nomy
recovered slightly in 1996, but high inflation continued. Furthermore,
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. In 1996, the government set in place a
stabilization program aimed at a unified and market-based exchange
rate, allocation of government credits by auction, and strict limits
on budget deficits. Privatization goals remain limited. Turkmenistan
is working hard to open new gas export channels through Iran and
Turkey to Europe, but these will take many years to realize.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.8 billion (1996 estimate as
extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.1% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,840 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture : 16%
industry: 48%
services: 36% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 600% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total : 1.68 million (1995)
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 43%, industry and construction
20%, other 37% (1992)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

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

Industrial production growth rate: 17.9% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 3.95 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 9.87 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 1,855 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: cotton, grain; livestock

Exports:
total value: $1.8 billion to states outside the FSU (1996 est.)
commodities: natural gas, cotton, petroleum products, electricity,
textiles, carpets
partners: FSU, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Argentina

Imports:
total value : $1.3 billion from states outside the FSU (1996 est.)
commodities: machinery and parts, grain and food, plastics and rubber,
consumer durables, textiles
partners: FSU, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey

Debt - external: $400 million (of which $275 million to Russia) (1995
est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $10 million (1993)
note: commitments, $1,830 million ($375 million drawn), 1992-95

Currency: 1 Tukmen manat (TMM) = 100 tenesi; Turkmenistan introduced
its national currency on 1 November 1993

Exchange rates: manats per US$1 - 4,070 (January 1997), 2,400 (January
1