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Compare Turkmenistan (2007) - Russia (2007)

Compare Turkmenistan (2007) z Russia (2007)

 Turkmenistan (2007)Russia (2007)
 TurkmenistanRussia
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)
47 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respublik, singular - respublika), 6 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 8 krays (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (goroda, singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast (avtonomnaya oblast')


oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'


republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)


autonomous okrugs: Aga Buryat (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Khanty-Mansi, Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Ust'-Orda Buryat (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)


krays: Altay (Barnaul), Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm', Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'


federal cities: Moscow (Moskva), Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg)


autonomous oblast: Yevrey [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
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: 14.6% (male 10,563,567/female 10,021,316)


15-64 years: 71.1% (male 48,412,612/female 52,061,604)


65 years and over: 14.4% (male 6,360,038/female 13,958,615) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, grain; livestock grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk
Airports 28 (2007) 1,260 (2007)
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: 601


over 3,047 m: 51


2,438 to 3,047 m: 197


1,524 to 2,437 m: 129


914 to 1,523 m: 102


under 914 m: 122 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 6


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


under 914 m: 4 (2007)
total: 659


over 3,047 m: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 13


1,524 to 2,437 m: 69


914 to 1,523 m: 89


under 914 m: 484 (2007)
Area total: 488,100 sq km


land: 488,100 sq km


water: NEGL
total: 17,075,200 sq km


land: 16,995,800 sq km


water: 79,400 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than California approximately 1.8 times the size of the US
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. Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. In tandem with its prudent management of Russia?s windfall energy wealth, which has helped the country rebound from the economic collapse of the 1990?s, the Kremlin in recent years has overseen a recentralization of power that has undermined democratic institutions. Russia has severely disabled the Chechen rebel movement, although sporadic violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.
Birth rate 25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 10.92 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $1.434 billion


expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)
revenues: $230.7 billion


expenditures: $157.4 billion (2006 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: Moscow


geographic coordinates: 55 45 N, 37 35 E


time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October


note: Russia is divided into 11 time zones
Climate subtropical desert ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast
Coastline 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) 37,653 km
Constitution adopted 18 May 1992 adopted 12 December 1993
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: Russian Federation


conventional short form: Russia


local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya


local short form: Rossiya


former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Death rate 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 16.04 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) $282.3 billion (2006 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 William J. BURNS


embassy: Bolshoy Deviatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow


mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721


telephone: [7] (495) 728-5000


FAX: [7] (495) 728-5090


consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
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 Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV


chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708


FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735


consulate(s) general: Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
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 China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with the 2004 Agreement, ending their centuries-long border disputes; the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting all but small, strategic segments of the land boundary and the maritime boundary; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed equidistance boundaries in the Caspian seabed but the littoral states have no consensus on dividing the water column; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia (Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following the Second World War but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands; in May 2005, Russia recalled its signatures to the 1996 border agreements with Estonia (1996) and Latvia (1997), when the two Baltic states announced issuance of unilateral declarations referencing Soviet occupation and ensuing territorial losses; Russia demands better treatment of ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still conforming, as an EU member state with an EU external border, where strict Schengen border rules apply; preparations for the demarcation delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine have commenced; the dispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions; Kazakhstan and Russia boundary delimitation was ratified on November 2005 and field demarcation should commence in 2007; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Bering Sea Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US
Economic aid - recipient $28.25 million from the US (2005) in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million in non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million (2004)
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. Russia ended 2006 with its eighth straight year of growth, averaging 6.7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble initially drove this growth, since 2003 consumer demand and, more recently, investment have played a significant role. Over the last five years, fixed capital investments have averaged real gains greater than 10% per year and personal incomes have achieved real gains more than 12% per year. During this time, poverty has declined steadily and the middle class has continued to expand. Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis. The federal budget has run surpluses since 2001 and ended 2006 with a surplus of 9% of GDP. Over the past several years, Russia has used its stabilization fund based on oil taxes to prepay all Soviet-era sovereign debt to Paris Club creditors and the IMF. Foreign debt has decreased to 39% of GDP, mainly due to decreasing state debt, although commercial debt to foreigners has risen strongly. Oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from $12 billion in 1999 to some $315 billion at yearend 2006, the third largest reserves in the world. During PUTIN's first administration, a number of important reforms were implemented in the areas of tax, banking, labor, and land codes. These achievements have raised business and investor confidence in Russia's economic prospects, with foreign direct investment rising from $14.6 billion in 2005 to an estimated $30 billion in 2006. In 2006, Russia's GDP grew 6.6%, while inflation was below 10% for the first time in the past 10 years. Growth was driven by non-tradable services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports. Russia has signed a bilateral market access agreement with the US as a prelude to possible WTO entry, and its companies are involved in global merger and acquisition activity in the oil and gas, metals, and telecom sectors. Despite Russia's recent success, serious problems persist. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports and 32% of government revenues, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world commodity prices. Russia's manufacturing base is dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based economic growth. A 20% appreciation of the ruble over 2005-06 has made attracting additional investment more difficult. The banking system, while increasing consumer lending and growing at a high rate, is still small relative to the banking sectors of Russia's emerging market peers. Political uncertainties ahead of the elections, corruption, and widespread lack of trust in institutions continue to dampen domestic and foreign investor sentiment. From 2002 to 2005, the government bureaucracy increased by 17% - 10.9% in 2005 alone. President PUTIN has granted more influence to forces within his government that desire to reassert state control over the economy. Russia has made little progress in building the rule of law, the bedrock of a modern market economy. The government has promised additional legislation to make its intellectual property protection WTO-consistent, but enforcement remains problematic.
Electricity - consumption 7.602 billion kWh (2005) 779.4 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 2.918 billion kWh (2005) 22.52 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 10.14 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.) 904.4 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)


highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m


highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 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 from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides
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-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94
Ethnic groups Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (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
Russian rubles per US dollar - 27.2 (2006), 28.284 (2005), 28.814 (2004), 30.692 (2003), 31.349 (2002)
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 Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president 31 December 1999-6 May 2000, president since 7 May 2000)


head of government: Premier Viktor Alekseyevich ZUBKOV (since 14 September 2007); First Deputy Premiers Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV (since 14 November 2005) and Sergey Borisovich IVANOV (since 15 February 2007), Deputy Premiers Aleksandr Dmitriyevich ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004), Sergey Yevgenyevich NARYSHKIN (since 15 February 2007), and Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 24 September 2007)


cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president


note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma


election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN reelected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 71.2%, Nikolay KHARITONOV 13.7%, other (no candidate above 5%) 15.1%
Exports 117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) 7 million bbl/day (2005)
Exports - commodities gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Exports - partners Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006) Netherlands 12.3%, Italy 8.6%, Germany 8.4%, China 5.4%, Ukraine 5.1%, Turkey 4.9%, Switzerland 4.1% (2006)
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 horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 17.7%


industry: 39.2%


services: 43.2% (2006 est.)
agriculture: 4.9%


industry: 39.3%


services: 55.8% (2006 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.)
6.7% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 40 00 N, 60 00 E 60 00 N, 100 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 largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El'brus is Europe's tallest peak
Heliports 1 (2007) 47 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2.6%


highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
lowest 10%: 2.4%


highest 10%: 30.6% (2002)
Illicit drugs transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; major consumer of opiates
Imports NA bbl/day 100,000 bbl/day (2005)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal 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) Germany 13.9%, China 9.7%, Ukraine 7%, Japan 5.9%, South Korea 5.1%, US 4.8%, France 4.4%, Italy 4.3% (2006)
Independence 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 22% (2003 est.) 4.8% (2006 est.)
Industries natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; defense industries including radar, missile production, and advanced electronic components, shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts
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: 11.06 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 12.6 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 9.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 11.5% (2006 est.) 9.7% (2006 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 APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, G- 8, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC
Irrigated land 18,000 sq km (2003) 46,000 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Supreme Arbitration Court; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president
Labor force 2.32 million (2003 est.) 74.26 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 48.2%


industry: 13.8%


services: 37% (2003 est.)
agriculture: 10.8%


industry: 29.1%


services: 60.1% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries total: 3,736 km


border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
total: 20,096.5 km


border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,340 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 280.5 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 232 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Land use arable land: 4.51%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 95.35% (2005)
arable land: 7.17%


permanent crops: 0.11%


other: 92.72% (2005)
Languages Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% Russian, many minority languages
Legal system based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (176 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 85 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; to serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; as of 2007, all members elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 7% of the vote; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: State Duma - last held 2 December 2007 (next to be held in December 2011)


election results: State Duma - United Russia 64.2%, CPRF 11.6%, LDPR 8.2%, JR 7.8%, other 8.2%; total seats by party - United Russia 315, CPRF 57, LDPR 40, JR 38
Life expectancy at birth total population: 68.3 years


male: 65.23 years


female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)
total population: 65.87 years


male: 59.12 years


female: 73.03 years (2007 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: 99.4%


male: 99.7%


female: 99.2% (2002 census)
Location Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part of Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Map references Asia Asia
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: 1,130 ships (1000 GRT or over) 4,712,349 GRT/5,747,083 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 28, cargo 718, carrier 2, chemical tanker 27, combination ore/oil 35, container 10, passenger 15, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 215, refrigerated cargo 51, roll on/roll off 14, specialized tanker 7


foreign-owned: 101 (Belgium 6, Cyprus 2, Germany 2, Greece 1, South Korea 1, Latvia 2, Switzerland 6, Turkey 70, Ukraine 10, US 1)


registered in other countries: 469 (Antigua and Barbuda 5, Bahamas 5, Belize 39, Bulgaria 1, Cambodia 112, Comoros 9, Cyprus 50, Dominica 2, Georgia 17, North Korea 1, Liberia 87, Malta 66, Marshall Islands 4, Mongolia 17, Panama 9, Sierra Leone 5, St Kitts and Nevis 14, St Vincent and The Grenadines 19, Thailand 1, Tuvalu 4, Vanuatu 1, Venezuela 1, unknown 21) (2007)
Military branches Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007) Ground Forces (SV), Navy (VMF), Air Forces (Voyenno-Vozdushniye Sily, VVS); Airborne Troops (VDV), Strategic Rocket Troops (RVSN), and Space Troops (KV) are independent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the three branches; Russian Ground Forces include the following combat arms: motorized-rifle troops, tank troops, missile and artillery troops, air defense of ground troops (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 3.4% (2005 est.) NA
National holiday Independence Day, 27 October (1991) Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
Nationality noun: Turkmen(s)


adjective: Turkmenistani
noun: Russian(s)


adjective: Russian
Natural hazards NA permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia
Natural resources petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber


note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
Net migration rate -3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006) condensate 122 km; gas 156,285 km; oil 72,283 km; refined products 13,658 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
A Just Russia or JR [Sergey MIRONOV] (formed from the merger of three small political parties: Rodina (Motherland), Pensioners Party, and Party of Life); Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; People's Party [Gennadiy GUDKOV]; Union of Right Forces or SPS [Nikita BELYKH]; United Russia or UR [Boris Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 5,097,028 (July 2007 est.) 141,377,752 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 27% (2002) 17.8% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate 1.617% (2007 est.) -0.484% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) AM 323, FM 1,500 est., shortwave 62 (2004)
Railways total: 2,440 km


broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)
total: 87,157 km


broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island)


note: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier lines serve industries (2006)
Religions Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.)


note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule
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: 1.054 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.456 male(s)/female


total population: 0.859 male(s)/female (2007 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: the telephone system is experiencing significant changes; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; the estimated number of mobile subscribers jumped from fewer than 1 million in 1998 to 120 million in 2005; a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied, but fixed-line operators continue to grow their services


domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density


international: country code - 7; Russia is connected internationally by 3 undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems
Telephones - main lines in use 495,000 (2006) 40.1 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 105,000 (2005) 150 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004) 7,306 (1998)
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 broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
Total fertility rate 3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) 1.39 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 60% (2004 est.) 6.6% plus considerable underemployment (2006 est.)
Waterways 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006) 102,000 km (including 33,000 km with guaranteed depth)


note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea (2006)
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