Turkmenistan

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Turkmenistan

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Türkmenistan/Turkmenistan Area 488,100 sq km/188,455 sq mi Capital Ashgabat Language Turkmen (a Turkic language; official), Russian, Uzbek, other regional languages Religion Sunni Muslim Time difference GMT +5 Major holidays 1, 12 January, 19, 22 February, 8 March, 29 April, 9, 18 May, 27–28 October


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Chärjew, Mary, Nebitdag, Dashhowuz, Turkmenbashi Major ports Turkmenbashi Physical about 90% of land is desert including the Kara Kum ‘Black Sands’ desert (area 310,800 sq km/120,000 sq mi) Airports one international airport and three domestic airports; total passengers carried: 1.4 million (2003 est) Railways total length: 2,313 km/1,437 mi; total passenger journeys: 3.1 million (2000) Roads total road network: 24,000 km/14,914 mi, of which 81.2% paved (1999 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state and government Saparmurad Niyazov from 1990 Political system authoritarian nationalist Political executive unlimited presidency Administrative divisions five regions Political parties Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, ex-communist, pro-Niyazov; Turkmen Popular Front (Agzybirlik), nationalist Death penalty abolished in 1999 Armed forces 26,000 (2006 est) Conscription military service is compulsory for 24 months Defence spend (% GDP) 1.2 (2004 est) Health spend (% GDP) 2.6 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency manat GDP (US$) 6.8 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 9 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 6.6 billion (2004 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 8,000 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 9% (2006 est) Unemployment 2.5% (2002) Labour force 48.2% agriculture, 13.8% industry, 38% services (2003) Foreign debt (US$) 1.5 billion (2004 est) Major trading partners Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Iran, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Germany Resources petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulphur, magnesium, iodine-bromine, sodium sulphate and different types of salt Industries mining, petroleum refining, energy generation, textiles, chemicals, cement, mineral fertilizer, footwear Exports natural gas, petroleum and petroleum products cotton fibre, textiles, electric energy. Principal market: Ukraine 46% (2003) Imports machinery and equipment, metalwork, light industrial products, processed food, agricultural products. Principal source: Russia 21% (2004) Arable land 4.5% (2006 est)


POPULATION

Population 4,899,500 (2006 est) Population growth rate 1.3% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 10 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 46 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 32%, 15–59 62%, 60+ 6% (2005 est) Ethnic groups 77% ethnic Turkmen, 7% ethnic Russian, 9% Uzbek, 3% Kazakh, 1% Ukrainian, Armenian, Azeri, and Tartar Life expectancy 59 (men); 68 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 103 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 9 Literacy rate 99% (men); 98% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 31.7 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 7.1 (2002 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) <0.1 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 93 (urban); 54 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 7.7 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 1 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 289 (1998 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 183 (2004 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 0.7 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

6th century BC Part of the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great. 4th century BC Part of the empire of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. 7th century Spread of Islam into Transcaspian region, followed by Arab rule from 8th century. 10th–13th centuries Immigration from northeast by nomadic Oghuz Seljuk and Mongol tribes, whose Turkic-speaking descendants now dominate the country; conquest by Genghis Khan. 16th century Came under dominance of Persia, to the south. 1869–81 Fell under control of tsarist Russia after 150,000 Turkmen were killed in Battle of Gok Tepe in 1881; became part of Russia's Turkestan Governor-Generalship. 1916 Turkmen revolted violently against Russian rule; autonomous Transcaspian government formed after Russian Revolution of 1917. 1919 Brought back under Russian control following invasion by the Soviet Red Army. 1921 Part of Turkestan Soviet Socialist Autonomous Republic. 1925 Became constituent republic of USSR. 1920s–30s Soviet programme of agricultural collectivization and secularization provoked sporadic guerrilla resistance and popular uprisings. 1960–67 Lenin Kara-Kum Canal built, leading to dramatic expansion in cotton production in previously semidesert region. 1985 Saparmurad Niyazov replaced Muhammad Gapusov, local communist leader since 1971, whose regime had been viewed as corrupt. 1989 Stimulated by the glasnost initiative of reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Agzybirlik ‘popular front’ formed by Turkmen intellectuals. 1990 Economic and political sovereignty declared. Niyazov elected state president. 1991 Niyazov initially supported attempted anti-Gorbachev coup in Moscow. Independence declared; Turkmenistan joined new Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). 1992 Joined Muslim Economic Cooperation Organization and United Nations (UN); new constitution adopted. 1993 New currency (manat) introduced; programme of cautious economic reform introduced; foreign investment in huge oil and gas reserves encouraged. Economy continued to contract. 1994 Nationwide referendum overwhelmingly backed Niyazov's presidency. Ex-communists won most seats in parliamentary elections. 1997 Private land ownership legalized. 2002 President Saparmurad Niyazov survived assassination attempt; four former government ministers and officials allegedly behind attack. 2003 In Moscow, President Nyazov signed agreement with Gazprom; Russia to purchase 60 billion cubic metres of Turkmen gas annually. Niyazov sparked row with Russia by cancelling 1993 dual citizenship agreement between them. 2004 Presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan signed friendship declaration; included agreement on water resources. 2005 Deputy prime minister Elly Kurbanmuradov fired and later sentenced to 25 years for corruption and other charges. Rejep Saparov sacked as head of presidential administration; sentenced to 20 years for corruption. 2006 President ordered extensive cuts to state pensions; claimed he needed to ‘bring order’ to pension system. Agreement signed with China to build pipeline to supply China with Turkmen gas. Russia's Gazprom agreed to pay 54% more for Turkmen gas. President Niyazov died; Deputy prime minister Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov became interim president. 2007 Berdymukhamedov won presidential elections. Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia agreed to build new pipeline north of Caspian Sea to ensure Russian access to Turkmen gas.


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