natural gas reserves could prove a boon to
this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can
be worked out.

Turkmenistan Geography

Location: Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and
Kazakhstan

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 60 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area: total: 488,100 sq km

land: 488,100 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries: total: 3,736 km

border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379
km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km

Coastline: 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768
km)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: subtropical desert

Terrain: flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains
in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian
Sea in west

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81.00 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)

highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt

Land use: arable land: 3%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 63%

forests and woodland: 8%

other: 26% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 13,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: 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

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: landlocked

Turkmenistan People

Population: 4,603,244 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 37.88% (male 891,758; female 852,104)

15-64 years: 58.09% (male 1,313,303; female 1,360,690)

65 years and over: 4.03% (male 70,800; female 114,589) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.85% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 28.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 8.98 deaths/1,000