9 est.)

Population below poverty line: 58% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%:
2.6%

highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 2.34 million (1996)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 44%, industry 19%, services
37% (1996)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues: $588.6 million

expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1999 est.)

Industries: natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food
processing

Industrial production growth rate: 18% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 8.371 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.94%

hydro: 0.06%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 4.785 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 4.1 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 1.1 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: cotton, grain; livestock

Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles
8% (1999)

Exports - partners: Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan, Azerbaijan

Imports: $1.65 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15%
(1999)

Imports - partners: Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Germany, US,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan

Debt - external: $2.5 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $27.2 million (1995)

Currency: Turkmen manat (TMM)

Currency code: TMM

Exchange rates: Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2001),
5,200 (January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997),
2,400 (January 1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Turkmenistan Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 363,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,300 (1998)

Telephone system: general assessment: poorly developed

domestic: NA

international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other
CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the
Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from
Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat
switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat;
satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios: 1.225 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (much programming relay