Turkmenistan (2002) | Niue (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dasoguz Welayaty, Labap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.3% (male 895,536; female 853,301)
15-64 years: 58.6% (male 1,350,142; female 1,399,879) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 72,784; female 117,321) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 76 (2001) | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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 (2002) |
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Area | total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,166 in 2006), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 28.27 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $588.6 million
expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) (1999 est.) |
revenues: $15.07 million
expenditures: $16.33 million; including capital expenditures of $123,700 |
Capital | Ashgabat | name: Alofi
geographic coordinates: 19 01 S, 169 55 W time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical desert | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 64 km |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | - |
Death rate | 8.92 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $2.3 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Laura E. KENNEDY
embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; multilaterally-accepted Caspian Sea seabed and maritime boundaries have not yet been established in the Caspian - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan await ICJ decision to resolve sovereignty dispute over oil fields in the Caspian Sea | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $16 million from the US (2001) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
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 1998-2001, Turkmenistan has 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 have risen sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented reforms. However, Turkmenistan's cooperation with the international community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may foreshadow a change in the atmosphere for foreign investment, aid, and technological support. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of emigration to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although the International Banking Repeal Act of 2002 resulted in the termination of all offshore banking licenses. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about US$2 million. Niue suffered a devastating typhoon in January 2004, which decimated nascent economic programs. While in the process of rebuilding, Niue has been dependent on foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.708 billion kWh (2000) | 2.79 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 900 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 9.256 billion kWh (2000) | 3 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | 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 |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 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 | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) | Niuen 78.2%, Pacific islander 10.2%, European 4.5%, mixed 3.9%, Asian 0.2%, unspecified 3% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2002-January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001) |
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 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 of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 12 May 2005 (next to be held May 2008) election results: Young VIVIAN reelected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 85%, O'Love JACOBSEN (independent) 15% |
Exports | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Ukraine 27%, Iran 14%, Turkey 11%, Italy 9%, Switzerland 5% (1999) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27%
industry: 45% services: 28% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 23.5%
industry: 26.9% services: 49.5% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 10% (2001 est.) | 6.2% |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | 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 | one of world's largest coral islands |
Highways | total: 22,000 km
paved: 18,000 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 4,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 32% (1998) (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; small-scale government-run eradication of illicit crops; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan | - |
Imports | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | Turkey 17%, Ukraine 12%, Russia 11%, UAE 8%, France 6% (1999) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2004) |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 73.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | 4% (2005) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, FAO, IFAD, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 18,000 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) (1996) | NA 663 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) | note: most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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: 3.47%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.39% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 11.54%
permanent crops: 15.38% other: 73.08% (2005) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on civil law system | English common law; note - Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; 6 elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 30 April 2005 (next to be held April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.1 years
male: 57.57 years female: 64.8 years (2002 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,600 GRT/5,000 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,206,920 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 979,282 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 48,292 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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 |
Alliance of Independents or AI; Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,688,963 (July 2002 est.) | 2,166 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.84% (2002 est.) | 0.01% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Turkmenbasy | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.225 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2001) |
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Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 61.1%, Latter-Day Saints 8.8%, Roman Catholic 7.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, other 8.4%, unspecified 8.7%, none 1.9% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
NA |
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 |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 363,000 (1997) | 1,100 est (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,300 (1998) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) | 1 (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 | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 3.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 12% NA% |
Waterways | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan | - |