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Compare Turkmenistan (2004) - Taiwan (2004)
Compare Turkmenistan (2004) z Taiwan (2004)
| Turkmenistan (2004) | Taiwan (2004) | |
 |  | |
| 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) |
includes central island of Taiwan plus numerous smaller islands near central island and off coast of China's Fujian Province; Taiwan is divided into 18 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities (chuan-shih, singular and plural)
counties: Chang-hua, Chia-i, Hsin-chu, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung county, Kin-men, Lien-chiang, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan, T'ai-pei county, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin municipalities: Chia-i, Chi-lung, Hsin-chu, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan special municipalities: Kao-hsiung city, T'ai-pei city note: Taiwan generally uses Wade-Giles system for romanization; special municipality of Taipei adopted standard pinyin romanization for street and place names within city boundaries, other local authorities have selected a variety of romanization systems |
| 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: 19.9% (male 2,359,467; female 2,167,438)
15-64 years: 70.7% (male 8,149,231; female 7,924,774) 65 years and over: 9.4% (male 1,091,473; female 1,057,455) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk, fish |
| Airports | 69 (2003 est.) | 40 (2003 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: 37
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 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: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: negl. |
total: 35,980 sq km
land: 32,260 sq km water: 3,720 sq km note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined |
| 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. | In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the native population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform. |
| Birth rate | 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.7 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.477 billion
expenditures: $3.908 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $56.58 billion
expenditures: $69.21 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.4 billion (2003 est.) |
| Capital | Ashgabat | Taipei |
| Climate | subtropical desert | tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year |
| Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 1,566.3 km |
| Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | 25 December 1946, amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2000 |
| 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: Taiwan local long form: none local short form: T'ai-wan former: Formosa |
| Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | new Taiwan dollar (TWD) |
| Death rate | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) | $53.44 billion (2003) |
| 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; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162 |
| 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; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12 other US cities |
| 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 | involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003, China and Taiwan asserted claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) with increased media coverage and protest actions |
| 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. | Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Agriculture contributes 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. While Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia, China has become the largest destination for investment and has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn, combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration and bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first year of negative growth ever recorded. Unemployment also reached record levels. Output recovered moderately in 2002 in the face of continued global slowdown, fragile consumer confidence, and bad bank loans. Growing economic ties with China are a dominant long-term factor. Exports to China - mainly parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed countries - drove Taiwan's economic recovery in 2002. Although the SARS epidemic, Typhoon Maemi, corporate scandals, and a drop in consumer spending caused GDP growth to contract to 3.2% in 2003, increasingly strong export performance kept Taiwan's economy on track, and the government expects Taiwan's economy to grow 4.1% in 2004. |
| Electricity - consumption | 8.509 billion kWh (2001) | 140.5 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 980 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 20 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 10.18 billion kWh (2001) | 151.1 billion kWh (2001) |
| 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: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m |
| Environment - current issues | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification | air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal |
| 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: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status |
| Ethnic groups | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) | Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2% |
| 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 Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 34.418 (2003), 34.575 (2002), 33.8 (2001), 33.09 (2000), 31.6 (1999) |
| 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 CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000) and Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)
head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) Frank HSIEH (since 1 February 2005) and Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) YEH Chu-lan (since 20 May 2004) cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 20 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier election results: CHEN Shui-bian re-elected president; percent of vote - CHEN Shui-bian (DPP) 50.1%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 49.9% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) | computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002) |
| Exports - partners | Ukraine 39.2%, Italy 18.1%, Iran 14.7%, Turkey 6.5% (2003) | China 25.3%, US 20.5%, Japan 9.2% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June (up to FY98/99); 1 July 1999 - 31 December 2000 for FY00; calendar year (after FY00) |
| 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 with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $27.88 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $528.6 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 46.2% services: 28.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 30.3% services: 67.9% (2003) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 23.1% (2003 est.) | 3.2% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 23 30 N, 121 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 adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait |
| Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | 3 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
total: 35,931 km
paved: 31,583 km (including 608 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,348 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 6.7%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.) |
| Illicit drugs | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan | regional transit point for heroin and methamphetamine; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; renewal of domestic methamphetamine production is a problem |
| Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002) |
| Imports - partners | Russia 21.5%, Ukraine 15.3%, Turkey 9.4%, UAE 7.6%, Germany 4.2%, China 4.2% (2003) | Japan 24.2%, US 16.1%, China 7.1%, South Korea 6.9% (2002) |
| Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2003 est.) | 8.4% (2003) |
| Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing |
| 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: 6.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.5% (2003 est.) | -0.3% (2003 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 | APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IOC, WCL, WTO |
| Irrigated land | 17,500 sq km (2003 est.) | NA sq km |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan) |
| Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) | 10.08 million (2003) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) | agriculture 7.5%, industry 35%, services 57% (2001 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: 24%
permanent crops: 1% other: 75% (2001) |
| Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on civil law system; 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 Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 elected by popular vote, 41 elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected from overseas Chinese constituencies on basis of proportion of island-wide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms) and unicameral National Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body; delegates nominated by parties and elected by proportional representation six to nine months after Legislative Yuan calls to amend Constitution, impeach president, or change national borders)
note: the number of seats in the legislature may be reduced from 225 to 113 beginning with the election in 2007 if a proposed constitutional amendment is approved elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 11 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2007) according to proposed constitutional amendment election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP 38%, KMT 35%, PFP 15%, TSU 8%, other parties and independents 4%; seats by party - DPP 89, KMT 79, PFP 34, TSU 12, other parties 7, independents 4 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.29 years
male: 57.87 years female: 64.88 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 77.06 years
male: 74.31 years female: 80.08 years (2004 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: 96.1% (2003) |
| Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China |
| Map references | Asia | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 130 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,417,768 GRT/5,617,318 DWT
by type: bulk 36, cargo 23, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 3, container 37, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: Cuba 1, Hong Kong 4 registered in other countries: 457 (2004 est.) |
| Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | Army, Navy (including Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | $7,611.7 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | 2.7% (2003) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,272,436 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 6,556,484 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,031,806 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 4,992,737 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 55,866 (2004 est.) | males: 182,677 (2004 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911) |
| Nationality | noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
noun: Chinese/Taiwanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese/Taiwanese |
| Natural hazards | NA | earthquakes and typhoons |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt | small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos |
| Net migration rate | -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) | condensate 25 km; gas 435 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 |
Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [SU Tseng-chang, chairman]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [LIEN Chan, chairman]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu), chairman]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [SU Chin-chiang, chairman]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or CNP |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate on the island's national identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that Taiwan currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building |
| Population | 4,863,169 (July 2004 est.) | 22,749,838 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 34.4% (2001 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.81% (2004 est.) | 0.64% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Turkmenbasy | Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999) |
| Railways | total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003) |
total: 2,544 km
narrow gauge: 1,108 km 1.067-m gauge (519 km electrified) note: 1,400 km .762-m gauge (belonging to the Taiwan Sugar Corporation and to the Taiwan Forestry Bureau used to haul products and limited numbers of passengers (2003) |
| Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5% |
| 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: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 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: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need
domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized international: country code - 886; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine cables to Japan (Okinawa), Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe (1999) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 374,000 (2002) | 13.355 million (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 52,000 (2004) | 25,089,600 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) | 29 (plus two 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 | eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west |
| Total fertility rate | 3.45 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.57 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA | 5% (2003 est.) |
| Waterways | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) | - |
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