| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan
local long form: none
local short form: Turkmenistan
former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Capital: |
Ashgabat |
| Location: |
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
40 00 N, 60 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km
water: negl. |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly larger than California |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
| Maritime
Claims: |
none (landlocked) |
| Climate: |
subtropical desert |
| 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
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 |
| Natural
Resources: |
petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch |
| Administratives
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) |
| Independence |
27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
| Constitution: |
adopted 18 May 1992 |
| Legal
System; |
based on civil law system |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| 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: 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% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
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 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
| 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 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 |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
4,952,081 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
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.) |
| Median age: |
total: 21.56 years
male: 20.68 years
female: 22.44 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
| Ethnic groups: |
Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) |
| Religions: |
Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
| Languages: |
Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
374,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
52,000 (2004) |
| Telephone system: |
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 |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.tm |
| Internet hosts: |
524 (2004) |
| Internet users: |
8,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km
unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) |
| Pipelines: |
gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Turkmenbasy |
| Merchant marine: |
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) |
| Airports: |
69 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 45
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 36 (2003 est.) |
| Heliports: |
1 (2004 est.) |
