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EconomyEconomy - overview
Turkmenistan is largely a desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and sizeable gas and oil resources. The two largest crops are cotton, most of which is produced for export, and wheat, which is domestically consumed. Although agriculture accounts for roughly 10% of GDP, it continues to employ nearly half of the country's workforce. Turkmenistan's authoritarian regime has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton export revenues to sustain its inefficient and highly corrupt economy. Privatization goals remain limited. From 1998-2005, 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 an average of roughly 15% per year from 2003-08, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Additional pipelines to China and Iran, that began operation in early 2010, have expanded Turkmenistan's export routes for its gas, although these new routes have not completely offset the sharp drop in export revenue since early 2009 from decreased gas exports to Russia. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of endemic corruption, a poor educational system, government misuse of oil and gas revenues, and Ashgabat's reluctance to adopt market-oriented reforms. The majority of Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets. The present government established a State Agency for Statistics, but GDP numbers and other publicized figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. Since his election, President BERDIMUHAMEDOW unified the country's dual currency exchange rate, ordered the redenomination of the manat, reduced state subsidies for gasoline, and initiated development of a special tourism zone on the Caspian Sea. Although foreign investment is encouraged, and some improvements in macroeconomic policy have been made, numerous bureaucratic obstacles impede international business activity. Gdp (purchasing power parity) World Ranking: 97
$43.91 billion (2011 est.)
$38.29 billion (2010 est.) $35.05 billion (2009 est.) Note Data are in 2011 US dollars Gdp (official exchange rate)
$25.74 billion (2011 est.)
Gdp - real growth rate World Ranking: 3
14.7% (2011 est.)
9.2% (2010 est.) 6.1% (2009 est.) Gdp - per capita (ppp) World Ranking: 127
$7,900 (2011 est.)
$7,000 (2010 est.) $6,500 (2009 est.) Note Data are in 2011 US dollars Gdp - composition by sector
Agriculture 7.9%
Industry 24.5% Services 67.6% (2011 est.) Labor force World Ranking: 115
2.3 million (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
Agriculture 48.2%
Industry 14% Services 37.8% (2004 est.) Unemployment rate World Ranking: 196
60% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line
30% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10% 2.6%
Highest 10% 31.7% (1998) Distribution of family income - gini index World Ranking: 57
40.8 (1998)
Investment (gross fixed) World Ranking: 149
6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Budget
Revenues $4.175 billion
Expenditures $4.07 billion (2011 est.) Taxes and other revenues World Ranking: 187
16.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) World Ranking: 42
0.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) World Ranking: 198
12% (2011 est.)
10% (2010 est.) Stock of narrow money World Ranking: 161
$471.9 million (31 December 2011 est.) $435.1 million (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of broad money World Ranking: 122
$5.565 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $480.7 million (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of domestic credit World Ranking: 152
$1.158 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $1.263 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares
$NA
Agriculture - products
Cotton, grain; livestock
Industries
Natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing Industrial production growth rate World Ranking: 38
7.3% (2010 est.)
Electricity - production World Ranking: 78
15.5 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - consumption World Ranking: 80
13 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - exports
2.5 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - imports
1.476 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production World Ranking: 41
216,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - consumption World Ranking: 70
125,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - exports World Ranking: 63
97,430 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - imports World Ranking: 206
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - proved reserves World Ranking: 44
600 million bbl (1 January 2011 est.) Natural gas - production World Ranking: 22
42.4 billion cu m (2010 est.)
Natural gas - consumption World Ranking: 32
22.6 billion cu m (2010 est.)
Natural gas - exports World Ranking: 14
18 billion cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - imports World Ranking: 137
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves World Ranking: 6
7.504 trillion cu m (1 January 2011 est.) Current account balance World Ranking: 43
$1.087 billion (2011 est.)
-$1.346 billion (2010 est.) Exports World Ranking: 80
$14.78 billion (2011 est.)
$10.55 billion (2010 est.) Exports - commodities
Gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, textiles, cotton fiber Exports - partners
China 59%, Turkey 4.9%, Italy 4.6%, UAE 4.3% (2011) Imports World Ranking: 97
$9.557 billion (2011 est.)
$8.313 billion (2010 est.) Imports - commodities
Machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs Imports - partners
Turkey 21.1%, Russia 14.1%, China 11.1%, UAE 8%, Germany 5.8% (2011) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold World Ranking: 58
$19.26 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $17.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Debt - external World Ranking: 168
$524.7 million (31 December 2011 est.) $518 million (31 December 2010 est.) Exchange rates
Turkmen manat (TMM) per US dollar - 2.85 (2011 est.)2.85 (2010 est.) 2.85 (2009) 14,250 (2008) Fiscal year
Calendar year
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Turkmenistan (Ashgabat):
 
GPS points from Turkmenistan (Ashgabat)
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Present-day Turkmenistan covers territory that has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. The area was ruled in antiquity by various Persian empires, and was conquered by Alexander the Great, Muslim crusaders, the Mongols, Turkic warriors, and eventually the Russians. In medieval times Merv (today known as Mary) was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by Russia in the late 1800s, Turkmenistan later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1924, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic; it achieved independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves, which have yet to be fully exploited, have begun to transform the country. Turkmenistan is moving to expand its extraction and delivery projects. The Turkmen Government is actively working to diversify its gas export routes beyond the still important Russian pipeline network. In 2010, new gas export pipelines that carry Turkmen gas to China and to northern Iran began operating, effectively ending the Russian monopoly on Turkmen gas exports. President for Life Saparmurat NYYAZOW died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential election in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a deputy cabinet chairman under NYYAZOW, emerged as the country's new president; he was reelected in February 2012.