revenues: $145.5 billion
expenditures: $156.1 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Public debt:
38.9% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.7% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
25% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$64.43 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$254.3 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$358.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock
Industries:
textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal,
chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber,
paper
Industrial production growth rate:
5.4% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
181.6 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
141.5 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
2.576 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
863 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 79.3%
hydro: 20.4%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.3% (2001)
Oil - production:
42,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
676,600 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:
114,600 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
714,100 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
300 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
893 million cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
36.6 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
31 million cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
35.83 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
8.495 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
-$37.58 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$115.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport
equipment
Exports - partners:
Germany 11.2%, UK 8.1%, Italy 7%, France 5.6%, Russia 4.4%, Spain
4.3% (2007)
Imports:
$162 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment
Imports - partners:
Russia 13.8%, Germany 10.3%, China 7.8%, Italy 5.9%, US 4.8%, France
4.6% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $464 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$76.51 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$247.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$106.4 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$11.35 billion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$162.4 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
Turkish lira (TRY); old Turkish lira (TRL) before 1 January 2005
Currency code:
TRL, YTL
Exchange rates:
Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar - 1.319 (2007), 1.4286 (2006),
1.3436 (2005), 1.4255 (2004), 1.5009 (2003)
note: on 1 January 2005 the old Turkish lira (TRL) was converted to
new Turkish lira (TRY) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 new Turkish
lira
Communications
Turkey
Telephones - main lines in use:
18.413 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
61.976 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: undergoing rapid modernization and expansion
especially with cellular telephones
domestic: additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid
increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of
technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both
fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating
communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a
domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to
mobile-cellular telephone service is growing rapidly
international: country code - 90; international service is provided
by the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic
cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with
Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; satellite
earth stations - 12 Intelsat; mobile satellite terminals - 328 in
the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001)
Radios:
11.3 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions:
20.9 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.tr
Internet hosts:
2.667 million (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
50 (2001)
Internet users:
13.15 million (2006)
Transportation
Turkey
Airports:
117 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 90
over 3,047 m: 15
2,438 to 3,047 m: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
914 to 1,523 m: 19
under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 27
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 17 (2007)
Heliports:
18 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 7,511 km; oil 3,636 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 8,697 km
standard gauge: 8,697 km 1.435-m gauge (1,920 km electrified) (2006)
Roadways:
total: 426,951 km (includes 1,987 km of expressways) (2006)
Waterways:
1,200 km (2005)
Merchant marine:
total: 612
by type: bulk carrier 101, cargo 281, chemical tanker 70,
combination ore/oil 1, container 35, liquefied gas 7, passenger 4,
passenger/cargo 51, petroleum tanker 31, refrigerated cargo 1, roll
on/roll off 28, specialized tanker 2
foreign-owned: 8 (Cyprus 2, Germany 1, Greece 1, Italy 3, UAE 1)
registered in other countries: 595 (Albania 1, Antigua and Barbuda
6, Bahamas 8, Belize 15, Cambodia 26, Comoros 8, Dominica 5, Georgia
14, Greece 1, Isle of Man 2, Italy 1, Kiribati 1, Liberia 7, Malta
176, Marshall Islands 50, Moldova 3, Netherlands 1, Netherlands
Antilles 10, Panama 94, Russia 80, Saint Kitts and Nevis 35, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines 20, Sierra Leone 15, Slovakia 10, Tuvalu
2, UK 2, unknown 2) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Aliaga, Diliskelesi, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Mercin Limani, Nemrut
Limani
Military
Turkey
Military branches:
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara
Kuvvetleri, TKK), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri, TDK;
includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Force (Turk Hava
Kuvvetleri, THK) (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
20 years of age (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 20,213,205
females age 16-49: 19,432,688 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 17,011,635
females age 16-49: 16,433,364 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 660,452
female: 638,527 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
5.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Military - note:
a "National Security Policy Document" adopted in October 2005
increases the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) role in internal security,
augmenting the General Directorate of Security and Gendarmerie
General Command (Jandarma); the TSK leadership continues to play a
key role in politics and considers itself guardian of Turkey's
secular state; in April 2007, it warned the ruling party about any
pro-Islamic appointments; despite on-going negotiations on EU
accession since October 2005, progress has been limited in
establishing required civilian supremacy over the military; primary
domestic threats are listed as fundamentalism (with the definition
in some dispute with the civilian government), separatism (the
Kurdish problem), and the extreme left wing; Ankara strongly opposed
establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region; an overhaul of the
Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) taking place under the "Force
2014" program is to produce 20-30% smaller, more highly trained
forces characterized by greater mobility and firepower and capable
of joint and combined operations; the TLFC has taken on increasing
international peacekeeping responsibilities, and took charge of a
NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command in
Afghanistan in April 2007; the Turkish Navy is a regional naval
power that wants to develop the capability to project power beyond
Turkey's coastal waters; the Navy is heavily involved in NATO,
multinational, and UN operations; its roles include control of
territorial waters and security for sea lines of communications; the
Turkish Air Force adopted an "Aerospace and Missile Defense Concept"
in 2002 and has initiated project work on an integrated missile
defense system; Air Force priorities include attaining a modern
deployable, survivable, and sustainable force structure, and
establishing a sustainable command and control system (2008)
Transnational Issues
Turkey
Disputes - international:
complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the
Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syria and Iraq
protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates
waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in
Iraq; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 1-1.2 million (fighting 1984-99 between Kurdish PKK and
Turkish military; most IDPs in southeastern provinces) (2007)
Illicit drugs:
key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and,
to a lesser extent, the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major
Turkish and other international trafficking organizations operate
out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into
heroin exist in remote regions of Turkey and near Istanbul;
government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy
cultivation and over output of poppy straw concentrate; lax
enforcement of money-laundering controls
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Turkmenistan
Introduction
Turkmenistan
Background:
Eastern Turkmenistan for centuries formed part of the Persian
province of Khurasan; in medieval times Merv (today known as Mary)
was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important
stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885,
Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved
independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. 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 to break
Russia's pipeline monopoly. President for Life Saparmurat NYYAZOW
died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first
multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007.
Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a vice premier under NYYAZOW, emerged as
the country's new president.
Geography
Turkmenistan
Location:
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Geographic coordinates:
40 00 N, 60 00 E
Map references:
Asia
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
Elevation 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
Land use:
arable land: 4.51%
permanent crops: 0.14%
other: 95.35% (2005)
Irrigated land:
18,000 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
60.9 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 24.65 cu km/yr (2%/1%/98%)
per capita: 5,104 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
NA
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
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
Geography - note:
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
People
Turkmenistan
Population:
5,179,571 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34.2% (male 902,811/female 868,428)
15-64 years: 61.5% (male 1,577,187/female 1,607,353)
65 years and over: 4.3% (male 97,480/female 126,312) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 22.6 years
male: 22 years
female: 23.1 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.596% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
25.07 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
6.11 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
-3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 51.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.01 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 47.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.6 years
male: 65.53 years
female: 71.82 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.07 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
fewer than 200 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 100 (2004 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmenistani
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%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8%
male: 99.3%
female: 98.3% (1999 est.)
Education expenditures:
3.9% of GDP (1991)
Government
Turkmenistan
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan
local long form: none
local short form: Turkmenistan
former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type:
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside
the executive branch
Capital:
name: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
geographic coordinates: 37 57 N, 58 23 E
time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat) and 1 independent
city*: Ahal Welayaty (Anew), 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 Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Constitution:
adopted 18 May 1992
Legal system:
based on civil law system and Islamic law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14
February 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14
February 2007)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held on 11 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW elected president;
percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW 89.2%, Amanyaz ATAJYKOW
3.2%, other candidates 7.6%
Legislative branch:
two parliamentary bodies, a People's Council or Halk Maslahaty
(supreme legislative body of about 2,500 delegates, some elected by
popular vote and some appointed; meets at least yearly) and a
National Assembly or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003 (next to be
held in December 2008); National Assembly - last held 19 December
2004 (next to be held in December 2008)
election results: People's Council - percent of vote by party - DPT
100%; seats by party - DPT 2,507; National Assembly - percent of
vote by party - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all
elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of
Turkmenistan and are preapproved by the president
note: in late 2003, a law was adopted reducing the powers of the
National Assembly and making the People's Council the supreme
legislative organ; the People's Council can now legally dissolve the
National Assembly, and the president is now able to participate in
the National Assembly as its supreme leader; the National Assembly
can no longer adopt or amend the constitution or announce
referendums or its elections; since the president is both the
chairman of the People's Council and the supreme leader of the
National Assembly, 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 [Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW]
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 National
Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan (NDMT) and the United Democratic
Party of Turkmenistan (UDPT); NDMT was led by former Foreign
Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the
wake of the 25 November 2002 attack on President NYYAZOW's motorcade
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ADB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO
(correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO (guest),
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Meret Bairamovich ORAZOW
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500
FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard M.
MILES
embassy: No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat,
Turkmenistan 744000
mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070
telephone: [993] (12) 35-00-45
FAX: [993] (12) 39-26-14
Flag description:
green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side,
containing five tribal guls (designs used in producing carpets)
stacked above two crossed olive branches; a white crescent moon
representing Islam with five white stars representing the regions or
welayats of Turkmenistan appear in the upper corner of the field
just to the fly side of the red stripe
Economy
Turkmenistan
Economy - overview:
Turkmenistan is a 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
10th-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to an
almost 50% 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. From 1998-2005,
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 an
average of roughly 15% per year from 2003-07, largely because of
higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the
near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty,
a poor educational system, government misuse of oil and gas
revenues, and Ashgabat's reluctance to adopt market-oriented
reforms. In the past, Turkmenistan's economic statistics were state
secrets. The new government has established a State Agency for
Statistics, but GDP numbers and other figures are subject to wide
margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is
uncertain. Since his election, President BERDIMUHAMEDOW has sought
to improve the health and education systems, ordered unification of
the country's dual currency exchange rate, begun decreasing state
subsidies for gasoline, signed an agreement to build a gas line to
China, and created a special tourism zone on the Caspian Sea. All of
these moves hint that the new post-NYYAZOW government will work to
create a friendlier foreign investment environment.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$26.92 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$26.91 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
11.5% (IMF estimate)
note: official government statistics are widely regarded as
unreliable (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$5,300 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.5%
industry: 40.8%
services: 47.7% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
2.089 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 48.2%
industry: 14%
services: 37.8% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate:
60% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
30% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.8 (1998)
Investment (gross fixed):
32.5% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.664 billion
expenditures: $1.624 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11.3% (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products:
cotton, grain; livestock
Industries:
natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Industrial production growth rate:
10.3% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
12.83 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
9.584 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
1.34 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Oil - production:
180,400 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
107,400 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
40,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - imports:
5,283 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
600 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
68.88 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
19.48 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
49.4 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
2.832 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
$1.705 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$7.567 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, textiles, cotton fiber
Exports - partners:
Ukraine 51.3%, Iran 18.5%, Turkey 5% (2007)
Imports:
$4.516 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
UAE 14.3%, Russia 11.6%, Turkey 10.3%, China 9.1%, Ukraine 8.7%,
Iran 7%, Germany 6.5%, US 5.6% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
$28.25 million from the US (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$5.172 billion (31 December 2007 est.)