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Compare Turkmenistan (2002) - Russia (2003)

Compare Turkmenistan (2002) z Russia (2003)

 Turkmenistan (2002)Russia (2003)
 TurkmenistanRussia
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)
49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics* (respublik, singular - respublika), 10 autonomous okrugs**(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays*** (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod)****, and 1 autonomous oblast*****(avtonomnaya oblast'); Adygeya (Maykop)*, Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)**, Altay (Gorno-Altaysk)*, Altayskiy (Barnaul)***, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa)*, Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude)*, Chechnya (Groznyy)*, Chelyabinskaya, Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')**, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary)*, Dagestan (Makhachkala)*, Evenkiyskiy (Tura)**, Ingushetiya (Nazran')*, Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik)*, Kaliningradskaya, Kalmykiya (Elista)*, Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk)*, Kareliya (Petrozavodsk)*, Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy***, Khakasiya (Abakan)*, Khanty-Mansiyskiy (Khanty-Mansiysk)**, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar)*, Koryakskiy (Palana)**, Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy***, Krasnoyarskiy***, Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola)*, Mordoviya (Saransk)*, Moskovskaya, Moskva (Moscow)****, Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar)**, Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar)**, Primorskiy (Vladivostok)***, Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutiya)*, Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)****, Saratovskaya, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz)*, Smolenskaya, Stavropol'skiy***, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya, Tatarstan (Kazan')*, Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)**, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl)*, Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)*, Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy)**, Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya, Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)**, Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya*****; note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya' or 'skiy,' the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should be added to the place name


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: 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: 16% (male 11,815,360; female 11,335,715)


15-64 years: 70.4% (male 49,399,322; female 52,367,194)


65 years and over: 13.6% (male 6,394,411; female 13,214,276) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, grain; livestock grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk
Airports 76 (2001) 2,743 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 13


2,438 to 3,047 m: 9


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002)
total: 471


over 3,047 m: 56


2,438 to 3,047 m: 178


1,524 to 2,437 m: 76


914 to 1,523 m: 69


under 914 m: 92 (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 (2002)
total: 2,272


over 3,047 m: 28


2,438 to 3,047 m: 118


1,524 to 2,437 m: 204


914 to 1,523 m: 324


under 914 m: 1,598 (2002)
Area total: 488,100 sq km


land: 488,100 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 17,075,200 sq km


land: 16,995,800 sq km


water: 79,400 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than California approximately 1.8 times the size of the US
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. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the 300-year old Romanov Dynasty. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.
Birth rate 28.27 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 10.09 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $588.6 million


expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) (1999 est.)
revenues: $70 billion


expenditures: $62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Capital Ashgabat Moscow
Climate subtropical desert ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast
Coastline 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) 37,653 km
Constitution adopted 18 May 1992 adopted 12 December 1993
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: Russian Federation


conventional short form: Russia


local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya


local short form: Rossiya


former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Currency Turkmen manat (TMM) Russian ruble (RUR)
Death rate 8.92 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $2.3 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) $153.5 billion (yearend 2002)
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW


embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow


mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721


telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000


FAX: [7] (095) 728-5090


consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV


chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708


FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735


consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
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 China continues to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun River as part of the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation; the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group identified by the Russians as the "Southern Kurils" and by Japan as the "Northern Territories" occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; boundary with Georgia has been largely delimited but not demarcated with several small, strategic segments remaining in dispute and OSCE observers monitoring volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed treaties have been signed with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea but no resolution on dividing the water column among any of the littoral states; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia; the Russian Parliament refuses to consider ratification of the boundary treaties with Estonia and Latvia, but in May 2003, ratified land and maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, which ratified the 1997 treaty in 1999, legalizing limits of former Soviet republic borders; discussions are still ongoing among Russia, Lithuania and the EU concerning a simplified transit document for residents of the Kaliningrad coastal exclave to transit through Lithuania to Russia; land delimitation with Ukraine is ratified, but maritime regime of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait is unresolved; delimitation with Kazakhstan is scheduled for completion in 2003; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea
Economic aid - recipient $16 million from the US (2001) in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million in non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million
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. A decade after the implosion of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which were able within 3 to 5 years to overcome the initial production declines that accompanied the launch of market reforms - Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of many of the basic foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but the government's stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor business climate made it vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy subsequently has rebounded, growing by an average of more than 6% annually in 1999-2002 on the back of higher oil prices and the 60% depreciation of the ruble in 1998. These GDP numbers, along with a renewed government effort to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet serious problems persist. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to maintain vigorous economic growth. Other problems include a weak banking system, a poor business climate that discourages both domestic and foreign investors, corruption, local and regional government intervention in the courts, and widespread lack of trust in institutions. In 2003 President PUTIN further tightened his control over the "oligarchs," especially in the realm of political expression.
Electricity - consumption 7.708 billion kWh (2000) 773 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 900 million kWh (2000) 21.16 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) 7 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 9.256 billion kWh (2000) 846.5 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
fossil fuel: 64.3%


hydro: 20.5%


nuclear: 14.8%


other: 0.4% (2001)
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: Caspian Sea -28 m


highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 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 air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides
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, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Persistent Organic Pollutants
Ethnic groups Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belarusian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% (1989)
Exchange rates Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2002-January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997) Russian rubles per US dollar - 31.27 (2002), 29.17 (2001), 28.13 (2000), 24.62 (1999), 9.71 (1998)


