Turkmenistan

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. 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 export revenues to sustain its inefficient 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. New pipelines to China and Iran, that began operation in late 2009 and early 2010, have given Turkmenistan additional export routes for its gas, although these new routes have not 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 widespread internal poverty, endemic corruption, a poor educational system, government misuse of oil and gas revenues, and Ashgabat’s reluctance to adopt market-oriented reforms. In the past, Turkmenistan’s economic statistics were state secrets. The new government has established a State Agency for Statistics, but GDP numbers and other 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, numerous bureaucratic obstacles impede international business activity.

$36.64 billion (2010 est.)

$33.01 billion (2009 est.)

$31.11 billion (2008 est.)

$27.96 billion (2010 est.)

11% (2010 est.)

6.1% (2009 est.)

10.5% (2008 est.)

$7,400 (2010 est.)

$6,800 (2009 est.)

$6,400 (2008 est.)

2.3 million (2008 est.)

60% (2004 est.)

30% (2004 est.)

40.8 (1998)

12.4% of GDP (2010 est.)

12% (2010 est.)

10% (2009 est.)

$573 million (31 December 2010 est)

$469.5 million (31 December 2009 est)

$1.053 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$912.3 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$2.089 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.811 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA

cotton, grain; livestock

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

7.3% (2010 est.)

15.5 billion kWh (2009 est.)

13 billion kWh (2009 est.)

2.5 billion kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2009 est.)

197,700 bbl/day (2009 est.)

120,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

38,360 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

600 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

34 billion cu m (2009 est.)

20 billion cu m (2009 est.)

14 billion cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

7.504 trillion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$3.081 billion (2010 est.)

$1.065 billion (2009 est.)

$9.672 billion (2010 est.)

$6.737 billion (2009 est.)

gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, textiles, cotton fiber

Ukraine 22.3%, Turkey 10.27%, Hungary 6.75%, UAE 6.25%, Poland 6.16%, Afghanistan 5.79%, Iran 5.17% (2009)

$4.888 billion (2010 est.)

$4.109 billion (2009 est.)

machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs

China 18.03%, Turkey 16.49%, Russia 16.45%, Germany 5.91%, UAE 5.81%, Ukraine 5.67%, US 5.41%, France 4.32% (2009)

$10.81 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$9.551 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$5 billion (2009 est.)

$1.4 billion (2004 est.)

Turkmen manat (TMM) per US dollar - 2.85 (2010), 2.85 (2009), 14,250 (2008)