Turkmenistan (2007) | Turks and Caicos Islands (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
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:
32.58% (male 2,996; female 2,908) 15-64 years: 63.51% (male 6,050; female 5,459) 65 years and over: 3.91% (male 316; female 393) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), citrus fruits; fish |
Airports | 28 (2007) | 8 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 22
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
total:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL |
total:
430 sq km land: 430 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | 2.5 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. | The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands are presently a British overseas territory. |
Birth rate | 25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.434 billion
expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$47 million expenditures: $33.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997-1998 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) |
Cockburn Town (on Grand Turk) |
Climate | subtropical desert | tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 389 km |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | introduced 30 August 1976; suspended in 1986; restored and revised 5 March 1988 |
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: Turks and Caicos Islands |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.47 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
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) | $4.1 million (1997) |
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. | The Turks and Caicos economy is based on tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US was the leading source of tourists in 1996, accounting for more than half of the 87,000 visitors; tourist arrivals had risen to 93,000 by 1998. Major sources of government revenue include fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.602 billion kWh (2005) | 4.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 2.918 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Hills 49 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 | limited natural fresh water resources, private cisterns collect rainwater |
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) | black |
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 |
the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 11 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW elected president; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW 89.2% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1953), represented by Governor Mervyn JONES (since 27 January 2000) head of government: Chief Minister Derek H. TAYLOR (since 31 January 1995) cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex officio members and five appointed by the governor from among the members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister appointed by the governor |
Exports | 117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $4.7 million (1993) |
Exports - commodities | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles | lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells |
Exports - partners | Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006) | US, UK |
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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $128 million (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.7%
industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (1999 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.) |
8.7% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 21 45 N, 71 35 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; the western and central low-lying desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau | 30 islands (eight inhabited) |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total:
121 km paved: 24 km unpaved: 97 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 | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $46.6 million (1993) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs | food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures, construction materials |
Imports - partners | UAE 15.5%, Turkey 11.1%, Ukraine 9.1%, Russia 9%, Germany 7.8%, Iran 7.6%, China 6.4%, US 4.5% (2006) | US, UK |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 22% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | tourism, offshore financial services |
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.) |
18.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.5% (2006 est.) | 4% (1995) |
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 | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 14 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 18,000 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 2.32 million (2003 est.) | 4,848 (1990 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 48.2%
industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.) |
about 33% in government and 20% in agriculture and fishing; significant numbers in tourism, financial, and other services (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.51%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 98% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | English (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on laws of England and Wales, with a small number adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas |
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 (19 seats, of which 13 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 4 March 1999 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - PDM 52.2%, PNP 40.9%, independent 6.9%; seats by party - PDM 9, PNP 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.3 years
male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
73.52 years male: 71.37 years female: 75.77 years (2001 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 has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas |
Map references | Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,870 GRT/25,801 DWT
by type: cargo 4, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2007) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | Constitution Day, 30 August (1976) |
Nationality | noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmenistani |
noun:
none adjective: none |
Natural hazards | NA | frequent hurricanes |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt | spiny lobster, conch |
Net migration rate | -3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been National Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan (NDMT) and the United Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (UDPT); NDMT was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; UDPT is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based in Moscow |
People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Derek H. TAYLOR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Washington MISICK]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Wendal SWANN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 5,097,028 (July 2007 est.) | 18,122 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 27% (2002) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.617% (2007 est.) | 3.41% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Grand Turk, Providenciales |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 3 (one inactive), FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 8,000 (1997) |
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% | Baptist 41.2%, Methodist 18.9%, Anglican 18.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.7%, other 19.9% (1980) |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 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:
fair cable and radiotelephone services domestic: NA international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 495,000 (2006) | 3,000 (1994) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 105,000 (2005) | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004) | 0 (broadcasts from The Bahamas are received; cable television is established) (1997) |
Terrain | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west | low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps |
Total fertility rate | 3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2004 est.) | 10% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006) | none |