Turkmenistan
republicIndependence 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Turkmenistan as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 99 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.
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Geography
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and | Kazakstan
18 fieldsLand useshare of 488,100 sq km
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
Environment - 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 into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea;
- desertification
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
- signed, but not ratified:
- none of the selected agreements
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1997 est.)
Male · female
Ethnic groups(1995)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 39% (male 840,168; female 812,573) 15-64 years : 57% (male 1,182,706; female 1,217,484)
- 65 years and over:
- 4% (male 66,451; female 109,867) (July 1997 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth :
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.03 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.97 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.6 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.98 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Government
Republic; President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV
20 fieldsAssembly, 50 seatsone dot, one seat
Country name
- conventional long form:
- none
- conventional short form:
- Turkmenistan
- local long form:
- none
- 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 : administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
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;
- note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government;
- Deputy Chairmen of the Cabinet of Ministers Mukhamed ABALAKOV (since NA), Babamurad BAZAROV (since NA), Dadebaya ANNAGELDIYEV (since NA), Orazgeldy AYDOGDYYEV (since NA), Hudaayguly HALYKOV (since NA), Aleksandr DADONOV (since NA), Pirkuly ODEYEV (since NA), Rejep SAPAROV (since NA), Boris SHIKHMURADOV (since NA), Batyr SARJAYEV (since NA), Ilaman SHYKHYYEV (since NA)
- cabinet:
- Council of Ministers appointed by the president
note: NIYAZOV has been asked by various local groups, most recently on 26 October 1995 at the annual elders meeting, to be "president for life," but he has declined,
saying the status would require an amendment to the constitution
- elections :
- president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
- election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA 2002; note - extension of President NIYAZOV's term for an additional five years overwhelmingly approved - 99.9% of total vote in favor - by national referendum held 15 January 1994);
- deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president
- election results:
- Saparmurad NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurad NIYAZOV 99.5%
Legislative branch
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (more than 100 seats, some of which are popularly elected and some are appointed; meets infrequently) and a unicameral Assembly or Majlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
- elections :
- People's Council - no elections; Assembly - last held 11 December 1994 (next to be held NA 1999)
- election results:
- Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
- seats by party - Democratic Party 45, other 5;
- note - all 50 preapproved by President NIYAZOV
Political parties and leaders
- Democratic Party of Turkmenistan [Saparmurat NIYAZOV];
- Party for Democratic Development [Durdymurat HOJA-MUHAMEDOV, chairman];
- Agzybirlik [Nurberdy NURMAMEDOV, cochairman, Hubayberdi HALLIYEV, cochairman]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries
International organization participation
CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, NAM, OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Halil UGUR
- chancery:
- 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 588-1500
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Michael W. COTTER
- embassy :
- 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat
- mailing address:
- use embassy street address
- telephone:
- [9] (9312) 35-00-45, 35-00-46, 35-00-42, Tie Line [8] 962-0000
Flag description
- 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 asymmetrical 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 largely desert country with | nomadic cattle raising, intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and | huge gas and oil resources.
22 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(1996 est.)
Economy - overview
Turkmenistan is largely desert country with nomadic cattle raising, intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and huge gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth largest producer. It also possesses the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil resources.
Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit.
The economy recovered slightly in 1996, but high inflation continued. Furthermore, 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.
In 1996, the government set in place a stabilization program aimed at a unified and market-based exchange rate, allocation of government credits by auction, and strict limits on budget deficits. Privatization goals remain limited. Turkmenistan is working hard to open new gas export channels through Iran and Turkey to Europe, but these will take many years to realize.
GDP
purchasing power parity - $11.8 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
Exports
- total value:
- $1.8 billion to states outside the FSU (1996 est.)
- commodities:
- natural gas, cotton, petroleum products, electricity, textiles, carpets
- partners:
- FSU, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Argentina
Imports
- total value :
- $1.3 billion from states outside the FSU (1996 est.)
- commodities:
- machinery and parts, grain and food, plastics and rubber, consumer durables, textiles
- partners:
- FSU, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $10 million (1993) note: commitments, $1,830 million ($375 million drawn), 1992-95
Currency
1 Tukmen manat (TMM) = 100 tenesi; Turkmenistan introduced its national currency on 1 November 1993
Exchange rates
manats per US$1 - 4,070 (January 1997), 2,400 (January 1996) note: government established a unified rate in mid-January 1996
Communications
6 fieldsTelephone system
poorly developed
- domestic:
- NA
- international :
- 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
Transportation
9 fieldsNetworkskm
Highways
- total:
- 23,000 km
- paved:
- 18,300 km (note - these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, meaning that some are paved and some are all-weather gravel surfaced
- unpaved:
- 4,700 km (1990 est.)
Merchant marine
total: 1 oil tanker ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,896 GRT/3,389 DWT (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 22 2,438 to 3,047 m: 13 1,524 to 2,437 m : 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1994 est.)
Military
Army, Air and Air Defense, Republic Security Forces | (internal and border troops), National Guard
7 fieldsMilitary branches
Army, Air and Air Defense, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure
4.5 billion manats (1995); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
Illicit drugs
- limited illicit cultivator of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption;
- limited government eradication program;
- increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Russia and Western Europe;
- also a transshipment point for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS (dependent territory of the UK)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Turkmenistan.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/turkmenistan/1997.