Turkmenistan
republicIndependence 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Turkmenistan as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 120 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.
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Geography
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Uzbekistan
23 fieldsMap references
Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States, Standard Time Zones of the World
total area
488,100 sq km
land area
488,100 sq km
comparative area
slightly larger than California
note
Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
International disputes
Russia may dispute current de facto maritime border to midpoint of Caspian Sea from shore
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
arable land
3%
permanent crops
0%
meadows and pastures
69%
forest and woodland
0%
other
28%
current issues
- contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides;
- salinization, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods;
- Caspian Sea pollution;
- diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya river into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea;
- desertification
natural hazards
NA
international agreements
party to - Ozone Layer Protection
People
21 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1994 est.)
total population
65.14 years
male
61.63 years
female
68.82 years (1994 est.)
noun
Turkmen(s)
adjective
Turkmen
total population
100%
male
100%
female
100%
by occupation
agriculture and forestry 44%, industry and construction 20%, other 36% (1992)
Government
Republic
33 fieldsconventional long form
none
conventional short form
Turkmenistan
local long form
Tiurkmenostan Respublikasy
local short form
Turkmenistan
former
Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Administrative divisions
5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty (formerly Tashauz), Lebap Welayaty (Charjew), Mary Welayaty
note
names in parentheses are administrative centers when name differs from welayat name
chief of state
- President Saparmurad NIYAZOV (since NA October 1990);
- election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA 2002);
- results - Saparmurad NIYAZOV 99.5% (ran unopposed);
- note - a 15 January 1994 referendum extended NIYAZOV's term an additional five years until 2002 (99.99% approval)
head of government
Prime Minister (vacant); Deputy Prime Ministers Batyr SARDJAEV, Valery G. OCHERTSOV, Orazgeldi AIDOGDIEV, Djourakuli BABAKULIYEV, Rejep SAPAROV, Boris SHIKHMURADOV, Abad RIZAEVA, Yagmur OVEZOV (since NA)
cabinet
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)
Assembly (Majlis)
- elections last held 7 January 1990 (next to be held late 1994 or early 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
ruling party
Democratic Party (formerly Communist), chairman vacant
opposition
Party for Democratic Development, Durdymurat HOJA-MUKHAMMED, chairman; Agzybirlik, Nurberdy NURMAMEDOV, cochairman, Hubayberdi HALLIYEV, cochairman
note
formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist
Member of
CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
chief of mission
Ambassador Khalil UGUR
chancery
1511 K Street NW, Suite 412, Washington, DC, 20005
chief of mission
Ambassador Joseph S. HULINGS III
embassy
Yubilenaya Hotel, Ashgabat
mailing address
use embassy street address
Flag
- green field, including a vertical stripe on the hoist side, with a claret vertical 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
Economy
Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with nomadic cattle raising, | intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and huge gas and oil | resources.
26 fieldsOverview
Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with nomadic cattle raising, intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and huge gas and oil resources. Half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; it is the world's tenth largest producer. It also is the world's fourth largest producer of natural gas and has the fifth largest reserves.
Furthermore, Turkmenistan has substantial oil resources; its two oil refineries make it an exporter of refined products. Profiting from the move toward market prices for its oil and gas resources, Turkmenistan has suffered the least economic decline of the 15 states of the former USSR. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to questions of economic reform, using the profits from its gas and cotton exports to sustain a generally inefficient economy.
Economic restructuring and privatization have just begun, and price liberalization and price increases have been accompanied by generous wage hikes and subsidies. At the same time, Turkmenistan faces serious constraints on its gas and oil earnings because of the inability of its traditional regional customers to pay for the current level of purchases and the lack of pipeline access to hard currency markets.
Faced with financial shortfalls, rampant inflation, and the desire to ensure a stable currency, the regime has become more receptive to market reforms yet still seeks to offer widespread social benefits to its population and to retain state domination over the economy.
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $13 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Turkmen statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
revenues
$NA
expenditures
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
commodities
natural gas, cotton, petroleum products, textiles, carpets
partners
Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Argentina
commodities
machinery and parts, grain and food, plastics and rubber, consumer durables, textiles
partners
Russia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey
capacity
2,920,000 kW
production
13.1 billion kWh
consumption per capita
3,079 kWh (1992)
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
recipient
Turkmenistan has received about $200 million in bilateral aid credits
Communications
13 fieldstotal
23,000 km
paved and gravel
18,300 km
unpaved
earth 4,700 km (1990)
total
7
usable
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 7.5 telephone circuits per 100 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 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
Defense Forces
National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), | Joint Command Turkmenistan/Russia (Ground, Navy or Caspian Sea | Flotilla, Air, and Air Defense)
4 fieldsBranches
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 15-49 962,987;
- fit for military service 787,991;
- reach military age (18) annually 40,079 (1994 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Turkmenistan.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/turkmenistan/1994.