), Kasserine (Al Qasrayn), Kebili (Qibili), Kef (Al Kaf), Mahdia (Al Mahdiyah), Manouba (Manubah), Medenine (Madanin), Monastir (Al Munastir), Nabeul (Nabul), Sfax (Safaqis), Sidi Bou Zid (Sidi Bu Zayd), Siliana (Silyanah), Sousse (Susah), Tataouine (Tatawin), Tozeur (Tawzar), Tunis, Zaghouan (Zaghwan) | 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: 26% (male 1,337,546; female 1,253,814)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 3,373,199; female 3,360,402) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 315,151; female 334,610) (2004 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 | olives, olive oil, grain, dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruit, beef, sugar beets, dates, almonds | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 30 (2003 est.) | 76 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
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: 163,610 sq km
land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km |
total:
488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Georgia | slightly larger than California |
Background | Following independence from France in 1956, President Habib BOURGUIBA established a strict one-party state. He dominated the country for 31 years, repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. In recent years, Tunisia has taken a moderate, non-aligned stance in its foreign relations. Domestically, it has sought to defuse rising pressure for a more open political society. | 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 | 15.74 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $6.101 billion
expenditures: $6.855 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$588.6 million expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Tunis | Ashgabat |
Climate | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 1,148 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | 1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Tunisian Republic
conventional short form: Tunisia local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah local short form: Tunis |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Tunisian dinar (TND) | Turkmen manat (TMM) |
Death rate | 5.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $14.39 billion (2003 est.) | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William J. HUDSON
embassy: Zone Nord-Est des Berges du Lac Nord de Tunis, 2045 La Goulette, Tunisia mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [216] 71 107-000 FAX: [216] 71 962-115 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d' Affaires Tarek Azouz
chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850 FAX: [1] (202) 862-1858 |
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 | $378 million (2001) | $27.2 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. Governmental control of economic affairs while still heavy has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatization, simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Real growth, averaging 5% for the latter half of the last decade, slowed to a 15-year low of 1.9% in 2002 because of agricultural drought, slow investment, and lackluster tourism. Better rains in 2003, however, pushed GDP growth up to an estimated 6 percent, and tourism also recovered after the end of combat operations in Iraq. GDP growth remained at 6% in 2004. Tunisia has agreed to gradually remove barriers to trade with the European Union over the next decade. Broader privatization, further liberalization of the investment code to increase foreign investment, improvements in government efficiency, and reduction of the trade deficit are among the challenges for the future. | 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 | 9.748 billion kWh (2001) | 4.785 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1 million kWh (2001) | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 10.48 billion kWh (2001) | 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: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 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 | toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | 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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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 | Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1% | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) |
Exchange rates | Tunisian dinars per US dollar - 1.2885 (2003), 1.4217 (2002), 1.4387 (2001), 1.3707 (2000), 1.1862 (1999) | 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: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed GHANNOUCHI (since 17 November 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI reelected for a fourth term; percent of vote - Zine El Abidine BEN ALI 94.5%, Mohamed BOUCHIHA 3.8%, Mohamed Ali HALOUANI 1% |
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 | NA (2001) | $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | textiles, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, agricultural products, hydrocarbons | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | France 32.6%, Italy 21.9%, Germany 10.7%, Spain 4.7%, Libya 4.4% (2003) | Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam | 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 - $68.23 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13.9%
industry: 32.2% services: 53.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 43% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2003 est.) | 16% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 00 N, 9 00 E | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration | landlocked |
Highways | total: 18,997 km
paved: 12,310 km (including 142 km of expressways) unpaved: 6,687 km (2000) |
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%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 31.8% (1995) |
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 | NA (2001) | $1.65 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, food | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) |
Imports - partners | France 26.1%, Italy 19.8%, Germany 8.9%, Spain 5.2% (2003) | Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan |
Independence | 20 March 1956 (from France) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.1% (2003 est.) | 18% (2000 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, agribusiness, beverages | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
73.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2003 est.) | 14% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BSEC (observer), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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 | 3,800 sq km (1998 est.) | 13,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 3.461 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2003 est.) |
2.34 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995 est.) | agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services 37% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,424 km
border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km |
total:
3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.86%
permanent crops: 13.74% other: 68.4% (2001) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 63% forests and woodland: 8% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Majlis al-Nuwaab (189 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RCD 152, MDS 14, PUP 11, UDU 7, Al-Tajdid 3, PSL 2 |
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: 74.66 years
male: 73 years female: 76.44 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
61 years male: 57.43 years female: 64.76 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.2% male: 84% female: 64.4% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Africa | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 124,733 GRT/122,664 DWT
by type: bulk 2, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 1, short-sea/passenger 3 registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,459 GRT/8,865 DWT ships by type: container 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $356 million (FY99) | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99) | 3.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,918,524 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,173,500 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,655,910 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
952,218 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 106,565 (2004 est.) | males:
48,292 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 20 March (1956) | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Tunisian(s)
adjective: Tunisian |
noun:
Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | -0.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,059 km; oil 1,203 km; refined products 345 km (2004) | crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km |
Political parties and leaders | Al-Tajdid Movement [Ali HALOUANI]; Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique) or RCD [President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (official ruling party)]; Liberal Social Party or PSL [Mounir BEJI]; Movement of Socialist Democrats or MDS [Ismail BOULAHYA]; Popular Unity Party or PUP [Mohamed BOUCHIHA]; Progressive Democratic Party [Nejib CHEBBI]; Unionist Democratic Union or UDU [Abderrahmane TLILI] | 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 | the Islamic fundamentalist party, Al Nahda (Renaissance), is outlawed | NA |
Population | 9,974,722 (July 2004 est.) | 4,603,244 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 7.6% (2001 est.) | 58% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.01% (2004 est.) | 1.85% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, Zarzis | Turkmenbashi |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.225 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,152 km
standard gauge: 468 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,674 km 1.000-m gauge (65 km electrified) dual gauge: 10 km 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rails) (2003) |
total:
2,187 km broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.) |
Religions | Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 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 | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: above the African average and continuing to be upgraded; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; Internet access available
domestic: trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay international: country code - 216; 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in Medarabtel; two international gateway digital switches |
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 | 1,163,800 (2003) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,899,900 (2003) | 4,300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995) | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) |
Terrain | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara | 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 | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.3% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan |