Turkmenistan (2001) | Solomon Islands (2001) | |
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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) |
7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western; note - there may be two new provinces of Choiseul (Lauru) and Rennell/Bellona and the administrative unit of Honiara may have been abolished |
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:
43.79% (male 107,229; female 103,162) 15-64 years: 53.15% (male 129,315; female 126,021) 65 years and over: 3.06% (male 7,190; female 7,525) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | 76 (2000 est.) | 31 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
63 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 41 (2000 est.) |
total:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Current issues include government deficits, deforestation, and malaria control. |
Birth rate | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 34.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$588.6 million expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$147 million expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Ashgabat | Honiara |
Climate | subtropical desert | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 5,313 km |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | 7 July 1978 |
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:
none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) |
Death rate | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) | $152.4 million (1998) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands |
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Jeremiah MANELE chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925 |
Disputes - international | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $27.2 million (1995) | $47 million (1999 est.), mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ |
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. | The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to a continuing economic downslide. Deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) by tankers have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.785 billion kWh (1999) | 27.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 8.371 billion kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.94% hydro: 0.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
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 | deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying |
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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% |
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) | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 5.0968 (November 2000), 5.0864 (2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.7169 (1997), 3.5664 (1996) |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Father John LAPLI (since NA 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE (since 1 July 2000); Assistant Prime Minister Nathaniel WAENA (since 1 July 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Allan KEMAKEZA (since 1 July 2000); note - Prime Minister Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU was forced to resign his position in June 2000 following the armed takeover of the capital by elements supporting the opposition parties; Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE, who had been opposition leader, was then elected prime minister at a sitting of National Parliament on 30 June 2000 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament |
Exports | $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $165 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) | timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra |
Exports - partners | Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan | Japan 35.5%, other Asian countries 47.3% (1999) |
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 | divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
25% industry: 43% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
50% industry: 3.5% services: 46.5% (1995) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 16% (2000 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 8 00 S, 159 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | - |
Highways | total:
22,000 km paved: 18,000 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 4,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
total:
1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.) |
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.) | $152 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan | Australia 38.5%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.6%, NZ 6.2% (1999) |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 7 July 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
Infant mortality rate | 73.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2000 est.) | 10% (1999 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) | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 13,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) | 26,842 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services 37% (1996) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 88% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on civil law system | English common law |
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 National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 August 1997 (next to be held by August 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6, other 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
61 years male: 57.43 years female: 64.76 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
71.55 years male: 69.12 years female: 74.1 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM 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.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,173,500 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
952,218 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
48,292 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) |
Nationality | noun:
Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen |
noun:
Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
Net migration rate | -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 |
there are two main coalitions - Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation, and Peace or CNURP and Alliance for Change; the CNURP took power on 30 June 2000, it comprises members of the Liberal Party, People's Alliance Party, and the United Party, as well as a number of independents; the Alliance for Change, represents the former government and now is the opposition; in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation or GNUR [leader NA]; Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; National Action Party of Solomon Islands or NAPSI [Francis SAEMALA]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [George LEPPING]; People's Progressive Party [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; United Party or UP [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,603,244 (July 2001 est.) | 480,442 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 58% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.85% (2001 est.) | 2.98% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Turkmenbashi | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.225 million (1997) | 57,000 (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% | Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 363,000 (1997) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,300 (1998) | 658 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) | 0 (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 rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 3.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.65 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan | none |