##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Turkmenistan (2004) - South Africa (2007)
Compare Turkmenistan (2004) z South Africa (2007)
| Turkmenistan (2004) | South Africa (2007) | |
 |  | |
| 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; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North-West, Western Cape |
| 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: 29.1% (male 6,447,623/female 6,370,909)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 14,040,210/female 14,761,179) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 917,227/female 1,460,680) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products |
| Airports | 69 (2003 est.) | 728 (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: 146
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 67 under 914 m: 13 (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: 582
1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 300 under 914 m: 248 (2007) |
| Area | total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: negl. |
total: 1,219,912 sq km
land: 1,219,912 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island) |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| 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. | After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule. |
| Birth rate | 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 17.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.477 billion
expenditures: $3.908 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $69.22 billion
expenditures: $67.78 billion (2006 est.) |
| Capital | Ashgabat | name: Pretoria (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 25 42 S, 28 13 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital) |
| Climate | subtropical desert | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights |
| Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 2,798 km |
| Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | 10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 4 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases |
| 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 South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA |
| Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | - |
| Death rate | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 22.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) | $31.84 billion (2006 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 Eric BOST
embassy: 877 Pretorius Street, Pretoria mailing address: P. O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg |
| 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 Welile Augustine NHLAPO
chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Chicago, 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 | South Africa has placed military along the border to apprehend the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing economic dysfunction and political persecution; as of January 2007, South Africa also supports large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (33,000), Somalia (20,000), Burundi (6,500), and other states in Africa (26,000); managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa |
| Economic aid - recipient | $16 million from the US (2001) | $700 million (2005) |
| 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. | South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world; and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative but pragmatic focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income. |
| Electricity - consumption | 8.509 billion kWh (2001) | 210.7 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 980 million kWh (2001) | 13.42 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 20 million kWh (2001) | 11.08 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 10.18 billion kWh (2001) | 228.3 billion kWh (2005) |
| 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 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 | lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification |
| 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 Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) | black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (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 | rand per US dollar - 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002) |
| 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: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA (since 23 June 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA (since 23 June 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 24 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) |
| Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) | gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment |
| Exports - partners | Ukraine 39.2%, Italy 18.1%, Iran 14.7%, Turkey 6.5% (2003) | Japan 12.1%, US 11.8%, UK 9%, Germany 7.6%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| 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 | two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes |
| 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: 2.7%
industry: 30.9% services: 66.4% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 23.1% (2003 est.) | 5% (2006 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 29 00 S, 24 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 | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland |
| Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | 1 (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%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 44.7% (2000) |
| Illicit drugs | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan | transshipment center for heroin, hashish, and cocaine, as well as a major cultivator of marijuana in its own right; cocaine and heroin consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries, but increasingly producing its own synthetic drugs for domestic consumption; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region and the size of the South African economy |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 398,000 bbl/day (2006) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Russia 21.5%, Ukraine 15.3%, Turkey 9.4%, UAE 7.6%, Germany 4.2%, China 4.2% (2003) | Germany 12.6%, China 10%, US 7.6%, Japan 6.6%, Saudi Arabia 5.3%, UK 5% (2006) |
| Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2003 est.) | 7.1% (2006 est.) |
| Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair |
| 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: 59.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 62.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 55.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.5% (2003 est.) | 4.6% (2006 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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Irrigated land | 17,500 sq km (2003 est.) | 14,980 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts |
| Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) | 16.96 million economically active (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) | agriculture: 30%
industry: 25% services: 45% (1999 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
total: 4,862 km
border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km |
| Land use | arable land: 3.72%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001) |
arable land: 12.1%
permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.11% (2005) |
| Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census) |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Roman-Dutch 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 consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 4 February 1997, the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution
elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held on 14 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 69.7%, DA 12.4%, IFP 7%, UDM 2.3%, NNP 1.7%, ACDP 1.6%, other 5.3%; seats by party - ANC 279, DA 50, IFP 28, UDM 9, NNP 7, ACDP 6, other 21; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.29 years
male: 57.87 years female: 64.88 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 42.45 years
male: 43.21 years female: 41.66 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: 86.4% male: 87% female: 85.7% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
| Map references | Asia | Africa |
| Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
| 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: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 28,722 GRT/32,226 DWT
by type: container 1, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Denmark 1) registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 1, Seychelles 1, UK 4, unknown 1) (2007) |
| Military - note | - | with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete |
| Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Joint Support Command, Military Intelligence, Military Health Service (2007) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | 1.7% (2006) |
| 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) | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) |
| Nationality | noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African |
| Natural hazards | NA | prolonged droughts |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas |
| Net migration rate | -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) | condensate 100 km; gas 1,062 km; oil 966 km; refined products 1,354 km (2006) |
| 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 |
African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI]; Democratic Alliance or DA [Helen ZILLE]; Freedom Front Plus or FF+ [Pieter MULDER]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI]; New National Party or NNP; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Motsoko PHEKO]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]; note - COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance with the ANC |
| Population | 4,863,169 (July 2004 est.) | 43,997,828
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 34.4% (2001 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.81% (2004 est.) | -0.46% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Turkmenbasy | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003) |
total: 20,872 km
narrow gauge: 20,436 km 1.065-m gauge (8,931 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (2006) |
| Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.628 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 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: the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa
domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international: country code - 27; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 374,000 (2002) | 4.729 million (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 52,000 (2004) | 39.66 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) | 556 (plus 144 network 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 | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain |
| Total fertility rate | 3.45 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.16 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA | 25.5% (2006 est.) |
| Waterways | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) | - |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.