Turkmenistan (2004) | New Zealand (2002) | |
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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) |
16 regions; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, West Coast |
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: 22.2% (male 443,921; female 422,804)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,299,973; female 1,290,097) 65 years and over: 11.5% (male 196,640; female 254,602) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 69 (2003 est.) | 106 (2001) |
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: 46
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
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: 67
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 39 (2002) |
Area | total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: negl. |
total: 268,680 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | about the size of Colorado |
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. | The Polynesian Maoris reached New Zealand in about the 800 AD. The British proclaimed their sovereignty over the islands in 1840 and began settlement that same year. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. |
Birth rate | 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.23 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.477 billion
expenditures: $3.908 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $16.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01) |
Capital | Ashgabat | Wellington |
Climate | subtropical desert | temperate with sharp regional contrasts |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 15,134 km |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) | $31.1 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependent areas | - | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau |
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 Charles J. SWINDELLS
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, FPO AP 96531-1001 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 478-1701 consulate(s) general: Auckland |
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 L. John WOOD
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, 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 | territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $99.7 million (FY00/01) |
Economic aid - recipient | $16 million from the US (2001) | - |
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. | Since 1984 the government has accomplished major economic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. While per capita incomes have been rising, however, they remain below the level of the four largest EU economies, and there is some government concern that New Zealand is not closing the gap. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the New Zealand economy has been relatively resilient, achieving about 3% growth in 2001, but the New Zealand business cycle tends to lag the US cycle by about six months, so the worst of the downturn may not hit until mid-2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.509 billion kWh (2001) | 33.315 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 980 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 20 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 10.18 billion kWh (2001) | 35.823 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 27%
hydro: 66% nuclear: 0% other: 7% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Cook 3,764 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside |
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-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) | New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4% |
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 | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA September 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | NA (2001) | $14.2 billion (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) | dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery |
Exports - partners | Ukraine 39.2%, Italy 18.1%, Iran 14.7%, Turkey 6.5% (2003) | Australia 20.4%, US 14.5%, Japan 13.5%, UK 5.4%, South Korea, China (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $27.88 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $75.4 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 46.2% services: 28.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 23% services: 69% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 23.1% (2003 est.) | 3.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 41 00 S, 174 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 | about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world |
Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
total: 92,200 km
paved: 53,568 km (including at least 144 km of expressways) unpaved: 38,632 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 0%
highest 10%: 30% (1991 est.) |
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) | $12.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics |
Imports - partners | Russia 21.5%, Ukraine 15.3%, Turkey 9.4%, UAE 7.6%, Germany 4.2%, China 4.2% (2003) | Australia 22.5%, US 17.5%, Japan 11%, UK 4%, China, Germany (2000) |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 26 September 1907 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2003 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining |
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.) |
6.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.5% (2003 est.) | 2.6% (2001 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, ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 36 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 17,500 sq km (2003 est.) | 2,850 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | High Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) | 1.92 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) | services 65%, industry 25%, agriculture 10% (1995) (1995) |
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: 5.8%
permanent crops: 6.44% other: 87.76% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | English (official), Maori (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 27 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NZLP 52, NP 27, NZFP 13, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 9, UF 8, other 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.29 years
male: 57.87 years female: 64.88 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 78.15 years
male: 75.17 years female: 81.27 years (2002 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% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | - | continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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) totaling 68,427 GRT/106,627 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | $515.6 million (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | 1.2% (FY2001/02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,272,436 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,010,316 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,031,806 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 850,185 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 55,866 (2004 est.) | males: 26,480 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
noun: New Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand |
Natural hazards | NA | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt | natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone |
Net migration rate | -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) | petroleum products 160 km; natural gas 1,000 km; liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 150 km |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; 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 |
ACT New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Alliance (a coalition of the New Labor Party, Democratic Party, New Zealand Liberal Party, and Mana Motuhake) [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [William (Bill) English]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; United Future or UF [leader NA]; United New Zealand or UNZ [Peter DUNNE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,863,169 (July 2004 est.) | 3,908,037 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34.4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.81% (2004 est.) | 1.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Turkmenbasy | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.75 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003) |
total: 3,908 km
narrow gauge: 3,908 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986) |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 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: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA international: submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 374,000 (2002) | 1.92 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 52,000 (2004) | 2.2 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) | 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (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 | predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 3.45 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 5.5% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) | 1,609 km
note: of little importance in satisfying total transportation requirements |