note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles
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: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)


head of government: Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV (since 7 May 2000); Deputy Premiers Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999), Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Boris Sergeyevich ALESHIN (since 24 April 2003), Galina Nikolayevna KARELOVA (since 24 April 2003), Vladimir Anatolyevich YAKOVLEV (since 16 June 2003)


cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president


note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held March 2004); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma


election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8%
Exports $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Exports - partners Ukraine 27%, Iran 14%, Turkey 11%, Italy 9%, Switzerland 5% (1999) Germany 7.5%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands 6.7%, China 6.3%, US 6.1%, Ukraine 5.5%, Belarus 5.4%, Switzerland 5% (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 three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
GDP purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $1.409 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 27%


industry: 45%


services: 28% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 5.8%


industry: 34.6%


services: 59.6% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 10% (2001 est.) 4.3% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 40 00 N, 60 00 E 60 00 N, 100 00 E
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 largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount Elbrus is Europe's tallest peak
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)
total: 532,393 km


paved: 358,833 km


unpaved: 173,560 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 32% (1998) (1998)
lowest 10%: 5.9%


highest 10%: 47% (2001)
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 limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; heroin increasingly popular in domestic market
Imports $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products
Imports - partners Turkey 17%, Ukraine 12%, Russia 11%, UAE 8%, France 6% (1999) Germany 14.3%, Belarus 8.9%, Ukraine 7.1%, US 6.4%, China 5.2%, Italy 4.8%, Kazakhstan 4.3%, France 4.1% (2002)
Independence 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 3.7% (2002 est.)
Industries natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts
Infant mortality rate 73.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 19.51 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 21.53 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10% (2001 est.) 15% (2002 est.)
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) APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, G- 8, GEF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) NA 300 (June 2000)
Irrigated land 18,000 sq km (1998 est.) 46,630 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president
Labor force 2.34 million (1996) (1996) 71.8 million (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) agriculture 12.3%, industry 22.7%, services 65% (2002 est.)
Land boundaries total: 3,736 km


border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
total: 19,990 km


border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Land use arable land: 3.47%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 96.39% (1998 est.)
arable land: 7.46%


permanent crops: 0.11%


other: 92.43% (1998 est.)
Languages Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% Russian, other
Legal system based on civil law system based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
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
bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; 225 seats elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and 225 seats from single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: State Duma - last held 7 December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2007)


election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - United Russia 37.1%, KPRF 12.7%, LDPR 11.6%, Motherland 9.1%; seats by party - United Russia 222, KPRF 53, LDPR 38, Motherland 37, People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, Union of Rightist Forces 2, other 7, independents 65, repeat election required 3
Life expectancy at birth total population: 61.1 years


male: 57.57 years


female: 64.8 years (2002 est.)
total population: 67.66 years


male: 62.46 years


female: 73.11 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: 99.6%


male: 99.7%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Map references Asia Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 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.)
total: 933 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,495,122 GRT/5,490,103 DWT


ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 22, cargo 553, chemical tanker 12, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 36, container 30, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 38, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 167, refrigerated cargo 21, roll on/roll off 20, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 9, Denmark 1, Estonia 4, Greece 3, Honduras 1, Latvia 4, Lithuania 3, Moldova 3, Netherlands 1, South Korea 1, Turkey 18, Turkmenistan 2, Ukraine 10, UK 5, US 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces; Airborne troops, Strategic Rocket Forces, and Military Space Forces are classified as independent combat arms, not subordinate to any of the three branches
Military expenditures - dollar figure $90 million (FY99) $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 3.4% (FY99) NA%
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,206,920 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 36 million (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 979,282 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 24 million (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2002 est.) 18 years of age (2003)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 48,292 (2002 est.) males: 1.243 million (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 27 October (1991) Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
Nationality noun: Turkmen(s)


adjective: Turkmen
noun: Russian(s)


adjective: Russian
Natural hazards NA permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia
Natural resources petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber


note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
Net migration rate -0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km gas 135,771 km; oil 70,833 km; refined products 11,536 km; water 23 km (2003)
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
Communist Party of the Russian Federation or KPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Motherland Bloc (Rodina) [Sergey GLAZYEV and Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; People's Party [Gennadiy RAYKOV]; Union of Rightist Forces or SPS [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; United Russia [Boris Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 4,688,963 (July 2002 est.) 144,526,278 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 34% (2001 est.) 25% (37622 est.)
Population growth rate 1.84% (2002 est.) -0.3% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Turkmenbasy Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', De-Kastri, Indigirskiy, Kaliningrad, Kandalaksha, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lazarev, Mago, Mezen', Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Onega, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Rostov, Shakhtersk, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Taganrog, Tuapse, Uglegorsk, Vanino, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg
Radio broadcast stations AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998)
Radios 1.225 million (1997) -
Railways total: 2,440 km


broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2001)
total: 87,157 km


broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island)


note:: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrrier lines serve industries (2002)
Religions Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
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.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female


total population: 0.88 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: the telephone system has undergone significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied


domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density


international: Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems
Telephones - main lines in use 363,000 (1997) 30 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4,300 (1998) 19 million (January 2003)
Television broadcast stations 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) 7,306 (1998)
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 broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
Total fertility rate 3.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.33 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 7.9% plus considerable underemployment (2002)
Waterways the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan 95,900 km (total routes in general use)


note: routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet - 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids - 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes - 16,900 km (January 1994)
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