Turkmenistan

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Country summary

Capital

Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)

Borders

Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km

Government type

defines itself as a secular democracy and a presidential republic; in actuality displays authoritarian presidential rule, with power concentrated within the executive branch

Population

4,884,887 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

1.141% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

67.87 years[1]

Unemployment

60% (2004 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

171[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

168[3]


Eastern Turkmenistan for centuries formed part of the Persian province of Khurasan; in medieval times Merv (today known as Mary) was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. 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 diversify its gas export routes beyond the existing Russian pipeline network. President for Life Saparmurat NYYAZOW died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential electoral process in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a vice premier under NYYAZOW, emerged as the country's new president.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Turkmen new manat (ISO code: TMT)


Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[4] 2 451 2 905 3 535 4 462 5 977 6 837 17 175 21 395 9 474 15 327
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[5]
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[6]
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[7]
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 CIA - The World Factbook. "Turkmenistan", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  2. Heritage Foundation. "Turkmenistan", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  3. Transparency International. "Turkmenistan", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  4. World Bank. "Turkmenistan: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  5. World Bank. "Turkmenistan: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  6. World Bank. "Turkmenistan: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  7. World Bank. "Turkmenistan: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.

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