Turkmenistan (2003) | Croatia (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular), 1 city (grad -singular)*: Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.8% (male 899,954; female 855,293)
15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,386,606; female 1,438,333) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 74,958; female 120,400) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
18.16% (male 403,722; female 383,151) 15-64 years: 66.61% (male 1,452,872; female 1,434,086) 65 years and over: 15.23% (male 245,727; female 414,584) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soy beans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | 76 (2002) | 67 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total:
22 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 8 (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 (2002) |
total:
45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
56,542 sq km land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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. | In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. |
Birth rate | 28.02 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 12.82 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $588.6 million
expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$6 billion expenditures: $4.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Ashgabat | Zagreb |
Climate | subtropical desert | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | adopted on 22 December 1990 |
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 Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | kuna (HRK) |
Death rate | 8.87 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 11.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) | $9.9 billion (December 1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON
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 Lawrence G. ROSSIN embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, 100000 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 455-55-00 FAX: [385] (1) 455-85-85 |
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 Ivan GRDESIC chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | prolonged regional drought creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; Turkmenistan has not committed to follow either Iran or the other littoral states in the division of the Caspian Sea seabed and water column; ICJ decision expected to resolve dispute with Azerbaijan over sovereignty over Caspian oilfields; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan is underway - maritime boundary not resolved | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights; progress with Slovenia on discussions of adjustments to land boundary, but problems remain in defining maritime boundary in Gulf of Piran; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP) |
Economic aid - recipient | $16 million from the US (2001) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth-largest producer. 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 1998-2003, 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 by 38% in 2003, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall 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. In any event, GDP increased substantially in 2003 because of a strong recovery in agriculture and rapid industrial growth. | Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Stepped-up Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help bolster the economy. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor. Massive unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions, to measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.509 billion kWh (2001) | 13.643 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 980 million kWh (2001) | 1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 20 million kWh (2001) | 4.45 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 10.18 billion kWh (2001) | 10.96 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
40.89% hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0.11% (1999) |
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:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 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 metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife |
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-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) | Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Bosniak 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others 6.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (2002), 5,200 (2001), 5,200 (2000), 5,200 (1999), 4,890.17 (1998); note - the official exchange rate has not varied for the last four years; the unofficial rate has fluctuated slightly, hovering around 21,000 manats to the dollar | kuna per US dollar - 8.089 (January 2001), 8.277 (2000), 7.112 (1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.101 (1997), 5.434 (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 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 Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ivica RACAN (since 27 January 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Goran GRANIC (since 27 January 2000), Zeljka ANTUNOVIC (since 27 January 2000), Slavko LINIC (since 27 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 7 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister nominated by the president in line with the balance of power in the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC elected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen BUDISA (HSLS) 44% note: government coalition - SDP, HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS, IDS |
Exports | NA (2001) | $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | Ukraine 49.7%, Italy 18%, Iran 13.1%, Turkey 6.2% (2002) | Italy 18%, Germany 15.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.8%, Slovenia 10.6%, Austria 6.2% (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 | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $31.34 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $24.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27%
industry: 50% services: 23% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 19% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 21.1% (2002 est.) | 3.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 45 10 N, 15 30 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 | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
total:
27,840 km paved: 23,497 km (including 330 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,343 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (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 | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; a minor transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | $7.8 billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Russia 19.8%, Turkey 12.8%, Ukraine 11.7%, UAE 10%, US 7.5%, China 6%, Germany 5.7%, Iran 4.4% (2002) | Germany 18.5%, Italy 15.9%, Russia 8.6%, Slovenia 7.9%, Austria 7.1% (1999) |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 1.7% (2000) |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 73.17 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
7.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2002 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, 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, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 17,500 sq km (2003 est.) | 30 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives |
Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) | 1.68 million (October 2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) | 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 |
total:
2,028 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Yugoslavia 266 km, Slovenia 501 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.47%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.39% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
21% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 38% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on civil law system |
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 at least yearly) 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 Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Counties or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats, 63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve four-year terms; note - House of Counties to be abolished in 2001) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (151 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Counties - last held 13 April 1997; House of Representatives - last held 2-3 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: House of Counties - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 42, HSLS/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note - in some districts certain parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 46, SDP 44, HSLS 24, HSS 17, HSP/HKDU 5, IDS 4, HNS 2, independents 4, minority representatives 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.19 years
male: 57.72 years female: 64.84 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
73.9 years male: 70.28 years female: 77.73 years (2001 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: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT
ships by type: combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,853 GRT/969,739 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 5, container 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | $575 million (2000) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | 3.8% (2000) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,239,737 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,085,877 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,005,686 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
859,621 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 53,825 (2003 est.) | males:
30,037 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | Republic Day/Statehood Day, 30 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
noun:
Croat(s) adjective: Croatian |
Natural hazards | NA | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 13.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 6,634 km; oil 853 km (2003) | crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992) |
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; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHUMRADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow |
Alliance of Croatian Coast and Mountains Department or PGS [Luciano SUSANJ]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko VESELICA]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Dobroslav PARAGA]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
note: the Social Democratic Party or SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS formed a coalition as did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which together defeated the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000 lower house parliamentary election |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,775,544 (July 2003 est.) | 4,334,142 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34.4% (2001 est.) | 4% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.82% (2003 est.) | 1.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Turkmenbasy | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.51 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2002) |
total:
2,296 km standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8% (1991) |
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 (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
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: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 363,000 (1997) | 1.488 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,300 (1998) | 187,000 (yearend 1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) |
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 | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
Total fertility rate | 3.5 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.94 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 22% (October 2000) |
Waterways | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan, as is the man-made Kara Kum canal | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |