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Compare West Bank (2003) - Turkmenistan (2003)

Compare West Bank (2003) z Turkmenistan (2003)

 West Bank (2003)Turkmenistan (2003)
 West BankTurkmenistan
Administrative divisions - 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (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)
Age structure 0-14 years: 44.1% (male 505,880; female 481,369)


15-64 years: 52.4% (male 598,992; female 572,511)


65 years and over: 3.5% (male 33,688; female 44,754) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 36.8% (male 899,954; female 855,293)


15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,386,606; female 1,438,333)


65 years and over: 4.1% (male 74,958; female 120,400) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products cotton, grain; livestock
Airports 3 (2002) 76 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
total: 13


2,438 to 3,047 m: 9


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 63


2,438 to 3,047 m: 7


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 10


under 914 m: 41 (2002)
Area total: 5,860 sq km


land: 5,640 sq km


water: 220 sq km


note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
total: 488,100 sq km


land: 488,100 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Delaware slightly larger than California
Background The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1925. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can be worked out.
Birth rate 34.07 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 28.02 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $930 million


expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million


note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.)
revenues: $588.6 million


expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Capital - Ashgabat
Climate temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters subtropical desert
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution - adopted 18 May 1992
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: West Bank
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Turkmenistan


local long form: none


local short form: Turkmenistan


former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) Turkmen manat (TMM)
Death rate 4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 8.87 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON


embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45


FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Diplomatic representation in the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV


chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500


FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
Disputes - international West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation prolonged regional drought creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; Turkmenistan has not committed to follow either Iran or the other littoral states in the division of the Caspian Sea seabed and water column; ICJ decision expected to resolve dispute with Azerbaijan over sovereignty over Caspian oilfields; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan is underway - maritime boundary not resolved
Economic aid - recipient $800 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) $16 million from the US (2001)
Economy - overview Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy. Turkmenistan is 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, making it the world's tenth-largest producer. 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. In 1998-2003, 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 38% in 2003, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented reforms. However, Turkmenistan's cooperation with the international community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may foreshadow a change in the atmosphere for foreign investment, aid, and technological support. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In any event, GDP increased substantially in 2003 because of a strong recovery in agriculture and rapid industrial growth.
Electricity - consumption NA kWh 8.509 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports - 980 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports NA kWh 20 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants 10.18 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0%
fossil fuel: 99.9%


hydro: 0.1%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m


highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
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
Environment - current issues adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment 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
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 Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995)
Exchange rates new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (2002), 5,200 (2001), 5,200 (2000), 5,200 (1999), 4,890.17 (1998); note - the official exchange rate has not varied for the last four years; the unofficial rate has fluctuated slightly, hovering around 21,000 manats to the dollar
Executive branch - chief of state: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 by the Assembly (Majlis) during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty)


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the Assembly on 28 December 1999); deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president


election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5%
Exports $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip NA (2001)
Exports - commodities olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001)
Exports - partners Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) Ukraine 49.7%, Italy 18%, Iran 13.1%, Turkey 6.2% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year (since 1 January 1992) calendar year
Flag description - green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe
GDP purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $31.34 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 9%


industry: 28%


services: 63%


note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)
agriculture: 27%


industry: 50%


services: 23% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -22% (2002 est.) 21.1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 32 00 N, 35 15 E 40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) 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
Highways total: 4,500 km


paved: 2,700 km


unpaved: 1,800 km


note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.)
total: 24,000 km


paved: 19,488 km


unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 2.6%


highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
Illicit drugs - transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; small-scale government-run eradication of illicit crops; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip NA (2001)
Imports - commodities food, consumer goods, construction materials machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999)
Imports - partners Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) Russia 19.8%, Turkey 12.8%, Ukraine 11.7%, UAE 10%, US 7.5%, China 6%, Germany 5.7%, Iran 4.4% (2002)
Independence - 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 1% (2002 est.)
Industries generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate total: 20.68 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 22.86 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 18.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 73.17 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 69.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) 5% (2002 est.)
International organization participation - AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 8 (1999) 1
Irrigated land NA sq km 17,500 sq km (2003 est.)
Judicial branch - Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force NA 2.34 million (1996)
Labor force - by occupation services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries total: 404 km


border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
total: 3,736 km


border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use arable land: NEGL%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
arable land: 3.47%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 96.39% (1998 est.)
Languages Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system - based on civil law system
Legislative branch - under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (more than 100 seats, some of which are elected by popular vote and some of which are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Assembly or Majlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: People's Council - NA; Assembly - last held 12 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - all 50 elected officials preapproved by President NIYAZOV; most are from the DPT
Life expectancy at birth total population: 72.68 years


male: 70.95 years


female: 74.51 years (2003 est.)
total population: 61.19 years


male: 57.72 years


female: 64.84 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98%


male: 99%


female: 97% (1989 est.)
Location Middle East, west of Jordan Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references Middle East Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Merchant marine - total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT


ships by type: combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches - Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure $NA $90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 3.4% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 1,239,737 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 1,005,686 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 53,825 (2003 est.)
National holiday - Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality noun: NA


adjective: NA
noun: Turkmen(s)


adjective: Turkmen
Natural hazards droughts NA
Natural resources arable land petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate 3.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines - gas 6,634 km; oil 853 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders - Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]


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 Gundogar and Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHUMRADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow
Political pressure groups and leaders - NA
Population 2,237,194 (July 2002 est.)


note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) (July 2003 est.)
4,775,544 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 60% (2002 est.) 34.4% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 3.3% (2003 est.) 1.82% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors none Turkmenbasy
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0


note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000)
AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways 0 km total: 2,440 km


broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2002)
Religions Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female


total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage - 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA


note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank
general assessment: poorly developed


domestic: NA


international: 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
Telephones - main lines in use 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) 363,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 4,300 (1998)
Television broadcast stations NA 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997)
Terrain mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
Total fertility rate 4.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) 3.5 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) NA%
Waterways none the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan, as is the man-made Kara Kum canal
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