Railroads:
8,429 km 1.435-meter gauge (including 795 km electrified)
Highways:
total:
320,611 km
paved:
27,000 km (including 138 km of expressways)
unpaved:
gravel 18,500 km; earth 275,111 km (1988)
Inland waterways:
about 1,200 km
Pipelines:
crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km
Ports:
Iskenderun, Istanbul, Mersin, Izmir
Merchant marine:
390 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,664,205 GRT/8,163,379 DWT,
bulk 103, cargo 195, chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 5,
combination ore/oil 12, container 2, liquefied gas 4, livestock
carrier 1, oil tanker 41, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 5, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 2
Airports:
total:
113
usable:
105
with permanent-surface runways:
69
with runways over 3,659 m:
3
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
32
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
27
Telecommunications:
fair domestic and international systems; trunk radio relay microwave
network; limited open wire network; 3,400,000 telephones; broadcast
stations - 15 AM; 94 FM; 357 TV; 1 satellite ground station operating
in the INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean antennas) and EUTELSAT systems; 1
submarine cable
@Turkey, Defense Forces
Branches:
Land Forces, Navy (including Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force,
Coast Guard, Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 16,112,783; fit for military service 9,828,853; reach
military age (20) annually 614,252 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $14 billion, 5.6% of GDP (1994 est.)
@Turkmenistan, Geography
Location:
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Uzbekistan
Map references:
Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States,
Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
488,100 sq km
land area:
488,100 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total 3,736 km, Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km,
Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Coastline:
0 km
note:
Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Maritime claims:
landlocked, but boundaries in the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, and Iran are under negotiations
International disputes:
Russia may dispute current de facto maritime border to midpoint of
Caspian Sea from shore
Climate:
subtropical desert
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
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulphur, salt
Land use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
69%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
28%
Irrigated land:
12,450 sq km (1990)
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 river into irrigation contributes to that river's
inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
party to - Ozone Layer Protection
Note:
landlocked
@Turkmenistan, People
Population: 3,995,122 (July 1994 est.) Population growth rate: 2.01% (1994 est.) Birth rate: 30.42 births/1,000 population (1994 est.) Death rate: 7.44 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.) Net migration rate: -2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.) Infant mortality rate: 69.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.14 years male: 61.63 years female: 68.82 years (1994 est.) Total fertility rate: 3.77 children born/woman (1994 est.) Nationality: noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen Ethnic divisions: Turkmen 73.3%, Russian 9.8%, Uzbek 9%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.9% Religions: Muslim 87%, Eastern Orthodox 11%, unknown 2% Languages: Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% Literacy: age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% Labor force: 1.573 million by occupation: agriculture and forestry 44%, industry and construction 20%, other 36% (1992)
@Turkmenistan, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Turkmenistan
local long form:
Tiurkmenostan Respublikasy
local short form:
Turkmenistan
former:
Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph:
TX
Type:
republic
Capital:
Ashgabat
Administrative divisions:
5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan
Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty (formerly Tashauz), Lebap
Welayaty (Charjew), Mary Welayaty
note:
names in parentheses are administrative centers when name differs from
welayat name
Independence:
27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Constitution:
adopted 18 May 1992
Legal system:
based on civil law system
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Saparmurad NIYAZOV (since NA October 1990); election last
held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA 2002); results - Saparmurad
NIYAZOV 99.5% (ran unopposed); note - a 15 January 1994 referendum
extended NIYAZOV's term an additional five years until 2002 (99.99%
approval)
head of government:
Prime Minister (vacant); Deputy Prime Ministers Batyr SARDJAEV, Valery
G. OCHERTSOV, Orazgeldi AIDOGDIEV, Djourakuli BABAKULIYEV, Rejep
SAPAROV, Boris SHIKHMURADOV, Abad RIZAEVA, Yagmur OVEZOV (since NA)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
under 1992 constitution there are two parliamentary bodies, a
unicameral People's Council (Halk Maslahaty - having more than 100
members and meeting infrequently) and a 50-member unicameral Assembly
(Majlis)
Assembly (Majlis):
elections last held 7 January 1990 (next to be held late 1994 or early
1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (175 total)
elections not officially by party, but Communist Party members won
nearly 90% of seats; note - seats to be reduced to 50 at next election
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
ruling party:
Democratic Party (formerly Communist), chairman vacant
opposition:
Party for Democratic Development, Durdymurat HOJA-MUKHAMMED, chairman;
Agzybirlik, Nurberdy NURMAMEDOV, cochairman, Hubayberdi HALLIYEV,
cochairman
note:
formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition
movements exist
Member of:
CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Khalil UGUR
chancery:
1511 K Street NW, Suite 412, Washington, DC, 20005
telephone:
NA
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph S. HULINGS III
embassy:
Yubilenaya Hotel, Ashgabat
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[7] 36320 24-49-25 or 24-49-26
Flag:
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 assymetrical 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
@Turkmenistan, Economy