Turkmenistan
republicIndependence 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Turkmenistan as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 127 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. 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 were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly.
Geography
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
18 fieldsLand useshare of 488,100 sq km
More
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;
- 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
19 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2005 est.)
Male · female
Ethnic groups(2003)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.06 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 (2005 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 (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred)
18 fieldsParliament or Mejlis, 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
Government type
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Administrative divisions
5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (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)
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 (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:
- Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president
note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty)
- elections:
- president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
- election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run);
- note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council 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%
Legislative branch
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
- elections:
- People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009)
- election results:
- Mejlis - DPT 100%;
- seats by party - DPT 50;
- note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV
note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader;
the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government
Political parties and leaders
Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
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 Gundogar and Erkin;
Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe
International organization participation
AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV
- 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 Tracey A. JACOBSON
- embassy:
- 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000
- mailing address:
- 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070
- telephone:
- [9] (9312) 35-00-45
- FAX:
- [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Flag description
- 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
Economy
Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources.
44 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2004 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
Turkmenistan is 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 tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% 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. In 1998-2004, 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 perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil and gas revenues, and its unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms.
Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain.
GDP - real growth rate
IMF estimate: 7.5% note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.)
Exchange rates
Turkmen manats per US dollar - 10,100 (2004), 10,034 (2003), 10,098 (2002), 5,200 (2001) note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 21,000 manats to the dollar
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- poorly developed
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- country code - 993;
- 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
10 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Merchant marine
- total:
- 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT
- by type:
- cargo 3, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2005)
Military
Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2004)
7 fieldsMilitary service age and obligation
18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states;
- bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian;
- demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled
Illicit drugs
transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Turkmenistan.” The World Factbook 2005. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/turkmenistan/2005.