Airports [time series]

NA

Civil air [time series]

NA

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

23,000 km total (1990); 18,300 km hard surfaced, 4,700 km earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

NA km

Pipelines [time series]

NA

Ports [time series]

inland - Krasnovodsk

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

2,120 km all 1.520-meter gauge

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

poorly developed; telephone density NA; linked by landline or microwave to other CIS member states and Iran, and by leased connections via the Moscow international gateway switch to other countries; satellite earth stations - Orbita and INTELSAT (TV receive only)

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard; CIS Forces (Ground, Air and Air Defense)

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, NA; NA fit for military service; NA reach military age (18) annually

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

cotton, fruits, vegetables

Budget [time series]

NA

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

As of May 1992, retaining ruble as currency

Economic aid [time series]

NA

Electricity [time series]

3,170,000 kW capacity; 14,900 million kWh produced, 4,114 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

NA

Exports [time series]

$239 million (1990) commodities: natural gas, oil, chemicals, cotton, textiles, carpets partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$650 million (end of 1991 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power equivalent - NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate -0.6% (1991 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit producers of cannabis and opium; mostly for domestic consumption; status of government eradication programs unknown; used as transshipment points for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Imports [time series]

$970 million (1990) commodities: machinery and parts, plastics and rubber, consumer durables, textiles partners: NA

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 4.1% (1991)

Industries [time series]

oil and gas, petrochemicals, fertilizers, food processing, textiles

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

85% (1991)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Like the other 15 former Soviet republics, Turkmenistan faces enormous problems of economic adjustment - to move away from Moscow-based central planning toward a system of decisionmaking by private enterpreneurs, local government authorities, and, hopefully, foreign investors. This process requires wholesale changes in supply sources, markets, property rights, and monetary arrangements. Industry - with 10% of the labor force - is heavily weighted toward the energy sector, which produced 11% of the ex-USSR's gas and 1% of its oil. Turkmenistan ranked second among the former Soviet republics in cotton production, mainly in the irrigated western region, where the huge Karakumskiy Canal taps the Amu Darya.

Unemployment rate [time series]

20-25% (1991 est.)

Climate [time series]

subtropical desert

Coastline [time series]

0 km note: Turkmenistan does border the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than California

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

none

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

NA

Area (Land area) [time series]

488,100 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

3,736 km total; Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km

Land use [time series]

NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures; NA% forest and woodland; NA% other; includes NA% irrigated

Maritime claims [time series]

none - landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulphur, salt, magnesium

Note [time series]

landlocked

Terrain [time series]

flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; borders Caspian Sea in west

Area (Total area) [time series]

488,100 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

4 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast'); Balkan (Nebit-Dag), Chardzhou, Mary, Tashauz; note - the rayons around Ashgabat are under direct republic jurisdiction; all oblasts have the same name as their administrative center except Balkan Oblast, centered at Nebit-Dag

Capital [time series]

Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

renamed Democratic Party, 16 December 1990

Constitution [time series]

adopted 18 May 1992

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

NA US: Ambassador-designate Joseph HULINGS; Embassy at Yubilenaya Hotel, Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) (mailing address is APO; AE 09862); telephone [8] (011) 7-3630-24-49-08

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

President: last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA June 1997); results - Saparmurad NIYAZOV 99.5% (ran unopposed) Majlis: last held 7 January 1990 (next to be held NA 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (175 total) elections not officially by party, but Communist Party members won nearly 90% of seats

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers

Flag [time series]

green field with five claret carpet gels (that is, a repeated carpet pattern) on the hoist side; a white crescent and five white stars in the upper left corner to the right of the carpet gels

Independence [time series]

27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union; formerly Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic)

Judicial branch [time series]

NA

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: President Saparmurad NIYAZOV (since 21 June 1992) Head of Government: Prime Minister (vacant), Deputy Prime Ministers V. G. OCHERTSOV and Atta CHARYYEV (since NA 1991)

Legal system [time series]

NA

Legislative branch [time series]

Majlis

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

none

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

CIS, CSCE, IBRD, IMF, NACC, UN, UNCTAD

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 27 October (1991)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

Agzybirlik (Unity) Movement

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Democratic Party (formerly Communist), Saparmurad NIYAZOV, chairman opposition: Democratic Party, Durdymorad KHODZHA Mukhammed, chairman

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Birth rate [time series]

36 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Turkmen 72%, Russian 9%, Uzbek 9%, other 10%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

94 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

1,542,000; agriculture and forestry 42%, industry and construction 21%, other 37% (1990)

Languages [time series]

Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

59 years male, 66 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

NA% (male NA%, female NA) age 15 and over can read and write

Nationality [time series]

noun - Turkmen(s); adjective - Turkmen

Net migration rate [time series]

-3 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

NA

Population [time series]

3,838,108 (July 1992), growth rate 2.4% (1992)

Religions [time series]

Islam 85%, Eastern Orthodox 10%, unknown 5%

Total fertility rate [time series]

4.5 children born/woman (1992)