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Compare Turkmenistan (2004) - Korea, North (2008)

Compare Turkmenistan (2004) z Korea, North (2008)

 Turkmenistan (2004)Korea, North (2008)
 TurkmenistanKorea, North
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)
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)


provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)


municipalities: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin-Sonbong), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
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: 23.3% (male 2,758,826/female 2,679,093)


15-64 years: 68.1% (male 7,852,282/female 8,024,429)


65 years and over: 8.5% (male 709,599/female 1,277,496) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, grain; livestock rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 69 (2003 est.) 77 (2007)
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: 36


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 22


1,524 to 2,437 m: 8


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2007)
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: 41


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 13


under 914 m: 7 (2007)
Area total: 488,100 sq km


land: 488,100 sq km


water: negl.
total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than California slightly smaller than Mississippi
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. An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of approximately 1 million. North Korea's history of regional military provocations, proliferation of military-related items, and long-range missile development - as well as its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional armed forces - are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Beginning in August 2003, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US have participated in the Six-Party Talks aimed at resolving the stalemate over the DPRK's nuclear programs. North Korea pulled out of the talks in November 2005. It test-fired ballistic missiles in July 2006 and conducted a nuclear test in October 2006. North Korea returned to the Six-Party Talks in December 2006 and subsequently signed two agreements on denuclearization. The 13 February 2007 Initial Actions Agreement shut down the North's nuclear facilities at Yongbyon in July 2007. In the 3 October 2007 Second Phase Actions Agreement, Pyongyang pledged to disable those facilities and provide a correct and complete declaration of its nuclear programs. Under the supervision of US nuclear experts, North Korean personnel completed a number of agreed-upon disablement actions at the three core facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear complex by the end of 2007. North Korea also began the discharge of spent fuel rods in December 2007, but it did not provide a declaration of its nuclear programs by the end of the year.
Birth rate 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 15.06 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $3.477 billion


expenditures: $3.908 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
revenues: $2.88 billion $NA


expenditures: $2.98 billion $NA
Capital Ashgabat name: Pyongyang


geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E


time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate subtropical desert temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) 2,495 km
Constitution adopted 18 May 1992 adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
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: Democratic People's Republic of Korea


conventional short form: North Korea


local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk


local short form: Choson


abbreviation: DPRK
Currency Turkmen manat (TMM) -
Death rate 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 7.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) $12.5 billion (2001 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
none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
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; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in 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 risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)
Economic aid - recipient $16 million from the US (2001) $372 million


note: approximately 65,000 metric tons in food aid through the World Food Program appeals in 2007, plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations (2007 est.)
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. North Korea, one of the world's most centrally directed and least open economies, faces chronic economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel from pre-1990 levels. Due in part to severe summer flooding followed by dry weather conditions in the fall of 2006, the nation suffered its 13th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel. During the summer of 2007, severe flooding again occurred. Large-scale international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape widespread starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Since 2002, the government has formalized an arrangement whereby private "farmers' markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the government tried to reverse some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. By December 2005, the government terminated most international humanitarian assistance operations in North Korea (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and restricted the activities of remaining international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. External food aid now comes primarily from China and South Korea in the form of grants and long-term concessional loans. During the October 2007 summit, South Korea also agreed to develop some of North Korea's infrastructure and natural resources and light industry. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption 8.509 billion kWh (2001) 18.57 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 980 million kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2007)
Electricity - imports 20 million kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2007)
Electricity - production 10.18 billion kWh (2001) 22.5 billion kWh (2006 est.)
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: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 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 water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
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 official: North Korean won per US dollar - 140 (2007), 141 (2006), 170 (December 2004), market: North Korean won per US dollar - 2,500-3,000 (December 2006)
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: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam president of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials


head of government: Premier KIM Yong Il (since 11 April 2007); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003), THAE Jong Su (since 16 October 2007)


cabinet: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA


elections: last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008)


election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed
Exports NA (2001) 0 bbl/day (2006)
Exports - commodities gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products
Exports - partners Ukraine 39.2%, Italy 18.1%, Iran 14.7%, Turkey 6.5% (2003) South Korea 32%, China 29%, Thailand 9% (2006)
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 horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
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: 23.3%


industry: 43.1%


services: 33.6% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 23.1% (2003 est.) -1.1% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 40 00 N, 60 00 E 40 00 N, 127 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 strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports 1 (2003 est.) 23 (2007)
Highways total: 24,000 km


paved: 19,488 km


unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2.6%


highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003
Imports NA (2001) 10,520 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain
Imports - partners Russia 21.5%, Ukraine 15.3%, Turkey 9.4%, UAE 7.6%, Germany 4.2%, China 4.2% (2003) China 27%, South Korea 16%, Thailand 9%, Russia 7% (2006)
Independence 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate 14% (2003 est.) NA%
Industries natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; 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: 22.56 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 20.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 9.5% (2003 est.) NA%
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 ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Irrigated land 17,500 sq km (2003 est.) 14,600 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force 2.34 million (1996) 20 million


note: estimates vary widely (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) agriculture: 37%


industry and services: 63% (2004 est.)
Land boundaries total: 3,736 km


border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
total: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land: 3.72%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 96.14% (2001)
arable land: 22.4%


permanent crops: 1.66%


other: 75.94% (2005)
Languages Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% Korean
Legal system based on civil law system based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Life expectancy at birth total population: 61.29 years


male: 57.87 years


female: 64.88 years (2004 est.)
total population: 71.92 years


male: 69.18 years


female: 74.8 years (2007 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%


male: 99%


female: 99%
Location Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Asia Asia
Maritime claims - territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
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: 171 ships (1000 GRT or over) 854,268 GRT/1,225,453 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 131, chemical tanker 1, container 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 29 (Egypt 1, India 1, Israel 1, Lebanon 3, Lithuania 1, Pakistan 1, Romania 6, Russia 1, Syria 7, Turkey 1, UAE 4, Yemen 2)


registered in other countries: (unknown 1) (2007)
Military branches Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard North Korean People's Army: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $90 million (FY99) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 3.4% (FY99) NA
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) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun: Turkmen(s)


adjective: Turkmen
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards NA late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) oil 154 km (2007)
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
major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control)
Political pressure groups and leaders NA none
Population 4,863,169 (July 2004 est.) 23,301,725 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 34.4% (2001 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 1.81% (2004 est.) 0.785% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Turkmenbasy -
Radio broadcast stations AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station; North Korea has a "national intercom" cable radio station wired throughout the country that is a significant source of information for the average North Korean citizen; it is wired into most residences and workplaces and carries news and commentary), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2006)
Railways total: 2,440 km


broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003)
total: 5,235 km


standard gauge: 5,235 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2006)
Religions Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)


note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.555 male(s)/female


total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 17 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: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Telephones - main lines in use 374,000 (2002) 980,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 52,000 (2004) -
Television broadcast stations 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)
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 hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 3.45 children born/woman (2004 est.) 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA NA%
Waterways 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)
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