Turkmenistan (2001) | Iceland (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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) |
23 counties (syslur, singular - sysla) and 14 independent towns* (kaupstadhir, singular - kaupstadhur); Akranes*, Akureyri*, Arnessysla, Austur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Austur-Hunavatnssysla, Austur-Skaftafellssysla, Borgarfjardharsysla, Dalasysla, Eyjafjardharsysla, Gullbringusysla, Hafnarfjordhur*, Husavik*, Isafjordhur*, Keflavik*, Kjosarsysla, Kopavogur*, Myrasysla, Neskaupstadhur*, Nordhur-Isafjardharsysla, Nordhur-Mulasys-la, Nordhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Olafsfjordhur*, Rangarvallasysla, Reykjavik*, Saudharkrokur*, Seydhisfjordhur*, Siglufjordhur*, Skagafjardharsysla, Snaefellsnes-og Hnappadalssysla, Strandasysla, Sudhur-Mulasysla, Sudhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Vesttmannaeyjar*, Vestur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Vestur-Hunavatnssysla, Vestur-Isafjardharsysla, Vestur-Skaftafellssysla
note: there may be four other counties |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 22.7% (male 32,902; female 30,952)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 92,519; female 91,000) 65 years and over: 11.9% (male 14,973; female 18,452) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | potatoes, green vegetables, chicken, pork, mutton; fish |
Airports | 76 (2000 est.) | 86 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 8 (2002) |
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.) |
total: 73
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 49 (2002) |
Area | total:
488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 103,000 sq km
land: 100,250 sq km water: 2,750 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
Background | 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. | Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards. |
Birth rate | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.13 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$588.6 million expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $3.5 billion
expenditures: $3.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $467 million (1999) |
Capital | Ashgabat | Reykjavik |
Climate | subtropical desert | temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 4,988 km |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Iceland
conventional short form: Iceland local long form: Lydhveldidh Island local short form: Island |
Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | Icelandic krona (ISK) |
Death rate | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) | $2.6 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James I. GADSDEN
embassy: Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik mailing address: US Embassy, PSC 1003, Box 40, FPO AE 09728-0340 telephone: [354] 5629100 FAX: [354] 5629118 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mered ORAZOV chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Helgi AGUSTSSON
chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1704 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653 FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Denmark over the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Denmark, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM |
Economic aid - donor | - | $NA |
Economic aid - recipient | $27.2 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | 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. | Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant hydrothermal and geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and employs 12% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. Government policies include reducing the budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching. Growth had been remarkably steady in 1996-2001 at 3%-5%, but could not be sustained in 2002 in an environment of global recession. Growth resumed in 2003, and inflation dropped back from 5% to 2%. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.785 billion kWh (1999) | 7.341 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 8.371 billion kWh (1999) | 7.894 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.94% hydro: 0.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 0.1%
hydro: 82.5% nuclear: 0% other: 17.5% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | 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 |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,119 m (at Vatnajokull glacier) |
Environment - current issues | 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 | water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment |
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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Environmental Protection through Criminal Law, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Oil Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Persistent Organic Pollutants, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) | homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6% |
Exchange rates | 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) | Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 91.66 (2002), 97.42 (2001), 78.62 (2000), 72.34 (1999), 70.96 (1998) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister David ODDSSON (since 30 April 1991) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament elections: president, which is largely a ceremonial post, elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 29 June 1996 (next to be held NA June 2004); President GRIMSSON ran unopposed in June 2000 so there were no elections; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON ran unopposed in 2000 and was reelected |
Exports | $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) | fish and fish products 70%, animal products, aluminum, diatomite, ferrosilicon |
Exports - partners | Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan | Germany 18.5%, UK 17.5%, Netherlands 11.4%, US 10.9%, Spain 5.2%, Denmark 4.6%, Portugal 4.3%, Norway 4.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | blue with a red cross outlined in white 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) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8.444 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
25% industry: 43% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 14% (includes fishing 12%)
industry: 21% services: 65% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $30,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 16% (2000 est.) | -0.6% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 65 00 N, 18 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe |
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) |
total: 12,955 km
paved/oiled gravel: 3,863 km unpaved: 9,092 km (2003) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | $1.65 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | 15,470 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | machinery and equipment, petroleum products; foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan | US 10.9%, Germany 10.7%, Denmark 8.5%, Norway 8%, UK 7.5%, Netherlands 6%, Sweden 5.9% (2002) |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark) |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2000 est.) | 0.2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production, geothermal power; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 73.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2000 est.) | 5.2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | 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) | Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 20 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 13,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice) |
Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) | 159,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services 37% (1996) | agriculture 5.1%, fishing and fish processing 11.8%, manufacturing 12.9%, construction 10.7%, other services 59.5% (1999) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 63% forests and woodland: 8% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 28% forest and woodlands: 1% other: 70% (2001 est.) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken |
Legal system | based on civil law system | civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Independence Party 33.7%, Social Democratic Alliance 31.0%, Progressive Party 17.7%, Left-Green Alliance 8.8%, Liberal Party 7.4%; seats by party - Independence Party 22, Social Democratic Alliance 20, Progressive Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 5, Liberal Party 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
61 years male: 57.43 years female: 64.76 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.8 years
male: 77.54 years female: 82.22 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.9% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,459 GRT/8,865 DWT ships by type: container 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,500 GRT/5,000 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik |
Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | no regular armed forces; Police, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | $0 |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,173,500 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 71,157 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
952,218 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 62,552 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
48,292 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | Independence Day, 17 June (1944) |
Nationality | noun:
Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen |
noun: Icelander(s)
adjective: Icelandic |
Natural hazards | NA | earthquakes and volcanic activity |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt | fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite |
Net migration rate | -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries |
Independence Party or IP [David ODDSSON]; Left-Green Alliance or LGP [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Gudjon KRISTJANSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Halldor ASGRIMSSON]; Social Democratic Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List)or SDA [Ossur SKARPHEDINSSON]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Sighvatur BJORGVINSSON]; Women's List or WL [Kristin ASTGEIRSDOTTIR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,603,244 (July 2001 est.) | 280,798 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 58% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.85% (2001 est.) | 0.49% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Turkmenbashi | Akureyri, Hornafjordhur, Isafjordhur, Keflavik, Raufarhofn, Reykjavik, Seydhisfjordhur, Straumsvik, Vesttmannaeyjar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.225 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,187 km broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | Evangelical Lutheran 87.1%, other Protestant 4.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, other 7.1% (2002) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: extensive domestic service
domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 363,000 (1997) | 196,984 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,300 (1998) | 248,131 (221,231 GSM, 26,900 NMT) (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) | 14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west | mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords |
Total fertility rate | 3.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.98 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 2.8% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan | none |