Compare Turkmenistan (2007) - Romania (2006)

Compare Turkmenistan (2007) z Romania (2006)

	Turkmenistan (2007)	Romania (2006)

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)	41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea
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: 15.7% (male 1,799,072/female 1,708,030) 15-64 years: 69.6% (male 7,724,368/female 7,797,065) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 1,347,392/female 1,927,625) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, grain; livestock	wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep
Airports	28 (2007)	61 (2006)
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: 25 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007)	total: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 23 (2006)
Area	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL	total: 237,500 sq km land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than California	slightly smaller than Oregon
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.	The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of its independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories - most notably Transylvania - following the conflict. In 1940, Romania allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Romania joined NATO in March of 2004 and completed accession talks with the European Union (EU) in December 2004; it is scheduled to accede to the EU in 2007.
Birth rate	25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.7 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.434 billion expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $29.97 billion expenditures: $31.37 billion; including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (2005 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)	name: Bucharest geographic coordinates: 44 26 N, 26 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate	subtropical desert	temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms
Coastline	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)	225 km
Constitution	adopted 18 May 1992	8 December 1991; revision effective 29 October 2003
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: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania
Death rate	6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	11.77 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)	$35.68 billion (2005 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 Nicholas F. TAUBMAN embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, US Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 200-3300 FAX: [40] (21) 200-3442 information office: Cluj-Napoca
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Daniela GITMAN chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851, 4852 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
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	Romania and Ukraine have taken their dispute over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania also opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea; Hungary amended the status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, to which Romania had objected
Economic aid - recipient	$28.25 million from the US (2005)	$3.3 billion in committed EU pre-accession aid (2004-06)
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.	Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption have kept GDP growth above 4%. An IMF standby agreement, signed in 2001, has been accompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The IMF Board approved Romania's completion of the standby agreement in October 2003, the first time Romania has successfully concluded an IMF agreement since the 1989 revolution. In July 2004, the executive board of the IMF approved a 24-month standby agreement for $367 million. IMF concerns about Romania's tax policy and budget deficit led to a breakdown of this agreement in 2005. In the past, the IMF has criticized the government's fiscal, wage, and monetary policies. Meanwhile, macroeconomic gains have only recently started to spur creation of a middle class and address Romania's widespread poverty, while corruption and red tape continue to handicap the business environment. Romanian government confidence in continuing disinflation was underscored by its currency revaluation in 2005, making 10,000 "old" lei equal 1 "new" leu.
Electricity - consumption	7.602 billion kWh (2005)	37.5 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	2.918 billion kWh (2005)	3.3 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	380 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)	57 billion kWh (2004)
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: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 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	soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, 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)	Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002 census)
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	lei per US dollar - 3 (2005), 3 (2004), 3 (2003), 3 (2002), 3 (2001)
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 Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu-TARICEANU (since 29 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 November 2004, with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004 (next to be held November-December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the Parliament election results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, Adrian NASTASE 48.77%
Exports	117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles	textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products
Exports - partners	Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)	Italy 19.4%, Germany 14%, Turkey 7.9%, France 7.4%, UK 5.5%, Hungary 4.1%, US 4.1% (2005)
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	three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 17.7% industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 10.1% industry: 35% services: 54.9% (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.)	4.1% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	40 00 N, 60 00 E	46 00 N, 25 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	controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine
Heliports	1 (2007)	1 (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)	lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 27.6% (2003)
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 Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering which occurs via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos
Imports	NA bbl/day	163,000 bbl/day bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs	machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, basic metals, agricultural products
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)	Italy 15.5%, Germany 14%, Russia 8.3%, France 6.8%, Turkey 4.9%, China 4.1% (2005)
Independence	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)	9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)
Industrial production growth rate	22% (2003 est.)	1.9% (2005 est.)
Industries	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing	textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining
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: 25.5 deaths/1,000 live births male: 28.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	11.5% (2006 est.)	9% (2005)
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	ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ESA (cooperating state), EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	18,000 sq km (2003)	30,770 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)	Supreme Court of Justice (comprised of 11 judges appointed for three-year terms by the president in consultation with the Superior Council of Magistrates, which is comprised of the minister of justice, the prosecutor general, two civil society representatives appointed by the Senate, and 14 judges and prosecutors elected by their peers); a separate body, the Constitutional Court, validates elections and makes decisions regarding the constitutionality of laws, treaties, ordinances, and internal rules of the Parliament; it is comprised of nine members serving nine-year terms, with three members each appointed by the president, the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies
Labor force	2.32 million (2003 est.)	9.31 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 48.2% industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 31.6% industry: 30.7% services: 37.7% (2004)
Land boundaries	total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km	total: 2,508 km border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km
Land use	arable land: 4.51% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005)	arable land: 39.49% permanent crops: 1.92% other: 58.59% (2005)
Languages	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%	Romanian (official), Hungarian, German
Legal system	based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic
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 Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to be held in November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 44, PNL 30, PD 20, PRM 20, PC 11, UDMR 10, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 36.8%, PNL-PD 31.5%, PRM 13%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 111, PNL 66, PD 45, PRM 34, ex-PRM (Ciontu Group) 12, UDMR 22, PC 20, PIN (GUSA Group) 3, independent 1, ethnic minorities 18
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.3 years male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)	total population: 71.63 years male: 68.14 years female: 75.34 years (2006 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: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (2003 est.)
Location	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine
Map references	Asia	Europe
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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: 23 ships (1000 GRT or over) 198,767 GRT/246,732 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 15, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Italy 1) registered in other countries: 48 (Georgia 11, North Korea 11, Malta 9, Panama 9, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Syria 3, unknown 4) (2006)
Military branches	Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007)	Land Forces, Naval Forces, Romanian Air Force (Fortele Aerienne Romane, FAR), Special Operations (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$985 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.4% (2005 est.)	2.47% (2002)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)	Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918)
Nationality	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmenistani	noun: Romanian(s) adjective: Romanian
Natural hazards	NA	earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt	petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower
Net migration rate	-3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006)	gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 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	Conservative Party or PC [Dan VOICULESCU], formerly Humanist Party or PUR; Democratic Party or PD [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin Popescu-TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Mircea Dan GEOANA], formerly Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	various human rights and professional associations
Population	5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)	22,303,552 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	27% (2002)	At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers 12% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	1.617% (2007 est.)	-0.12% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)	AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)	total: 11,385 km standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge (3,888 km electrified) broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2005)
Religions	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%	Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 86.8%, Protestant (various denominations including Reformate and Pentecostal) 7.5%, Roman Catholic 4.7%, other (mostly Muslim) and unspecified 0.9%, none 0.1% (2002 census)
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: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 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: rapidly improving domestic and international service, especially in wireless telephony domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; liberalization in 2003 is transforming telecommunications; there has been 20% growth in fixed lines with a penetration rate of 58% of households; nation-wide wireless service is growing even faster with four major providers and a penetration rate of 32% international: country code - 40; satellite earth station - 10 (Intelsat 4); digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	495,000 (2006)	4.391 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	105,000 (2005)	13.354 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004)	48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995)
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	central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps
Total fertility rate	3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.37 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	60% (2004 est.)	7.7% (2005 est.)
Waterways	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)	1,731 km note: includes 1,075 km on Danube River, 524 km on secondary branches, and 132 km on canals (2005)

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