Turkmenistan Economy 2007

Economy - overview:
Turkmenistan is a largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; formerly it was the world's 10th-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to an almost 50% decline in cotton exports. 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 sales 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 15% per year from 2003-06, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. In 2006, Ashgabat raised its natural gas export prices to its main customer, Russia, from $66 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, a poor educational system, government misuse of oil and gas revenues, and Ashgabat's unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. President BERDIMUHAMEDOW's election platform included plans to build a gas line to China, to complete the AmuDarya railroad bridge in Lebap province, and to create special border trade zones in southern Balkan province - a hint that the new post-NIYAZOV government will work to create a friendlier foreign investment environment.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$42.84 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$15.18 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
IMF estimate: 6%
note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are widely regarded as unreliable (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$8,500 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 17.7%
industry: 39.2%
services: 43.2% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
2.32 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 48.2%
industry: 13.8%
services: 37% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
60% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
27% (2002)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.8 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11.5% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
34.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.434 billion
expenditures: $1.386 billion (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, grain; livestock

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

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

Electricity - production:
12.05 billion kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - consumption:
7.602 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
2.918 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
213,700 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
95,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
117,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
546 million bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production:
60.42 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
17.07 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
43.35 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.928 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
$676 million (2006 est.)

Exports:
$5.818 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles

Exports - partners:
Ukraine 47.7%, Iran 16.4%, Azerbaijan 5.3% (2006)

Imports:
$4.057 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
UAE 15.5%, Turkey 11.1%, Ukraine 9.1%, Russia 9%, Germany 7.8%, Iran 7.6%, China 6.4%, US 4.5% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$28.25 million from the US (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$3.601 billion (2006 est.)

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

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA

Currency (code):
Turkmen manat (TMM)

Exchange rates:
Turkmen manat per US$ - 11,100 (2006) official rate
note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar