Compare Turkmenistan (2007) - Belize (2005)

Compare Turkmenistan (2007) z Belize (2005)

	Turkmenistan (2007)	Belize (2005)

Administrative divisions	5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat) and 1 independent city: Ahal Welayaty (Anew), 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)	6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo
Age structure	0-14 years: 34.7% (male 900,718/female 866,930) 15-64 years: 60.9% (male 1,537,638/female 1,567,049) 65 years and over: 4.4% (male 97,454/female 127,239) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 40.1% (male 57,114/female 54,877) 15-64 years: 56.4% (male 79,694/female 77,881) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,768/female 5,123) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, grain; livestock	bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments
Airports	28 (2007)	43 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 22 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)	total: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007)	total: 38 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL	total: 22,966 sq km land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than California	slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Background	Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. 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 to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. President for Life Saparmurat NIYAZOV died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a former NIYAZOV aide, emerged as the country's new president.	Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. The country remains plagued by high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increasing urban crime.
Birth rate	25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	29.34 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.434 billion expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $244.5 million expenditures: $300 million, including capital expenditures of $70 million (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) geographic coordinates: 37 57 N, 58 23 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Belmopan
Climate	subtropical desert	tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)
Coastline	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)	386 km
Constitution	adopted 18 May 1992	21 September 1981
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: Belize former: British Honduras
Death rate	6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)	$1.362 billion (June 2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard E. HOAGLAND embassy: No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 744000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070 telephone: [993] (12) 35-00-45 FAX: [993] (12) 39-26-14	chief of mission: Ambassador Russell F. FREEMAN embassy: 29 Gabourel Lane, Belize City mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Belize City telephone: [501] 227-7161 through 7163 FAX: [501] 2-30802
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Meret Bairamovich ORAZOW chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697	chief of mission: Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
Disputes - international	cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005, but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled with Azerbaijan, Iran, and Kazakhstan due to Turkmenistan's indecision over how to allocate the sea's waters and seabed	Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the largely uninhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; OAS is attempting to revive the 2002 failed Differendum that created a small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and substantial US-UK financial package
Economic aid - recipient	$28.25 million from the US (2005)	NA
Economy - overview	Turkmenistan is a 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; formerly it was the world's 10th-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to an almost 50% 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. From 1998-2005, 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 an average of 15% per year from 2003-06, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. In 2006, Ashgabat raised its natural gas export prices to its main customer, Russia, from $66 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, a poor educational system, government misuse of oil and gas revenues, and Ashgabat's unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. President BERDIMUHAMEDOW's election platform included plans to build a gas line to China, to complete the AmuDarya railroad bridge in Lebap province, and to create special border trade zones in southern Balkan province - a hint that the new post-NIYAZOV government will work to create a friendlier foreign investment environment.	In this small, essentially private enterprise economy the tourism industry is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments. The government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to sturdy GDP growth averaging nearly 6% in 1999-2004. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.
Electricity - consumption	7.602 billion kWh (2005)	108.8 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	2.918 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)	117 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m) highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 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; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)	mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%
Exchange rates	Turkmen manat per US$ - 11,100 (2006) official rate note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar	Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 11 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW elected president; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW 89.2%	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice 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 the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Exports	117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)	NA
Exports - commodities	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles	sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood
Exports - partners	Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)	US 37.2%, UK 26.8%, Jamaica 4.6% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five tribal guls (designs used in producing carpets) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon representing Islam with five white stars representing the regions or velayats of Turkmenistan appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe	blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 17.7% industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 17.7% industry: 15% services: 67.3% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	IMF estimate: 6% note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 est.)	3.5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	40 00 N, 60 00 E	17 15 N, 88 45 W
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	only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 2,872 km paved: 488 km unpaved: 2,384 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	major transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco
Imports - partners	UAE 15.5%, Turkey 11.1%, Ukraine 9.1%, Russia 9%, Germany 7.8%, Iran 7.6%, China 6.4%, US 4.5% (2006)	US 30.1%, Mexico 12%, Guatemala 7.4%, Cuba 7.2%, China 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2004)
Independence	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)	21 September 1981 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	22% (2003 est.)	4.6% (1999)
Industries	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing	garment production, food processing, tourism, construction
Infant mortality rate	total: 53.49 deaths/1,000 live births male: 57.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 25.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 28.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	11.5% (2006 est.)	2.9% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	18,000 sq km (2003)	30 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)	Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister)
Labor force	2.32 million (2003 est.)	90,000 note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 48.2% industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.)	agriculture 27%, industry 18%, services 55% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km	total: 516 km border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
Land use	arable land: 4.51% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005)	arable land: 2.85% permanent crops: 1.71% other: 95.44% (2001)
Languages	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%	English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole
Legal system	based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	English law
Legislative branch	two parliamentary bodies, a People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some elected by popular vote and some appointed; meets at least yearly) and a National Assembly or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003 (next to be held in December 2008); Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008) 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 the president note: in late 2003, a 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 National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 members appointed by the governor general - six on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and one each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; members are appointed for five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.3 years male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)	total population: 68.44 years male: 66.54 years female: 70.44 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1999 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 94.1% male: 94.1% female: 94.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan	Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Map references	Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for negotiating a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,870 GRT/25,801 DWT by type: cargo 4, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2007)	total: 295 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,015,270 GRT/1,336,890 DWT by type: bulk carrier 25, cargo 207, chemical tanker 9, container 6, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 20, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 142 (Australia 2, Belgium 1, China 50, Cuba 1, Cyprus 1, Estonia 9, Germany 4, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 3, Italy 2, Japan 5, Latvia 4, Malaysia 1, Nigeria 1, Pakistan 1, Poland 2, Russia 23, Singapore 5, South Korea 6, Spain 3, Switzerland 1, Turkey 2, Ukraine 4, UAE 3, United States 2) (2005)
Military branches	Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007)	Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$18 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.4% (2005 est.)	2% (2003)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)	Independence Day, 21 September (1981)
Nationality	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmenistani	noun: Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean
Natural hazards	NA	frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south)
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt	arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate	-3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT 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 National Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan (NDMT) and the United Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (UDPT); NDMT 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; UDPT is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based in Moscow	People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW, party leader; Douglas SINGH, party chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Adele CATZIM]
Population	5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)	279,457 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	27% (2002)	33% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate	1.617% (2007 est.)	2.33% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Belize City
Radio broadcast stations	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)	AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)	-
Religions	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%	Roman Catholic 49.6%, Protestant 27% (Pentecostal 7.4%, Anglican 5.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%, Mennonite 4.1%, Methodist 3.5%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5%), other 14%, none 9.4% (2000)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.981 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.766 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: poorly developed domestic: Turkmenistan's telecommunications network remains woefully underdeveloped; Turkmentelekom, in cooperation with foreign investors, is planning to upgrade the country's telephone exchanges and install a new digital switching system 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 (2006)	general assessment: above-average system domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: country code - 501; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	495,000 (2006)	33,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	105,000 (2005)	60,400 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004)	2 (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	flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Total fertility rate	3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.68 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	60% (2004 est.)	12.9% (2003)
Waterways	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)	825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2004)

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