18,000 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

60.9 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 24.65 cu km/yr (2%/1%/98%)
per capita: 5,104 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

NA

Environment - current issues:

contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals,
pesticides; salination, water logging of soil due to poor irrigation
methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the
flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's
inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

landlocked; the western and central low-lying desolate portions of
the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which
occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau

People
Turkmenistan

Population:

5,179,571 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 34.2% (male 902,811/female 868,428)
15-64 years: 61.5% (male 1,577,187/female 1,607,353)
65 years and over: 4.3% (male 97,480/female 126,312) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 22.6 years
male: 22 years
female: 23.1 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.596% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

25.07 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

6.11 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 51.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.01 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 47.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 68.6 years
male: 65.53 years
female: 71.82 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

3.07 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

fewer than 100 (2004 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmenistani

Ethnic groups:

Turkmen 8