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

agricultural land:

72%;

• arable land 4.1%;
• permanent crops 0.1%;
• permanent pasture 67.8%

forest:

8.8%

other:

19.2% (2011 est.)

• the most densely populated areas are the southern, eastern, and northeastern oases;
• approximately 50% of the population lives in and around the capital of Ashgabat

• earthquakes;
• mudslides;
• droughts;
• dust storms;
• floods

• 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

• the most densely populated areas are the southern, eastern, and northeastern oases;
• approximately 50% of the population lives in and around the capital of Ashgabat

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.89 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.77 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Turkmenistan

local long form:

none

local short form:

Turkmenistan

former:

Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic

etymology:

the suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country," so Turkmenistan literally means the "Land of the Turkmen [people]"

name:

Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)

geographic coordinates:

37 57 N, 58 23 E

time difference:

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

history:

adopted 18 May 1992

amendments:

• proposed by the National Assembly;
• passage requires two-thirds majority vote of the total Assembly membership or absolute majority approval in a referendum;
• amended several times, last in 2016;
• note - in mid-2014, the president established a Constitutional Commission to initiate a process for developing constitutional reforms (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Turkmenistan

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

7 years

chief of state:

President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 7-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 12 February 2017 (next to be held in February 2024)

election results:

Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW reelected president; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (DPT) 97.7%, other 2.3%

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Mejlis (125 seats; members directly elected from single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 15 December 2013 (next to be held in December 2018), although interim elections are held on an ad hoc basis to fill vacant sets

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - DPT 47, Organization of Trade Unions of Turkmenistan 33, Women's Union of Turkmenistan 16, PIE 14, Magtymguly Youth Organization 8, independent 7;
• note - all of these parties support President BERDIMUHAMIDOW

highest court(s):

Supreme Court of Turkmenistan (consists of the court president and 21 associate judges and organized into civil, criminal, and military chambers)

judge selection and term of office:

judges appointed by the president for 5-year terms

subordinate courts:

• High Commercial Court;
• appellate courts;
• provincial, district, and city courts;
• military courts

• Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan or APT [Ovezmyrat ENERMYRADOW]
• Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Kasymguly BABAYEW]
• Organization of Trade Unions of Turkmenistan
• Magtymguly Youth Organization
• Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs or PIE [Ovezmammed MAMMEDOW]
• Women's Union of Turkmenistan

note: a law authorizing the registration of political parties went into effect in January 2012; unofficial, small opposition movements exist abroad

ADB, CIS (associate member, has not ratified the 1993 CIS charter although it participates in meetings and held the chairmanship of the CIS in 2012), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOW (since 14 February 2001)

chancery:

2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 588-1500

FAX:

[1] (202) 588-0697

chief of mission:

Ambassador Allan MUSTARD (since 20 January 2015)

embassy:

No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 744000

mailing address:

7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070

telephone:

[993] (12) 94-00-45

FAX:

[993] (12) 94-26-14

• 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 in 2008, following the death of President Saparmurat NYYAZOW, to eliminate references to him

agriculture:

48.2%

industry:

14%

services:

37.8% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

31.7% (1998)

general assessment:

telecommunications network is gradually improving

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;
• combined fixed-line and mobile teledensity is about 170 per 100 persons;
• Russia's Mobile Telesystems, the only foreign mobile-cellular service provider in Turkmenistan, had its operating license suspended in December 2010 but was able to resume operations in September 2012;
• Turkmenistan's first telecommunication satellite was launched in 2015 and is expected to greatly improve connectivity in the country

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 (2016)

• broadcast media is government controlled and censored;
• 7 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 removing satellite dishes (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

1; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 23

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

2,138,389

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

total:

2,980 km

broad gauge:

2,980 km 1.520-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 59

total:

58,592 km

paved:

47,577 km

unpaved:

11,015 km (2002)

country comparison to the world: 72

total:

11

by type:

cargo 4, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1 (2010)

country comparison to the world: 110

• 18-27 years of age for compulsory male military service;
• 2-year conscript service obligation;
• 20 years of age for voluntary service;
• males may enroll in military schools from age 15 (2015)

• 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, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• Turkmen who migrate abroad are forced to work in the textile, agriculture, construction, and domestic service industries, while women and girls may also be sex trafficked;
• in 2014, men surpassed women as victims;
• Turkey and Russia are primary trafficking destinations, followed by the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and other parts of Europe;
• Turkmen also experience forced labor domestically in the informal construction industry;
• participation in the cotton harvest is still mandatory for some public sector employees

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Turkmenistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• in 2014, Turkmenistan was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• the government made some progress in its law enforcement efforts in 2014, convicting more offenders than in 2013;
• authorities did not make adequate efforts to identify and protect victims and did not fund international organizations or NGOs that offered protective services;
• some victims were punished for crimes as a result of being trafficked (2015)