Turkmenistan (2007) | Macau (2003) | |
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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) |
none (special administrative region of China) |
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: 20.9% (male 51,078; female 47,118)
15-64 years: 71.8% (male 159,500; female 178,043) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 13,930; female 20,234) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | vegetables, livestock |
Airports | 28 (2007) | 1 (2002) |
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: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL |
total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987, Macau became the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 20 December 1999. China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be practiced in Macau and that Macau will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years. |
Birth rate | 25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.07 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.434 billion
expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $1.41 billion
expenditures: $1.19 billion, including capital expenditures of $194 million (2002) |
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) |
- |
Climate | subtropical desert | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 41 km |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
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: Macau Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Macau local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese) |
Currency | - | pataca (MOP) |
Death rate | 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) | $255 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | - | special administrative region of China |
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 |
the US has no offices in Macau; US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong |
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 |
none (special administrative region of China) |
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 | none |
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. | Macau's economy four years after reversion to China remains one of the most open in the world. The territory's net exports of goods and services account for 39% of GDP with tourism and apparel exports as the mainstays. Although the territory was hit hard by the 1998 Asian financial crisis and the global downturn in 2001, its economy grew an estimated 9.5% in 2002. A rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors because of China's easing of restrictions on travel drove the recovery. The budget also returned to surplus in 2002 because of the surge in visitors from China and a hike in taxes on gambling profits, which generated about 63% of government revenue. The liberalization of Macao's gambling monopoly may contribute to GDP growth, as the three companies awarded gambling licenses have pledged to invest $2.2 billion - roughly 33% of GDP - in the territory. Much of Macau's textile industry may move to the mainland as the Multi-Fiber Agreement is phased out. The territory may have to rely more on gambling and trade-related services to generate growth. Growth fell to 4% in 2003, according to early government forecasts, with the drop in large measure due to concerns over the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). |
Electricity - consumption | 7.602 billion kWh (2005) | 1.688 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 2.918 billion kWh (2005) | 1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 193 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 1.611 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
Environment - current issues | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other |
Exchange rates | Turkmen manat per US$ - 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 |
patacas per US dollar - 8.03 (2002), 8.03 (2001), 8.03 (2000), 7.99 (1999), 7.98 (1998) |
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: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of all five government secretaries, three legislators, and two businessmen elections: chief executive chosen by a 200-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms |
Exports | 117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles | clothing, textiles, footwear, cement, machines, and parts |
Exports - partners | Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006) | US 48.6%, China 15.5%, Germany 7.4%, Hong Kong 5.8%, UK 5.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | light green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars: one large in center of arc and four smaller |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $8.6 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.7%
industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 12% services: 87% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $18,500 (2002 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.) |
9.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 22 10 N, 113 33 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 | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 271 km
paved: 271 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
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 | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs | clothing, textiles, yarn, foodstuffs, fuel, automobiles, capital goods |
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) | China 41.7%, Hong Kong 14.5%, Japan 6.7%, Taiwan 6.6%, South Korea 5%, France 4.3%, US 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | none (special administrative region of China) |
Industrial production growth rate | 22% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys |
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: 4.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.5% (2006 est.) | -2.6% (2002 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 | ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (sub-bureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 18,000 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region |
Labor force | 2.32 million (2003 est.) | 214,000 (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 48.2%
industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.) |
restaurants and hotels 12%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 68% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.51%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) |
Legal system | based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Portuguese civil law system |
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 |
unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (27 seats; 10 elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by political bloc - Entertainment Industry 3, pro-democracy 2, pro-Beijing Labor Union 2, pro-Beijing Neighborhood Association 2, pro-business 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.3 years
male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 81.87 years
male: 79.05 years female: 84.82 years (2003 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: 94.5% male: 97.2% female: 92% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
Map references | Asia | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | not specified |
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) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007) | no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (2005 est.) | - |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 130,228 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 71,826 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 20 December 1999 is celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day |
Nationality | noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmenistani |
noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 |
there are no formal political parties, however, there are civic associations that, for purposes of legislative voting, join together to form political blocs |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Catholic Church [Domingos LAM, bishop]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO, managing director]; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong, leader] |
Population | 5,097,028 (July 2007 est.) | 469,903 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 27% (2002) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.617% (2007 est.) | 1.72% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Macau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) |
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: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | direct election 18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies |
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: fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: NA international: HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 495,000 (2006) | 176,902 (November 2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 105,000 (2005) | 158,251 (November 2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004) | 1 (2003) |
Terrain | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west | generally flat |
Total fertility rate | 3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.32 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2004 est.) | 6.3% (2002) |
Waterways | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006) | none |