STATISTICS: TURKMENISTAN

Turkmenistan Official name: Trkmenistan (Turkmenistan). Form of government: unitary republic with one legislative body (Majlis [Parliament; 50]). Head of state and government: President assisted by the People's Council{1}. Capital: Ashgabat (formerly Ashkhabad). Official language: Turkmen. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: manat; valuation (Oct. 2, 1998) 1 U.S.$ = 5,200 manat; 1 = 8,853 manat. Demography Population (1998): 4,731,000. Density (1997): persons per sq mi 25.1, persons per sq km 9.7. Urban-rural (1996): urban 44.8%; rural 55.2%. Sex distribution (1996): male 49.59%; female 50.41%. Age breakdown (1989): under 15, 40.5%; 15-29, 28.8%; 30-44, 15.5%; 45-59, 9.1%; 60-74, 4.7%; 75 and over, 1.4%. Population projection: (2000) 4,905,000; (2010) 5,736,000. Doubling time: 39 years. Ethnic composition (1997): Turkmen 77.0%; Uzbek 9.2%; Russian 6.7%; Kazak 2.0%; Tatar 0.8%; other 4.3%. Religious affiliation (1995): Muslim (mostly Sunni) 87.0%; Russian Orthodox 2.4%; other (mostly nonreligious) 10.6%. Major cities (1991): Ashgabat 416,400; Chrjew 166,400; Dashhowuz 117,000; Mary 94,900; Nebitdag 89,100. Vital statistics Birth rate per 1,000 population (1994): 32.1 (world avg. 25.0); legitimate 96.2%; illegitimate 3.8%. Death rate per 1,000 population (1994): 7.9 (world avg. 9.3). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (1994): 24.2 (world avg. 15.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 1995): 4.0. Marriage rate per 1,000 population (1994): 8.7. Divorce rate per 1,000 population (1994): 1.5. Life expectancy at birth (1994): male 61.5 years; female 68.5 years. Major causes of death per 100,000 population (1994): diseases of the circulatory system 337.1; diseases of the respiratory system 150.3; infectious and parasitic diseases 75.7; accidents, poisoning, and violence 60.1; malignant neoplasms (cancers) 56.8; diseases of the digestive system 31.1. National economy Budget (1996). Revenue: 1,251,505,000,000 manat (value-added tax 35.0%, company profit tax 23.0%, social security tax 13.0%, natural resource tax 12.0%, other taxes 17.0%). Expenditures: 1,314,895,000,000 manat (capital investment 19.0%, social welfare 15.0%, education 13.0%, health 12.0%, defense 7.0%, price subsidies 4.0%, other expenditures 30.0%). Public debt (external, outstanding; 1996): U.S.$538,200,000. Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (1996): vegetables 643,500, seed cotton 450,000, cereals 385,000, fruit 206,000; livestock (number of live animals) 6,574,000 sheep and goats, 1,199,000 cattle, 82,000 pigs, 3,500,000 poultry; roundwood (1990) 4,000,000 cu m; fish catch (1995) 40,013. Mining and quarrying (1995): sodium sulphate 400,000, sulfur 240,000. Manufacturing (value of production in '000,000 manat; 1994): ferrous and nonferrous metals 278; machinery and metalworks 223; food products 129; chemical products 90; construction materials 52; wood products 31. Construction (1994): 1,700,000 sq m. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 1994) 10,496,000,000 (7,846,000,000); coal (metric tons; 1994) none (none); crude petroleum (barrels; 1994) 30,053,000 (30,053,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 1994) 2,765,000 (2,765,000); natural gas (cu m; 1994) 30,891,000,000 (8,332,000,000). Household income and expenditure. Average household size (1989) 5.6; income per household: 3,853 manat (U.S.$ equivalent, n.a.{2}); sources of income (1996): wages and salaries 70.6%, pensions and grants 20.9%, self-employment 2.3%{3}, nonwage income of workers 1.1%; expenditure (1996): goods 26.8%, services 13.5%, taxes and other payments 9.4%. Land use (1994): forested 8.2%; meadows and pastures 61.6%; agricultural and under permanent cultivation 3.0%; other 27.2%. Population economically active (1996): total 1,680,000; activity rate of total population 36.8% (participation rates : ages 16-59 , 16-54 81.0%; female 41.0%; unemployed 3.0%{4}). Gross national product (at current market prices; 1995): U.S.$4,319,000,000 (U.S.$940 per capita){2}. Tourism: n.a. Foreign trade Imports (1996): U.S.$1,532,000,000 (machinery and equipment 37.4%, food products 22.3%, chemicals 3.4%, medicines 2.5%). Major import sources (1995): U.S.$ 25.8%; Ukraine 17.4%; Turkey 13.1%; Russia 10.1%; Cyprus 3.9%. Exports (1996): U.S.$1,691,000,000 (natural gas and oil products 69.2%, cotton 19.6%). Major export destinations (1995): Russia 62.5%; Switzerland 6.5%; Hong Kong 6.2%; Turkey 4.7%; Kazakstan 3.2%. Transport Transport. Railroads (1995): length (1996) 1,317 mi, 2,120 km; passengers transported 1,773,000; short ton-mi cargo 6,004,000, metric ton-km cargo 8,766,000. Roads (1995): total length 8,451 mi, 13,600 km (paved 88.9%). Vehicles (1995): passenger cars 220,000; trucks and buses, 58,200. Merchant marine: vessels (100 gross tons and over) n.a.; total deadweight tonnage, n.a. Air transport (1989): passenger-mi 2,021,000,000, passenger-km 3,253,000,000; short ton-mi cargo 222,000,000, metric ton-km cargo 324,200,000; airports (1997) with scheduled flights 1. Education and health Educational attainment (1989). Percentage of population age 25 and over having: primary education or no formal schooling 13.6%; some secondary 21.3%; completed secondary and some postsecondary 56.8%; higher 8.3%. Literacy (1989): total population age 15 and over literate 3,453,000 (97.7%); males literate 1,714,000 (98.8%); females literate 1,739,000 (96.6%). Health (1995): physicians 13,500 (1 per 330 persons); hospital beds 46,000 (1 per 97 persons); (1994) infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births 46.4. Military Total active duty personnel (1997): 18,000 (100% army). Military expenditure as percentage of GNP (1995): 1.7% (world 2.8%); per capita expenditure U.S.$48. {1} The People's Council is the ultimate representative organ of governmental supervision and is composed of the president, membership of the Majlis, elected members, and a variety of ex officio members of national, provincial, and local government. {2} Ruble-area GNP and exchange-rate data for this period are very speculative. {3} Mainly agricultural income. {4} Every Turkmen citizen is guaranteed employment, so that unemployment does not officially exist. However, the 1995 Household Survey indicates an unemployment rate of about 3 percent of the labour force (defined as those actively seeking employment but not employed as a proportion of the labour force).