1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 488,100 km2 land area: 488,100 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than California
Climate
subtropical desert
Coastline
0 km note: Turkmenistan does border the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Environment
contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salinization, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
12,450 km2 (1990)
Land boundaries
total 3,736 km, Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use
arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 69% forest and woodland: 0% other: 28%
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
Maritime claims
landlocked, but boundaries in the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Iran will have to be negotiated
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulphur, salt
Note
landlocked
Terrain
flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; borders Caspian Sea in west
People and Society
Birth rate
30.91 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
7.6 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Turkmen 73.3%, Russian 9.8%, Uzbek 9%, Kazakhs 2%, other 5.9%
Infant mortality rate
71.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
1.542 million by occupation: agriculture and forestry 42%, industry and construction 21%, other 37% (1990)
Languages
Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 64.93 years male: 61.4 years female: 68.62 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%
Nationality
noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen
Net migration rate
-2.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
3,914,997 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
2.04% (1993 est.)
Religions
Muslim 87%, Eastern Orthodox 11%, unknown 2%
Total fertility rate
3.82 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
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
Capital
Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
Chief of State
President Saparmurad NIYAZOV (since NA October 1990)
Constitution
adopted 18 May 1992
Digraph
TX
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: NA chancery: NA telephone: NA
Executive branch
president, prime minister, nine deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers
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
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)
Independence
27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Legal system
based on civil law system
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)
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
Member of
CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, IMF, NACC, UN, UNCTAD
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
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
President
last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA June 1997); results - Saparmurad NIYAZOV 99.5% (ran unopposed)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
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
Economy
Agriculture
cotton, fruits, vegetables
Budget
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Currency
retaining Russian ruble as currency; planning to establish own currency, the manat, but no date set (May 1993)
Economic aid
$280 million offical aid commitments by foreign donors (1992)
Electricity
2,920,000 kW capacity; 13,100 million kWh produced, 3,079 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
rubles per US$1 - 415 (24 December 1992) but subject to wide fluctuations
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
External debt
$650 million (end 1991 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
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
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
Industrial production
growth rate -17% (1992 est.)
Industries
oil and gas, petrochemicals, fertilizers, food processing, textiles
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
53% per month (first quarter 1993)
National product
GDP $NA
National product per capita
$NA
National product real growth rate
-10% (1992 est.)
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.
Unemployment rate
15%-20% (1992 est.)
Communications
Airports
total: 7 useable: 7 with permanent-surface runways: 4 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 4
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)
Railroads
2,120 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
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
Military and Security
Branches
National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), Joint Command Turkmenistan/Russia (Ground, Navy or Caspian Sea Flotilla, Air, and Air Defense)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 933,285; fit for military service 765,824; reach military age (18) annually 39,254 (1993 est.)