Compare Lebanon (2002) - Turkmenistan (2005)

Compare Lebanon (2002) z Turkmenistan (2005)

	Lebanon (2002)	Turkmenistan (2005)

Administrative divisions	6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye	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: 27.3% (male 511,902; female 491,804) 15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,157,688; female 1,267,106) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 113,341; female 135,939) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 35.7% (male 909,113/female 860,128) 15-64 years: 60.2% (male 1,462,198/female 1,516,836) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 78,119/female 125,687) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats	cotton, grain; livestock
Airports	8 (2001)	53 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	total: 23 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	total: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 10,400 sq km land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km	total: 488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: negl.
Area - comparative	about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut	slightly larger than California
Background	Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 20,000 troops in Lebanon based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in May of 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well.	Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. 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 were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly.
Birth rate	19.96 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	27.68 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $4.6 billion expenditures: $8.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)	revenues: $3.05 billion expenditures: $3.05 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	Beirut	Ashgabat
Climate	Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows	subtropical desert
Coastline	225 km	0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution	23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989	adopted 18 May 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Lebanese Republic conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency	Lebanese pound (LBP)	-
Death rate	6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$8.4 billion (2001 est.)	$2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Vincent Martin BATTLE embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70840, Awkar, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: 011-961-4-543-600/542-600 FAX: 011-961-4-544-136	chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6320 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles	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	Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights	cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled
Economic aid - recipient	$3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001)	$16 million from the US (2001)
Economy - overview	The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997 but slowed to 2% in 1998, -1% in 1999, and -0.5% in 2000. Growth recovered slightly in 2001 to 1%. During the 1990s annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to reign in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises. The Hariri government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance in order to restructure its higher interest rate bearing domestic debt obligations at lower rates. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2002, the government had successfullly avoided a currency devaluation and debt default in 2002.	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; formerly it was the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% 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. In 1998-2004, 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 perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, 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, the government's irrational use of oil and gas revenues, and its 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.
Electricity - consumption	8.643 billion kWh (2000)	8.908 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2000)	1.136 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports	1.25 billion kWh (2000)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	7.95 billion kWh (2000)	11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 97% hydro: 3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 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	deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills	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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation	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	Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%	Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates	Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (January 2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.8 (1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997)	Turkmen manats per US dollar - 10,100 (2004), 10,034 (2003), 10,098 (2002), 5,200 (2001) note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 21,000 manats to the dollar
Executive branch	chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim election results: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions	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: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 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 in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council 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	$700 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)	NA
Exports - commodities	foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper and paper products	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners	Saudi Arabia 11%, UAE 11%, Switzerland 7%, US 7%, France 5%, Iraq 4%, Jordan 4%, Kuwait 4%, Syria 4% (2000)	Ukraine 46.6%, Iran 17.3%, Turkey 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band	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 - $18.8 billion (2001 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 12% industry: 21% services: 67% (2000)	agriculture: 28.5% industry: 42.7% services: 28.8% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $5,200 (2001 est.)	purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2001 est.)	IMF estimate: 7.5% note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	33 50 N, 35 50 E	40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note	Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity	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
Heliports	-	1 (2004 est.)
Highways	total: 7,300 km paved: 6,350 km unpaved: 950 km (1999 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	cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to US and European markets	transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports	$6.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)	NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods	machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Italy 11%, France 8%, Germany 8%, US 7%, Switzerland 6%, China 5%, Syria 5%, UK 4% (2000)	US 11.8%, Russia 9.7%, UAE 9.2%, Ukraine 9%, Turkey 8.6%, Germany 8%, France 5%, Georgia 4.6%, Iran 4.5% (2004)
Independence	22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)	27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	official government estimate: 22% (2003 est.)
Industries	banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate	27.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 73.08 deaths/1,000 live births male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	0.5% (2001 est.)	9% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)	AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	22 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	1,200 sq km (1998 est.)	17,500 sq km (2003 est.)
Judicial branch	four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed)	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force	1.5 million note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1999 est.) (2001 est.)	2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA%	agriculture 48.2%, industry 13.8%, services 37% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 454 km border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km	total: 3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use	arable land: 17.6% permanent crops: 12.51% other: 69.89% (1998 est.)	arable land: 3.72% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001)
Languages	Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system	mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on civil law system
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34)	under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) 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 President NIYAZOV note: in late 2003, a new 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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 71.79 years male: 69.38 years female: 74.32 years (2002 est.)	total population: 61.39 years male: 58.02 years female: 64.93 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.4% male: 90.8% female: 82.2% (1997 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1995 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references	Middle East	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 NM	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 320,770 GRT/468,293 DWT ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 38, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1, Greece 10, Netherlands 4, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Spain 1, Syria 2 (2002 est.)	total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT by type: cargo 3, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2005)
Military branches	Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force)	Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$343 million (FY99/00)	$90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	4.8% (FY99/00)	3.4% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 1,003,174 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 618,129 (2002 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 22 November (1943)	Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality	noun: Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese	noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen
Natural hazards	dust storms, sandstorms	NA
Natural resources	limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land	petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-0.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	crude oil 72 km (none in operation)	gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations	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 SHIKHMURADOV 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; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	3,677,780 (July 2002 est.)	4,952,081 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	28% (1999 est.)	58% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	1.36% (2002 est.)	1.81% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre	Turkmenbasy
Radio broadcast stations	AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998)	AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios	2.85 million (1997)	-
Railways	total: 399 km standard gauge: 317 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: entire system is unusable because of damage in civil war (2001)	total: 2,440 km broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL%	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 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 (2005 est.)
Suffrage	21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables	general assessment: poorly developed domestic: NA 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
Telephones - main lines in use	700,000 (1999)	374,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	580,000 (1999)	52,000 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)	4 (government owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain	narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains	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	2.02 children born/woman (2002 est.)	3.41 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	18% (1997 est.)	60% (2004 est.)
Waterways	none	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003)

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