: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m

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

Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 0% other: 96% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 18,000 sq km (1998 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; the western and central low-lying,
desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum)
desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau

People Turkmenistan

Population: 4,688,963 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 37.3% (male 895,536; female 853,301) 15-64
years: 58.6% (male 1,350,142; female 1,399,879) 65 years and over: 4.1%
(male 72,784; female 117,321) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.84% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 28.27 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 8.92 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 73.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 64.8 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 3.54 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 100 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Turkmen(s) adjective: Turkmen

Ethnic groups: Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other
5.1% (1995)

Religions: Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%

Languages: Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.)

Government Turkmenista