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Travel to Turkmenistan — Unbiased reviews
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President: Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov
(2007)
Current government officials
Total area: 188,455 sq mi (488,100 sq km)
Population (2007 est.): 5,136,262
(growth rate: 1.8%); birth rate: 27.5/1000; infant mortality rate:
72.0/1000; life expectancy: 62.3; density per sq mi: 27
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Ashgabat, 727,700
Other large cities: Chardzhou,
213,500; Tashauz, 160,400
Monetary unit: Manat
Languages:
Turkmen 72%; Russian 12%; Uzbek 9%, other
7%
Ethnicity/race:
Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6%
(2003)
Religions:
Islam 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Literacy rate: 98.9% (1999 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007
est.): $26.73 billion; per capita $5,200. Real growth rate:
11.6% (IMF est.). Inflation: 6.4%. Unemployment:
60% (2004 est.). Arable land: 4%. Agriculture:
cotton, grain; livestock. Labor force: 2.089 million (2004
est.); agriculture 48.2%, industry 14%, services 37.8%.
Industries: natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles,
food processing. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas,
coal, sulfur, salt. Exports: $4.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.):
gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles.
Imports: $4.175 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and
equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs. Major trading partners:
Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Italy, U.S., Russia, UAE, Germany, France,
Georgia (2004).
Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 363,000 (1997); mobile cellular: 4,300 (1998). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998).
Radios: 1.225 million (1997). Television broadcast
stations: 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey)
(1997). Televisions: 820,000 (1997). Internet Service
Providers (ISPs): n.a. Internet users: 2,000 (2000).
Transportation: Railways: total: 2,440
km (2002). Highways: total: 24,000 km; paved: 19,488 km;
unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.). Waterways: the Amu Darya is an
important inland waterway. Ports and harbors: Turkmenbasy
Airports: 76 (2002).
International disputes: prolonged
regional drought creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya
river states; Turkmenistan has not committed to follow either Iran
or the other littoral states in the division of the Caspian Sea
seabed and water column; ICJ decision expected to resolve dispute
with Azerbaijan over sovereignty over Caspian oilfields; demarcation
of land boundary with Kazakhstan is underway—maritime boundary
not resolved.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Turkmenistan (formerly Turkmenia) is bounded by the Caspian Sea in the
west, Kazakhstan in the north, Uzbekistan in the east, and Iran and
Afghanistan in the south. About nine-tenths of Turkmenistan is desert,
chiefly the Kara-Kum. One of the world's largest sand deserts, it is
approximately 138,966 sq mi (360,000 sq km).
Government
One-party republic.
History
Turkmenistan was once part of the ancient Persian Empire. The Turkmen
people were originally pastoral nomads and some of them continued this way
of life up into the 20th century, living in transportable dome-shaped felt
tents. The territory was ruled by the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century.
The Mongols of Ghenghis Khan conquered the land in the 13th century; they
dominated the area for the next two centuries until they were deposed in
the late 15th century by invading Uzbeks. Prior to the 19th century,
Turkmenia was divided into two lands, one belonging to the khanate of
Khiva and the other belonging to the khanate of Bukhara. In 1868, the
khanate of Khiva was made part of the Russian Empire and Turkmenia became
known as the Transcaspia Region of Russian Turkistan. Turkmenistan was
later formed out of the Turkistan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic,
founded in 1922, and was made an independent Soviet Socialist Republic on
May 13, 1925. It was the poorest of the Soviet republics.
Turkmenistan declared its sovereignty in Aug. 1990 and became a member
of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Dec. 21, 1991, together with
ten other former Soviet republics. It established a government more
authoritarian than those functioning in the other newly independent
central Asian republics. President Saparmurat Niyazov, also called the
Turkmenbashi (Leader of All Turkmens), has attempted to create a cult of
personality through extravagant self-promotion. Cities, aftershave, and a
meteor now bear his name. In 2002, he renamed all the months of the
calendar—April is now named after his mother. Niyazov was voted
president-for-life by his rubber-stamp parliament in 1999.
In the 1990s, Turkmenistan exported gas through a Russian pipeline,
bringing in about $1 billion per year. But in 1993, Russia closed down
Turkmenistan's only pipeline because it competed with Russia's own gas
exportation. Turkmenistan was limited to exporting gas to its impoverished
central Asian neighbors, who were unable to pay their bills. The nation
then opened a pipeline route to Iran, generally agreed to be the most
economical route for exporting Caspian oil, and thus ruffled the feathers
of Iran's enemy, the U.S. So far, the new plan has not brought in money,
and the country is living off loans from Western countries, such as
Germany, who hope to partner with the oil-rich, money-poor country. In
2003, Russia agreed to buy 60 billion cubic meters of gas from
Turkmenistan annually. At the time of the deal, Turkmenistan began to
restrict the rights of its ethnic Russian citizens, infuriating
Russia.
An alleged assassination attempt against Niyazov in Nov. 2002 (thought
by outsiders to have been staged) resulted in the conviction of 46
opposition leaders and critics of the government.
In recent years, the country's educational system has degenerated
significantly—the number of years of school required has been
reduced, the curriculum has grown increasingly vocational, and substantial
classroom time is devoted to political propaganda, including the
president's own book, Rukhnama (Book of the Soul). On Dec. 21,
2006, Saparmurat Niyazov died suddenly after 21 years of draconian rule.
In Feb. 2007, the country held its first contested elections, and former
deputy prime minister and health minister Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov won
in a landslide. The exceptionally high voter turnout and margin of victory
left many observers to question the validity of the election.
In July 2007, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Kazakhstan agreed to build new
pipeline north of the Caspian Sea, ensuring Russian access to Turkmen
gas.
In April 2008, Turkmenistan reverted to its old calendar with Turkic
and Russian names when President Berdymukhamadov abolished the names of
days and months introduced by the previous president.
On Sept. 26, 2008, after two decades of isolation under autocratic
leader Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan adopted a new constitution that
abolishes the exsisting People's Council and calls for a new parliament
almost double in size, promoting multi-party politics and a market
economy. Parliamentary elections will be held in December 2008.
See also Encyclopedia: Turkmenistan.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Turkmenistan
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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