ransportation

Railways:
total: 2,187 km
broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.)

Highways:
total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, meaning
that some are paved and some are all-weather gravel surfaced)
unpaved: 4,512 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway

Pipelines: crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km

Ports and harbors: Turkmenbashi

Merchant marine:
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,896 GRT/3,389 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (1999 est.)

Airports: 64 (1994 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 22
2,438 to 3,047 m: 13
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1994 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 42
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 35 (1994 est.)

@Turkmenistan:Military

Military branches: Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense,
Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,141,227 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 926,160 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 46,487 (2000 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $90 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.4% (FY99)

@Turkmenistan:Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet
determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and

Illicit drugs: limited illicit cultivator of opium poppy, mostly for
domestic consumption; limited government eradication program;
increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from
Southwest Asia to Russia and Western Europe; also a transshipment
point for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan

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TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

@Turks and Caicos Islands:Introduction

Background: The islands were under Jamaican jurisdiction until 1962,
when they assumed the status of a crown colony. The governor of The
Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence,
the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although
independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the
islands are presently a British overseas territory.

@Turks and Caicos Islands:Geography

Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the North