NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500
FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON
embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000
mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070
telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45
FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14

Flag description:
green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side,
containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked
above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on
the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in
the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe

Economy Turkmenistan

Economy - overview:
Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture
in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its
irrigated land is planted in cotton; formerly it was the world's
tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a
nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian
ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure,
Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform,
hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient
economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2004,
Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export
routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term
external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by
perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, largely because of higher
international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near
future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the
burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil and
gas revenues, and its unwillingness to adopt market-oriented
reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and
GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In
particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$27.6 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
IMF estimate: 7.5%
note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these
estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 28.5%
industry: 4