:Turkmenistan Geography Total area: 488,100 km2 Land area: 488,100 km2 Comparative area: slightly larger than California Land boundaries: 3,736 km total; Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km Coastline: 0 km note: Turkmenistan does border the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) Maritime claims: none - landlocked Disputes: none Climate: subtropical desert Terrain: flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; borders Caspian Sea in west Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulphur, salt, magnesium Land use: NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures; NA% forest and woodland; NA% other; includes NA% irrigated Environment: NA Note: landlocked :Turkmenistan People Population: 3,838,108 (July 1992), growth rate 2.4% (1992) Birth rate: 36 births/1,000 population (1992) Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1992) Net migration rate: -3 migrants/1,000 population (1992) Infant mortality rate: 94 deaths/1,000 live births (1992) Life expectancy at birth: 59 years male, 66 years female (1992) Total fertility rate: 4.5 children born/woman (1992) Nationality: noun - Turkmen(s); adjective - Turkmen Ethnic divisions: Turkmen 72%, Russian 9%, Uzbek 9%, other 10% Religions: Islam 85%, Eastern Orthodox 10%, unknown 5% Languages: Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA) age 15 and over can read and write Labor force: 1,542,000; agriculture and forestry 42%, industry and construction 21%, other 37% (1990) Organized labor: NA :Turkmenistan Government Long-form name: none Type: republic Capital: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) Administrative divisions: 4 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast'); Balkan (Nebit-Dag), Chardzhou, Mary, Tashauz; note - the rayons around Ashgabat are under direct republic jurisdiction; all oblasts have the same name as their administrative center except Balkan Oblast, centered at Nebit-Dag Independence: 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union; formerly Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic) Constitution: adopted 18 May 1992 Legal system: NA National holiday: Independence Day, 27 October (1991) Executive branch: president, prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers Legislative branch: Majlis Judicial branch: NA Leaders: Chief of State: President Saparmurad NIYAZOV (since 21 June 1992) Head of Government: Prime Minister (vacant), Deputy Prime Ministers V. G. OCHERTSOV and Atta CHARYYEV (since NA 1991) Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party (formerly Communist), Saparmurad NIYAZOV, chairman opposition: Democratic Party, Durdymorad KHODZHA Mukhammed, chairman Suffrage: universal at age 18 Elections: President: last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA June 1997); results - Saparmurad NIYAZOV 99.5% (ran unopposed) Majlis: last held 7 January 1990 (next to be held NA 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 Communists: renamed Democratic Party, 16 December 1990 Other political or pressure groups: Agzybirlik (Unity) Movement Member of: CIS, CSCE, IBRD, IMF, NACC, UN, UNCTAD Diplomatic representation: NA US: Ambassador-designate Joseph HULINGS; Embassy at Yubilenaya Hotel, Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) (mailing address is APO; AE 09862); telephone [8] (011) 7-3630-24-49-08 :Turkmenistan Government Flag: green field with five claret carpet gels (that is, a repeated carpet pattern) on the hoist side; a white crescent and five white stars in the upper left corner to the right of the carpet gels :Turkmenistan Economy Overview: Like the other 15 former Soviet republics, Turkmenistan faces enormous problems of economic adjustment - to move away from Moscow-based central planning toward a system of decisionmaking by private enterpreneurs, local government authorities, and, hopefully, foreign investors. This process requires wholesale changes in supply sources, markets, property rights, and monetary arrangements. Industry - with 10% of the labor force - is heavily weighted toward the energy sector, which produced 11% of the ex-USSR's gas and 1% of its oil. Turkmenistan ranked second among the former Soviet republics in cotton production, mainly in the irrigated western region, where the huge Karakumskiy Canal taps the Amu Darya. GDP: purchasing power equivalent - NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate -0.6% (1991 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 85% (1991) Unemployment rate: 20-25% (1991 est.) Budget: NA Exports: $239 million (1990) commodities: natural gas, oil, chemicals, cotton, textiles, carpets partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan Imports: $970 million (1990) commodities: machinery and parts, plastics and rubber, consumer durables, textiles partners: NA External debt: $650 million (end of 1991 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 4.1% (1991) Electricity: 3,170,000 kW capacity; 14,900 million kWh produced, 4,114 kWh per capita (1990) Industries: oil and gas, petrochemicals, fertilizers, food processing, textiles Agriculture: cotton, fruits, vegetables Illicit drugs: illicit producers of cannabis and opium; mostly for domestic consumption; status of government eradication programs unknown; used as transshipment points for illicit drugs to Western Europe Economic aid: NA Currency: As of May 1992, retaining ruble as currency Exchange rates: NA Fiscal year: calendar year :Turkmenistan Communications Railroads: 2,120 km all 1.520-meter gauge Highways: 23,000 km total (1990); 18,300 km hard surfaced, 4,700 km earth Inland waterways: NA km Pipelines: NA Ports: inland - Krasnovodsk Civil air: NA Airports: NA Telecommunications: poorly developed; telephone density NA; linked by landline or microwave to other CIS member states and Iran, and by leased connections via the Moscow international gateway switch to other countries; satellite earth stations - Orbita and INTELSAT (TV receive only) :Turkmenistan Defense Forces Branches: Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard; CIS Forces (Ground, Air and Air Defense) Manpower availability: males 15-49, NA; NA fit for military service; NA reach military age (18) annually Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP