*Turkmenistan, Geography Location: South Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Uzbekistan Map references: Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 488,100 km2 land area: 488,100 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than California Land boundaries: total 3,736 km, Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km Coastline: 0 km note: Turkmenistan does border the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) Maritime claims: landlocked, but boundaries in the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Iran will have to be negotiated International disputes: none Climate: subtropical desert Terrain: flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; borders Caspian Sea in west Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulphur, salt Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 69% forest and woodland: 0% other: 28% Irrigated land: 12,450 km2 (1990) Environment: contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salinization, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods Note: landlocked *Turkmenistan, People Population: 3,914,997 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 2.04% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 30.91 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 7.6 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: -2.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Infant mortality rate: 71.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.93 years male: 61.4 years female: 68.62 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 3.82 children born/woman (1993 est.) Nationality: noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen Ethnic divisions: Turkmen 73.3%, Russian 9.8%, Uzbek 9%, Kazakhs 2%, other 5.9% Religions: Muslim 87%, Eastern Orthodox 11%, unknown 2% Languages: Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% Literacy: age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% Labor force: 1.542 million by occupation: agriculture and forestry 42%, industry and construction 21%, other 37% (1990) *Turkmenistan, Government Names: conventional long form: Republic of Turkmenistan conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: Tiurkmenostan Respublikasy local short form: Turkmanistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic Digraph: TX Type: republic Capital: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) Administrative divisions: 5 velayets: Balkan (Nebit Dag), Doshkhovuz (formerly Tashauz), Lebap (Charjev), Mary, Akhal (Ashgabat) note: all oblasts have the same name as their administrative center except Balkan Oblast, centered at Nebit-Dag Independence: 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) Constitution: adopted 18 May 1992 Legal system: based on civil law system National holiday: Independence Day, 27 October (1991) Political parties and leaders: ruling party: Democratic Party (formerly Communist), chairman vacant opposition: Party for Democratic Development, Durdymurat HOJA-MUHAMMET, chairman ; Agzybirlik, Nurberdy NURMAMEDOV, cochairman, Hubayberdi HALLIYEV, cochairman Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal *Turkmenistan, Government Elections: 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; note - seats to be reduced to 50 at next election Executive branch: president, prime minister, nine deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers Legislative branch: under 1992 constitution there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council (Halk Maslahaty - having more than 100 members and meeting infrequently) and a 50-member unicameral Assembly (Majlis) Judicial branch: Supreme Court Leaders: Chief of State: President Saparmurad NIYAZOV (since NA October 1990) Head of Government: Prime Minister (vacant); Deputy Prime Ministers Valery G. OCHERTSOV, Orazgeldi AYDOGDYEV, Yagmur OVEZOV, Jourakuli BABAKULIYEV, Matkarim RAJAPOV, Rejep SAPAROV, Boris SHIKHMURADOV (since NA); Chairman of the People's Council Sakhat MURADOV (since NA) Member of: CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, IMF, NACC, UN, UNCTAD Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: NA chancery: NA telephone: NA US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph S. HULINGS III embassy: Yubilenaya Hotel, Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) mailing address: APO AE 09862 telephone: [7] 36320 24-49-08 Flag: green field, including a vertical stripe on the hoist side, with a claret veritcal stripe in between containing five white, black, and orange carpet guls (an assymetrical design used in producing rugs) associated with five different tribes; a white crescent and five white stars in the upper left corner to the right of the carpet guls *Turkmenistan, Economy Overview: 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 entrepreneurs, 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. The general decline in national product accelerated in 1992, principally because of inability to obtain spare parts and disputes with customers over the price of natural gas. National product: GDP $NA National product real growth rate: -10% (1992 est.) National product per capita: $NA Inflation rate (consumer prices): 53% per month (first quarter 1993) Unemployment rate: 15%-20% (1992 est.) Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA Exports: $100 million to outside the successor states of the former USSR (1992) commodities: natural gas, oil, chemicals, cotton, textiles, carpets partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan Imports: $100 million from outside the successor states of the former USSR (1992) commodities: machinery and parts, plastics and rubber, consumer durables, textiles partners: mostly other than former Soviet Union External debt: $650 million (end 1991 est.) Industrial production: growth rate -17% (1992 est.) Electricity: 2,920,000 kW capacity; 13,100 million kWh produced, 3,079 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: oil and gas, petrochemicals, fertilizers, food processing, textiles Agriculture: cotton, fruits, vegetables Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and opium; mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment points for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Western Europe Economic aid: $280 million offical aid commitments by foreign donors (1992) Currency: retaining Russian ruble as currency; planning to establish own currency, the manat, but no date set (May 1993) *Turkmenistan, Economy Exchange rates: rubles per US$1 - 415 (24 December 1992) but subject to wide fluctuations Fiscal year: calendar year *Turkmenistan, Communications Railroads: 2,120 km; does not include industrial lines (1990) Highways: 23,000 km total; 18,300 km hard surfaced, 4,700 km earth (1990) Pipelines: crude oil 250 km, natural gas 4,400 km Ports: inland - Krasnovodsk (Caspian Sea) Airports: total: 7 useable: 7 with permanent-surface runways: 4 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 0 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 4 Telecommunications: poorly developed; only 65 telephones per 1000 persons (1991); linked by cable and microwave to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new direct telephone link from Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) to Iran has been established; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 INTELSAT for TV receive-only service; a newly installed satellite earth station provides TV receiver-only capability for Turkish broadcasts *Turkmenistan, Defense Forces Branches: National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), Joint Command Turkmenistan/Russia (Ground, Navy or Caspian Sea Flotilla, Air, and Air Defense) Manpower availability: males age 15-49 933,285; fit for military service 765,824; reach military age (18) annually 39,254 (1993 est.) Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP