Turkmenistan (2001) | Korea, South (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty (formerly Tashauz), Lebap Welayaty (Charjew), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi* |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
37.88% (male 891,758; female 852,104) 15-64 years: 58.09% (male 1,313,303; female 1,360,690) 65 years and over: 4.03% (male 70,800; female 114,589) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
21.59% (male 5,475,453; female 4,864,918) 15-64 years: 71.14% (male 17,291,202; female 16,789,380) 65 years and over: 7.27% (male 1,352,312; female 2,131,105) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain; livestock | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 76 (2000 est.) | 102 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total:
68 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
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 (2000 est.) |
total:
34 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
488,100 sq km land: 488,100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly larger than Indiana |
Background | 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. | After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a communist-style government was installed in the north. The Korean War (1950-53) had US and other UN forces intervene to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953 splitting the peninsula at the 38th parallel known as the DMZ. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to 13 times the level of North Korea. In 1997, the nation suffered a severe financial crisis from which it continues to make a solid recovery. South Korea has also maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic first south-north summit took place between the south's President KIM Dae-jung and the north's leader KIM Chong-il. In December 2000, President KIM Dae-jung won the Noble Peace Prize for his lifeling committment to democracy and human rights in Asia. He is the first Korean to win a Nobel Prize. |
Birth rate | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$588.6 million expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$81.8 billion expenditures: $94.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.1 billion (1999) |
Capital | Ashgabat | Seoul |
Climate | subtropical desert | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) | 2,413 km |
Constitution | adopted 18 May 1992 | 25 February 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:
Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han-guk" to refer to their country abbreviation: ROK |
Currency | Turkmen manat (TMM) | South Korean won (KRW) |
Death rate | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) | $137 billion (November 2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Steven R. MANN embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 51-13-05 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: 82 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mered ORAZOV chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador YANG Song-chol chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
Disputes - international | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan | Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan |
Economic aid - recipient | $27.2 million (1995) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and huge gas (fifth largest reserves in the world) and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth largest producer. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. 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 1998-2000, 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 sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty and the burden of foreign debt. IMF assistance would seem to be necessary, yet the government is not as yet ready to accept IMF requirements. Turkmenistan's 1999 deal to ship 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas through Russia's Gazprom pipeline helped alleviate the 2000 fiscal shortfall. Inadequate fiscal restraint and the tenuous nature of Turkmenistan's 2001 gas deals, combined with a lack of economic reform, will limit progress in the near term. | As one of the Four Dragons of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is seven times India's, 16 times North Korea's, and comparable to the lesser economies of the European Union. This success through the late 1980s was achieved by a system of close government/business ties, including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed certain longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. By 1999 GDP growth had recovered, reversing the substantial decline of 1998. Seoul has pressed the country's largest business groups to restructure and to strengthen their financial base. Growth in 2001 likely will be a more sustainable rate of 5%. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.785 billion kWh (1999) | 232.767 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 8.371 billion kWh (1999) | 250.287 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.94% hydro: 0.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
59.22% hydro: 1.64% nuclear: 39.12% other: 0.02% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Vpadina Akchanaya -81.00 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:
Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 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 | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing |
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-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995) | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) |
Exchange rates | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2001), 5,200 (January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997), 2,400 (January 1996) | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,271.89 (January 2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999), 1,401.44 (1998), 951.29 (1997), 804.45 (1996) |
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 scheduled 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% |
chief of state:
President KIM Dae-jung (since 25 February 1998) head of government: Prime Minister YI Han-tong (since 23 May 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by 18 December 2002); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation election results: KIM Dae-jung elected president; percent of vote - KIM Dae-jung (NCNP) 40.3% (with ULD partnership), YI Hoe-chang (GNP) 38.7%, YI In-che (NPP) 19.2% |
Exports | $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $172.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999) | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish |
Exports - partners | Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan | US 20.5%, Japan 11%, China 9.5%, Hong Kong 6.3%, Taiwan 4.4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 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 | white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $764.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
25% industry: 43% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
5.6% industry: 41.4% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $16,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 16% (2000 est.) | 9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 37 00 N, 127 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | - |
Heliports | - | 203 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total:
22,000 km paved: 18,000 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 4,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
total:
87,534 km paved: 65,388 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,146 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 24.3% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | limited illicit cultivator of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; limited government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Russia and Western Europe; also a transshipment point for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan | - |
Imports | $1.65 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | $160.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains |
Imports - partners | Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan | US 20.8%, Japan 20.2%, China 7.4%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, Australia 3.9% (1999) |
Independence | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2000 est.) | 17% (2000) |
Industries | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 73.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 7.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2000 est.) | 2.3% (2000) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 11 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 13,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 13,350 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 2.34 million (1996) | 22 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services 37% (1996) | services 68%, industry 20%, agriculture 12% (1999) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,736 km border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
total:
238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 63% forests and woodland: 8% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
19% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 65% other: 13% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school |
Legal system | based on civil law system | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
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 infrequently) 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
61 years male: 57.43 years female: 64.76 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
74.65 years male: 70.97 years female: 78.74 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99.3% female: 96.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the Korea Strait |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,459 GRT/8,865 DWT ships by type: container 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
496 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,421,993 GRT/8,757,034 DWT ships by type: bulk 105, cargo 168, chemical tanker 38, combination bulk 5, container 49, liquefied gas 16, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 70, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 5 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (FY99) | $12 billion (2000) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY99) | 3.2% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,173,500 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
14,148,552 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
952,218 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
8,979,778 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
48,292 (2001 est.) |
males:
394,397 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) |
Nationality | noun:
Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen |
noun:
Korean(s) adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | NA | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km | petroleum products 455 km; note - additionally, there is a parallel petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) pipeline being completed |
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 |
Grand National Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang, president]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [KIM Dae-jung, president]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-ho, acting president]
note: on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations |
Population | 4,603,244 (July 2001 est.) | 47,904,370 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 58% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.85% (2001 est.) | 0.89% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Turkmenbashi | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 106, FM 97, shortwave 6 (1999) |
Radios | 1.225 million (1997) | 47.5 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
2,187 km broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.) |
total:
6,240 km standard gauge: 6,240 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) (1998 est.) |
Religions | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment:
excellent domestic and international services domestic: NA international: fiber-optic submarine cable to China; the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 363,000 (1997) | 24 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,300 (1998) | 27 million (June 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997) | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999) |
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 | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south |
Total fertility rate | 3.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 4.1% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan | 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft |