Turkmenistan

Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1925. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can be worked out.

• flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south;
• low mountains along border with Iran;
• borders Caspian Sea in west

• 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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• 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

0-14 years:

36.8% (male 899,954; female 855,293)

15-64 years:

59.2% (male 1,386,606; female 1,438,333)

65 years and over:

4.1% (male 74,958; female 120,400) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.62 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Turkmen(s)

adjective:

Turkmen

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Turkmenistan

local long form:

none

former:

Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic

local short form:

Turkmenistan

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:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA);
• note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the Assembly 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%

note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 by the Assembly (Majlis) during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV

FAX:

[1] (202) 588-0697

telephone:

[1] (202) 588-1500

chancery:

2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission:

Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON

embassy:

9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[9] (9312) 35-00-45

FAX:

[9] (9312) 39-26-14

• green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag;
• a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

31.7% (1998)

• Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (2002), 5,200 (2001), 5,200 (2000), 5,200 (1999), 4,890.17 (1998);
• note - the official exchange rate has not varied for the last four years;
• the unofficial rate has fluctuated slightly, hovering around 21,000 manats to the dollar

general assessment:

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

total:

2,440 km

broad gauge:

2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2002)

total:

24,000 km

paved:

19,488 km

unpaved:

4,512 km (1999 est.)

total:

2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT

ships by type:

combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.)

• prolonged regional drought creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states;
• Turkmenistan has not committed to follow either Iran or the other littoral states in the division of the Caspian Sea seabed and water column;
• ICJ decision expected to resolve dispute with Azerbaijan over sovereignty over Caspian oilfields;
• demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan is underway - maritime boundary not resolved

• transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets;
• limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption;
• small-scale government-run eradication of illicit crops;
• transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan