]! ^! Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. 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 to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. President for Life Saparmurat NIYAZOV died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMMEDOV, a former NIYAZOV aide, emerged as the country's new president. 
]" ^" Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan ^# 40 00 N, 60 00 E ^$ Asia ^% `! 488,100 sq km `" 488,100 sq km `# NEGL ^& slightly larger than California ^' `! 3,736 km `Y Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km ^( 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) ^) none (landlocked) ^* subtropical desert ^+ flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west ^, `% Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m) `& Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m ^- petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt ^. `' 4.51% `( 0.14% `) 95.35% (2005) ^/ 18,000 sq km (2003) ^0 NA ^1 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 _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 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 
]# ^3 5,097,028 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 34.7% (male 900,718/female 866,930) `, 60.9% (male 1,537,638/female 1,567,049) `- 4.4% (male 97,454/female 127,239) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 22.3 years `. 21.7 years `/ 22.9 years (2007 est.) ^6 1.617% (2007 est.) ^7 25.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.039 male(s)/female `, 0.981 male(s)/female `- 0.766 male(s)/female `2 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 53.49 deaths/1,000 live births `. 57.84 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 48.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 68.3 years `. 65.23 years `/ 71.54 years (2007 est.) ^= 3.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> less than 0.1% (2004 est.) ^? less than 200 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2004 est.) ^A `3 Turkmen(s) `4 Turkmenistani ^B Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) ^C Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% ^D Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 98.8% `. 99.3% `/ 98.3% (1999 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 none `7 Turkmenistan `Z none `[ Turkmenistan `\ Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic ^H republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch ^I `8 Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) `9 37 57 N, 58 23 E `: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty `* administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) ^K 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) ^L Independence Day, 27 October (1991) ^M adopted 18 May 1992 ^N based on civil law system ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMMEDOV (since 14 February 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `< President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMMEDOV (since 14 February 2007) `= Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president `> president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 11 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) `? Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMMEDOV elected president; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMMEDOV 89.2% ^Q under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some elected by popular vote and some appointed; meets at least yearly) and a Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); membership is scheduled to be increased to 65 seats `> People's Council - last held in April 2003 (next to be held in December 2008); Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008) `? 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 the president `* in late 2003, a 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 ^R Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) ^S Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT `* 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 National Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan (NDMT) and the United Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (UDPT); NDMT 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; UDPT is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based in Moscow ^T NA ^U AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO ^V `R Ambassador Murad Bairamovich ORAZOV `S 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 588-1500 `U [1] (202) 588-0697 ^W `R Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jennifer L. BRUSH `_ No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 `` 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070 `T [993] (12) 35-00-45 `U [993] (12) 39-26-14 ^X 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 similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon representing Islam with five white stars representing the regions or velayats of Turkmenistan appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe 
]% ^Y Turkmenistan is a 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 10th-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to an almost 50% 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. From 1998-2005, 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 an average of 15% per year from 2003-06, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. In 2006, Ashgabat raised its natural gas export prices to its main customer, Russia, from $66 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, a poor educational system, government misuse of oil and gas revenues, and Ashgabat's 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. President BERDYMUKHAMMEDOV's election platform included plans to build a gas line to China, to complete the AmuDarya railroad bridge in Lebap province, and to create special border trade zones in southern Balkan province - a hint that the new post-NIYAZOV government will work to create a friendlier foreign investment environment. ^Z $45.11 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $16.16 billion (2006 est.) ^\ IMF estimate: 13% `* official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 est.) ^] $8,900 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 24.4% `A 33.9% `B 41.7% (2006 est.) ^_ 2.32 million (2003 est.) ^` `@ 48.2% `A 13.8% `B 37% (2003 est.) ^a 60% (2004 est.) _! 58% (2003 est.) _" `C 2.6% `D 31.7% (1998) _d 40.8 (1998) _# 11% (2006 est.) _V 28.8% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $1.803 billion `F $2.063 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _& cotton, grain; livestock _' natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing _( 22% (2003 est.) _) 10.79 billion kWh (2004 est.) _* 9.03 billion kWh (2004) _+ 1 billion kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 213,700 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 95,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ 170,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _0 NA bbl/day _W 546 million bbl (2005 est.) _1 58.57 billion cu m (2004 est.) _2 16.57 billion cu m (2004 est.) _X 42 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Y 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 2.01 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $321.2 million (2006 est.) _3 $5.421 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles _5 Ukraine 42.8%, Iran 14.8%, Hungary 5.3% (2005) _6 $3.936 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs _8 UAE 12.7%, Azerbaijan 11.1%, US 9.6%, Russia 9.1%, Ukraine 7.6%, Turkey 7.3%, Iran 6.2%, Germany 5.4% (2005) _[ $3.518 billion (2006 est.) _9 $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) _: $16 million from the US (2001) _; Turkmen manat (TMM) _< Turkmen manat per US$ - 11,100 (2006) official rate `* in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar _= calendar year 
]& _> 495,000 (2006) _? 52,000 (2004) _@ `G poorly developed `H Turkmenistan's telecommunications network remains woefully underdeveloped; Turkmentelekom, in cooperation with foreign investors, is planning to upgrade the country's telephone exchanges and install a new digital switching system `I 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 _A AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) _B 4 (government-owned and programmed) (2004) _C .tm _D 585 (2006) _E 36,000 (2005) 
]' _F 29 (2006) _G `! 22 `a 1 `J 11 `b 8 `c 2 (2006) _R `! 7 `b 2 `c 1 `W 4 (2006) _] 1 (2006) _^ gas 6,441 km; oil 1,361 km (2006) _e `! 2,440 km `r 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2005) _H `! 24,000 km `K 19,488 km `L 4,512 km (1999) _b 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2006) _S `! 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,870 GRT/25,801 DWT by type: cargo 4, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2006) _I Turkmenbasy 
]( _J Ground Forces, Artillery and Rocket Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2006) _T 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004) _K males age 18-49: 1,132,833 females age 18-49: 1,162,569 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 759,978 females age 18-49: 940,179 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 56,532 females age 18-49: 55,413 (2005 est.) _U 3.4% (2005 est.) 
]) _N 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 _c `o 11,173 (Tajikistan) (2006) _O transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan 