Turkmenistan

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

total:

24.65 cu km/yr (2%/1%/98%)

per capita:

5,104 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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

noun:

Turkmen(s)

adjective:

Turkmen

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.77 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Turkmenistan

local long form:

none

local short form:

Turkmenistan

former:

Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic

• defines itself as a secular democracy and a presidential republic;
• in actuality displays authoritarian presidential rule, with power concentrated within the presidential administration

name:

Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)

geographic coordinates:

37 57 N, 58 23 E

time difference:

UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Eileen A. MALLOY

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

• 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;
• five white stars and a white crescent moon appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe;
• the green color and crescent moon represent Islam;
• the five stars symbolize the regions or welayats of Turkmenistan;
• the guls reflect the national identity of Turkmenistan where carpet-making has long been a part of traditional nomadic life

note: the flag of Turkmenistan is the most intricate of all national flags

name:

"Garassyz, Bitarap Turkmenistanyn" (Independent, Neutral, Turkmenistan State Anthem)

lyrics/music:

collective/Veli MUKHATOV

note: adopted 1997, lyrics revised 2008; following the death of the President Saparmurat NYYAZOW, the lyrics were altered to eliminate references to the former president

agriculture:

48.2%

industry:

14%

services:

37.8% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

31.7% (1998)

general assessment:

• telecommunications network remains underdeveloped and progress toward improvement is slow;
• strict government control and censorship inhibits liberalization and modernization

domestic:

• Turkmentelekom, in cooperation with foreign partners, has installed high speed fiber-optic lines and has upgraded most of the country's telephone exchanges and switching centers with new digital technology;
• mobile telephone usage is expanding with Russia's Mobile Telesystems (MTS) the primary service provider;
• combined fixed-line and mobile teledensity is about 40 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 993;
• linked by fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch;
• an exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat (2008)

• broadcast media is government controlled and censored;
• 4 state-owned TV and 4 state-owned radio networks;
• satellite dishes and programming provide an alternative to the state-run media;
• officials sometimes limit access to satellite TV by seizing satellite dishes (2007)

total:

2,980 km

country comparison to the world: 56

broad gauge:

2,980 km 1.520-m gauge (2010)

total:

58,592 km

country comparison to the world: 75

paved:

47,577 km

unpaved:

11,015 km (2002)

males age 16-49:

1,380,794

females age 16-49:

1,387,211 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,066,649

females age 16-49:

1,185,538 (2010 est.)

male:

53,829

female:

52,988 (2010 est.)

• cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states;
• field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005, but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled with Azerbaijan, Iran, and Kazakhstan due to Turkmenistan's indecision over how to allocate the sea's waters and seabed;
• bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian

current situation:

• Turkmenistan is a source country for men and women subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution;
• women from Turkmenistan are subjected to forced prostitution in Turkey, and men and women from Turkmenistan are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Turkey, including in textile sweatshops, construction sites, and in domestic servitude;
• Turkmen trafficking victims were also identified for the first time in Russia, the United Kingdom, and within Turkmenistan

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - although the government continued discussions with IOM on providing shelter space, it did not fulfill its commitment to allocate financial or in-kind assistance to anti-trafficking organizations;
• the government did not show any significant efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes or to identify and protect victims of trafficking (2011)