Turkmenistan (2004) | Bahrain (2005) | |
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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) |
12 municipalities (manatiq, singular - mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
note: all municipalities administered from Manama |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.2% (male 904,627; female 857,601)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 1,423,836; female 1,477,224) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 76,670; female 123,211) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.8% (male 96,807/female 94,863)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 275,792/female 197,424) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 12,078/female 11,381) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish |
Airports | 69 (2003 est.) | 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 45
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 36 (2003 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: negl. |
total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. 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 were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. | Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The new amir, installed in 1999, has pushed economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In February 2001, Bahraini voters approved a referendum on the National Action Charter - the centerpiece of the amir's political liberalization program. In February 2002, Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa proclaimed himself king. In October 2002, Bahrainis elected members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted bicameral legislature, the National Assembly. |
Birth rate | 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 18.1 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.477 billion
expenditures: $3.908 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $3.825 billion
expenditures: $3.262 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Ashgabat | Manama |
Climate | subtropical desert | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 161 km |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | new constitution 14 February 2002 |
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: Kingdom of Bahrain
conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun |
Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | - |
Death rate | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.08 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) | $6.215 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON
embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14 |
chief of mission: Ambassador William T. MONROE
embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 1724-2700 FAX: [973] 1725-6242 (consular) |
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 Nasir al-BALUSHI
chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-1111 FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | prolonged regional drought created water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reached an agreement on improving water usage along the Amu Darya in 2004; delimitation of Caspian seabed remains unresolved | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $16 million from the US (2001) | $150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait (2002) |
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 at one time the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. 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 particular, the 20% rate of GDP growth is a guess. | In well-to-do Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. A large share of exports consist of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. In September 2004 Bahrain signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States - the first such agreement undertaken by a Gulf state. Both countries must ratify the FTA before it is enforced. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.509 billion kWh (2001) | 6.379 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 980 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 20 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 10.18 billion kWh (2001) | 6.86 billion kWh (2002) |
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: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 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 | desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources, groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) | Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (2003), 5,200 (2002), 5,200 (2001), 5,200 (2000), 5,200 (1999);note - the official exchange rate has not varied for the last six years; the unofficial rate has fluctuated slightly, hovering around 21,000 manats to the dollar | Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2004), 0.376 (2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376 (2001), 0.376 (2000) |
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: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 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 in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council 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: King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969)
head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman al-Khalifa (since NA 1971) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) | petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles |
Exports - partners | Ukraine 39.2%, Italy 18.1%, Iran 14.7%, Turkey 6.5% (2003) | Saudi Arabia 3%, US 2.9%, UAE 2.2% (2004) |
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, the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states, with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $27.88 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 46.2% services: 28.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 41% services: 58.4% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,200 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 23.1% (2003 est.) | 5.6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 26 00 N, 50 33 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 | close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean |
Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
total: 3,459 km
paved: 2,653 km unpaved: 806 km (2002) |
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 Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | crude oil, machinery, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Russia 21.5%, Ukraine 15.3%, Turkey 9.4%, UAE 7.6%, Germany 4.2%, China 4.2% (2003) | Saudi Arabia 32.4%, Japan 7.3%, Germany 6.1%, US 5.6%, UK 5.4%, France 4.8% (2004) |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 15 August 1971 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2003 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 73.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 17.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.5% (2003 est.) | 2.1% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 17,500 sq km (2003 est.) | 50 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | High Civil Appeals Court |
Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) | 370,000
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) | agriculture 1%, industry, commerce, and services 79%, government 20% (1997 est.) |
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: 3.72%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001) |
arable land: 2.82%
permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2001) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Islamic law and English common law |
Legislative branch | under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of which are elected by popular vote and some of which are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government |
bicameral Parliament consists of Shura Council (40 members appointed by the King) and House of Deputies (40 members directly elected to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next election to be held NA 2006) election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - independents 21, Sunni Islamists 9, other 10 note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14 February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25 December 2002 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.29 years
male: 57.87 years female: 64.88 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 74.23 years
male: 71.76 years female: 76.78 years (2005 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: 89.1% male: 91.9% female: 85% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT
by type: combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 2, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 2 (Kuwait 2) (2005) |
Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Navy, Air Force, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | $628.9 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | 6.3% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,272,436 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,031,806 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 55,866 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection |
Nationality | noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts; dust storms |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt | oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls |
Net migration rate | -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) | gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004) |
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 SHIKHMURADOV 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; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe |
political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97, demanding the return of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active |
Population | 4,863,169 (July 2004 est.) | 688,345
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34.4% (2001 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.81% (2004 est.) | 1.51% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Turkmenbasy | Mina' Salman, Sitrah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 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 (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.4 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female total population: 1.27 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: poorly developed
domestic: NA international: country code - 993; 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: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 374,000 (2002) | 185,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 52,000 (2004) | 443,100 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) | 4 (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 low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment |
Total fertility rate | 3.45 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.63 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 15% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) | - |