Economy of Turkmenistan

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Economy of Turkmenistan
Currency	Turkmen Manat = 100 Tenge
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	CIS, ECO
Statistics [1]
GDP ranking	127th (2004) [2]
GDP	$27.6 billion (2004)
GDP growth	7.5% (IMF est) note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004)
GDP per capita	$5,700 (2004)
GDP by sector	agriculture (28.5%), industry (42.7%), services (28.8%%) (2004)
Inflation	3.5% (2004)
Pop below poverty line	58% (2003)
Labour force	2.32 million (2003)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture (48.2%), industry (13.8%), services (37%) (2003)
Unemployment	60% (2004)
Main industries	natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Trading Partners [3]
Exports	$4bn (2004)
Main partners	Ukraine 49.8%, Iran 17.2%, Italy 5.3%, Turkey 4.7% {2004)
Imports	$2.85bn (2004)
Main Partners	Russia 14%, Ukraine 13.8%, U.S. 11.1%, UAE 8.1%, Turkey 8%, Germany 6.8%, France 4.6% (2004)
Public finances [4]
Public debt	N/A
Revenues	$3.05 billion (2004)
Expenses	$3.05 billion (2004)
Economic aid	$16 million from the US 2001)

Turkmenistan is largely desert country with nomadic cattle raising, intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and huge gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, placing the country in the top 10-15 producers [5]. It also possesses the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil resources. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings.

1 Macro-economic trend
2 Gas industry
3 Trade
4 Other statistics
5 See also
6 External link

[edit] Macro-economic trend

This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Turkmenistan at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Turkmen Manats.

Year	Gross Domestic Product	US Dollar Exchange
1995	652,000	110.99 Manats
2000	26,115,000	5,200.11 Manats
2005	91,862,922	5,199.98 Manats

For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at 2,323.29 Manats only.

[edit] Gas industry

In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. Current GDP per capita shrank by 30% in the Nineties as a result. Industrial production of gas fell sharply, putting the budget into deficit--a deficit which has since continued to rise sharply. Currently, Turkmenistan is dependent on Russian pipelines to reach markets in Europe; because oil and gas account for one-third of Turkmenistan's budget revenues^{[citation needed]}, Turkmenistan is working to open new gas export corridors through Iran (Nabucco Pipeline) and under the Caspian Sea into Turkey. Privatization goals remain limited. After Russia's refusal to transport Turkmenistan's gas, a difficult investment environment, high rates of inflation, and government regulations made further economic progress unlikely.

In the absence of gas revenues, Turkmenistan turned to the export of cotton, but poor harvests had weak economic returns. In 1996 the economy bottomed out, and inflation rates continued to climb. Although the government avoided privatization, it attempted to fix the situation by creating a stabilization program aimed at a unified and market-based exchange rate, the allocation of government credits by auction, and strict limits on budget deficits.

However, partial price liberalization, the end of subsidies from Moscow, and poor control over fiscal and monetary aggregates contributed to the high rates of inflation and significant drops in living standards. Despite these conditions, official statistics for 1998 indicated improvements in Turkmenistan's economy. In September 1998 Turkmenistan began exporting gas to Iran via Korpezhe-Kurt Kui natural gas pipeline - its first pipeline not crossing Russian territory.

[edit] Trade

The Turkmen Government claims to have placed great emphasis on foreign economic relations and foreign trade and an "open door" trade policy, as declared by the President^{[citation needed]}. At present 73 countries are partners of Turkmenistan, including the republics of the NIS. The most prominent trade partners of Turkmenistan are the United States, Turkey, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Germany, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

Export of industrial and agricultural raw materials remain the most important goals of the Turkmen Government. Price controls on most goods, the stabilization of reproduction processes, the creation of stable economic growth, and flexibility to innovations and a socially oriented economy also are very important. The government is attempting to strengthen state regulation of foreign trade and create a state system of insurance to expand and consolidate foreign economic relations. Because of considerable growth of foreign investments, improvements are taking place in the economy. Privatization of medium and large enterprises are proceeding slowly.

In January 2006, Saparmurat Niyazov ordered to stop paying pensions to ⅓ (more than 100,000) of elderly people, cutting pensions to another 200,000, and ordering to pay the pensions received in the past two years back to the State. This has resulted in a huge number of deaths of old people, who may have had their pension (ranging from $10 to $90) as the only source of money. [6]

[edit] Other statistics

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate: official government estimate: 22% (2003 est.)

Electricity:

production: 11.41 TWh (2004 est.)
consumption: 8.847 TWh (2002)
exports: 1.136 TWh (2004)
imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Agriculture - products: cotton, grain; livestock

Main article: Agriculture in Turkmenistan

Debt - external: $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)

Exchange rates: Turkmen manats per US$1 - 5,200 (January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997), 2,400 (January 1996)

in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar. The official rate has consistently been 5,200 Manat to the dollar.