Compare Turkmenistan (2007) - Venezuela (2008)

Compare Turkmenistan (2007) z Venezuela (2008)

	Turkmenistan (2007)	Venezuela (2008)

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)	23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 capital district* (distrito capital), and 1 federal dependency (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales, Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy, Zulia note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands
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: 31.6% (male 4,169,979/female 4,046,170) 15-64 years: 63.4% (male 8,120,661/female 8,369,065) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 586,863/female 730,790) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, grain; livestock	corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish
Airports	28 (2007)	390 (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: 128 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 61 under 914 m: 18 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007)	total: 262 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 97 under 914 m: 149 (2007)
Area	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: NEGL	total: 912,050 sq km land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than California	slightly more than twice the size of California
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.	Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president since 1999, seeks to implement his "21st Century Socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking globalization and undermining regional stability. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.
Birth rate	25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	21.22 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.434 billion expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $63.27 billion expenditures: $68.22 billion (2007 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: Caracas geographic coordinates: 10 30 N, 66 56 W time difference: UTC-4.5 (half an hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	subtropical desert	tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Coastline	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)	2,800 km
Constitution	adopted 18 May 1992	30 December 1999
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: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela
Death rate	6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)	$45.44 billion (31 December 2007 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 Patrick DUDDY embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure, Urbanizacion Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1080 mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037 telephone: [58] (212) 975-9234, 975-6411 FAX: [58] (212) 975-8991
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 Bernardo ALVAREZ Herrera chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2214 FAX: [1] (202) 342-6820 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
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	claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River in Guyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary and Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region; in 2006, an estimated 139,000 Colombians sought protection in 150 communities along the border in Venezuela; US, France, and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby claiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest Venezuela's full effect claim
Economic aid - recipient	$28.25 million from the US (2005)	$48.66 million (2005)
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.	Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly 90% of export earnings, more than 50% of the federal budget revenues, and around 30% of GDP. A nationwide strike between December 2002 and February 2003 had far-reaching economic consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and 8% in 2003 - but economic output since then has recovered strongly. Fueled by high oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP in 2006 by about 9% and in 2007 by about 8%. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to domestic credit, has created a consumption boom but has come at the cost of higher inflation-roughly 20 percent in 2007. Imports also have jumped significantly. Embolden by his December 2006 reelection, President Hugo CHAVEZ in 2007 nationalized firms in the petroleum, communications, and electricity sectors, which reduced foreign influence in the economy. Although voters in December 2007 rejected CHAVEZ's proposed constitutional changes, CHAVEZ still has significant control of the economy and has indicated he intends to continue to consolidate and centralize authority over the economy by implementing "21st Century Socialism."
Electricity - consumption	7.602 billion kWh (2005)	73.36 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	2.918 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)	99.2 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: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 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	sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations
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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed but not ratified:: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)	Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people
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	bolivares per US dollar - 2,147 (2007), 2,147 (2006), 2,089.8 (2005), 1,891.3 (2004), 1,607 (2003)
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 Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Executive Vice President Ramon Alonzo CARRIZALEZ Rengifo (since 4 January 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Executive Vice President Ramon Alonzo CARRIZALEZ Rengifo (since 4 January 2008) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2012) note: in 1999, a National Constituent Assembly drafted a new constitution that increased the presidential term to six years; an election was subsequently held on 30 July 2000 under the terms of this constitution election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - Hugo CHAVEZ Frias 62.9%, Manuel ROSALES 36.9%
Exports	117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)	2.203 million bbl/day (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles	petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures
Exports - partners	Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)	US 46.2%, Netherlands Antilles 13.5%, China 3.2% (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 yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of eight white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 17.7% industry: 39.2% services: 43.2% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 3.5% industry: 40% services: 56.5% (2007 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.)	8.3% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	40 00 N, 60 00 E	8 00 N, 66 00 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	on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest waterfall
Heliports	1 (2007)	2 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)	lowest 10%: 0.7% highest 10%: 35.2% (2003)
Illicit drugs	transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan	small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and coca derivatives; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; significant narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia and on Margarita Island; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border
Imports	NA bbl/day	0 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs	raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, 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 30.6%, Colombia 10.2%, Brazil 10.1%, Mexico 5.9%, China 4.9%, Panama 4.8% (2006)
Independence	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)	5 July 1811 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	22% (2003 est.)	5.5% (2007 est.)
Industries	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing	petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly
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: 22.52 deaths/1,000 live births male: 26.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	11.5% (2006 est.)	20.7% (Year ending November 2007)
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	CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, LAS (observer), Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	18,000 sq km (2003)	5,750 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)	Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term)
Labor force	2.32 million (2003 est.)	12.5 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 48.2% industry: 13.8% services: 37% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 13% industry: 23% services: 64% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km	total: 4,993 km border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km
Land use	arable land: 4.51% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005)	arable land: 2.85% permanent crops: 0.88% other: 96.27% (2005)
Languages	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%	Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Legal system	based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	open, adversarial court 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 National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (167 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela) elections: last held 4 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - pro-government 167 (MVR 114, PODEMOS 15, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), opposition 0; total seats by party as of 1 January 2008 - pro-government 152 (PSUV 114, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), PODEMOS 15
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.3 years male: 65.23 years female: 71.54 years (2007 est.)	total population: 73.28 years male: 70.24 years female: 76.48 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: 93% male: 93.3% female: 92.7% (2001 census)
Location	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan	Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
Map references	Asia	South America
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 15 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: 59 ships (1000 GRT or over) 808,721 GRT/1,285,783 DWT by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 14, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 3, Greece 3, Mexico 3, Panama 1, Russia 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 11 (Bahamas 1, Panama 10) (2007)
Military branches	Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2007)	National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN): Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada; includes Marines, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.4% (2005 est.)	1.2% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)	Independence Day, 5 July (1811)
Nationality	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmenistani	noun: Venezuelan(s) adjective: Venezuelan
Natural hazards	NA	subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt	petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
Net migration rate	-3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006)	extra heavy crude oil 992 km; gas 5,400 km; oil 7,607 km; refined products 1,650 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2007)
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 New Time or UNT [Manuel ROSALES]; Christian Democrats or COPEI [Cesar PEREZ Vivas]; Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV [Jeronimo CARRERA]; Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup]; Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV [Hugo CHAVEZ]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer]; We Can or PODEMOS [Ismael GARCIA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action)
Population	5,097,028 (July 2007 est.)	26,023,528 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	27% (2002)	37.9% (end 2005 est.)
Population growth rate	1.617% (2007 est.)	1.486% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)	AM 201, FM NA (20 in Caracas), shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)	total: 682 km standard gauge: 682 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%	nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%
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: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.803 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: modern and expanding domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services; fixed-line teledensity, at 16 per 100 persons, is low by regional standards; mobile-cellular subscribership jumped 50 percent in 2006 international: country code - 58; submarine cable systems provide connectivity to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network
Telephones - main lines in use	495,000 (2006)	4.217 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	105,000 (2005)	18.79 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004)	66 (plus 45 repeaters) (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	Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast
Total fertility rate	3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	60% (2004 est.)	9.1% (2007 est.)
Waterways	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006)	7,100 km note: Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels (2005)

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