Geography

Turkmeniya is the State in Central Asia . It is washed by the Caspian Sea in the West. It birders upon Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Iran . It has sea boundaries with Russia and Azerbaijan. 

Territory is 488.1 th sq km. 

A relief on a whole is plain. Almost 80% of territory are covered by sands of desert Karakum “The Black sands”. It is one of the greatest sand desert of the world. Situated in the south of country mountains the Kopetdag (Konet-Dag , “Many mountains”) are natural boundary between Turkmenistan and Iran. The highest point of the Kopetdag on the turk men side is 2919m; ranges Bolshoy Balhan (1880m) and Maliy Balhan (777m) situate to the north-west of Kopetdag. The Caspian Sea is the greatest lake of the world. I t s length is 1225 km, area is 371800 sq km . It washes sea-shores of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. A volume of salt water, filling in it, is 89 th c km. 

Climate is sharp continental, dry with big year’s and twenty-four-hour’s amplitudes of the temperature; little moisture of air, high evaporation and little amount of precipitation . Summer is not and dry, winter is warm and snowy a little. Winter is seldom cold. Spring is moist and short. Autumn is dry. The average temperature in January is minus 4°C (in certain cases the temperature drops to 22°C zero, in a desert – to 32°C below zero ). The average temperature in July is + 28°C (in a desert in summer the temperature rises up to 50 0C in the day-time but after a sunset the temperature drops quickly). 
In spite of the high average temperature of air spring and autumn frosts are not infrequent. 
In the north-east annual quantity of precipitation is 80 mm, in the mountains of the Kopet-Day-to 300 mm. A cover of snow is unstable. It usually lies some days (in the northern districts and in the mountains). The high temperature of air and low relative humidity is able to appear drought and dry winds. Winds are constant, on a whole the north-east, north and north-west winds. At the foothills of Kopet-Dag in summer a dry not wind blows called “garmsil”. In change of seasons there are dusty storms. A vegetal period is 200-270 twenty-four-hours. 
##1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8## State system

Turkmeniya according to constitution is a democratic state with a president form of government. A head of Government is a chairman of a cabinet of ministers. A legislative power belongs to the Parliament (Madjilisi). The highest representative organ of people’s government is Halk Maslahati (Peoples Soviet of Turkmenistan). It is convoked once a year. 

Capital: Ashhabad (Ashgabad)

Population: About 4,5 m of people . On a whole the Turkmen (77%), the Uzbeks (9%),the Russians (6%), the Kazakhes (2%) 

Religion: Islam of sunnite sense on a whole. 

Economics

 Key industries are:

• extraction of gas (deposits: Shatlik, Dauletabad, Naip, Achak and oth)
• extraction of oil (in districts of west Turkmeniya)
• chemical (extraction of mirabilit: Kara-Bogaz-gol; sulphur: Gaurdak) Production of iodine, sulphate of sodium, superphosphate, potash fertilizers , sulphuric acid and so on
• oil-refining
• machinery construction
• metal-working industry
• light industry: initial treatment of cotton, wool, astrakhan skins, cocoon of silkworm; textile fabrics; knitted garments.
• Industry of building materials: cement, glass and other;
• food - stuffs industry 
  Main branch of agriculture is cotton- growing (1,3 m ton of raw cotton in 1993)

The other branches of agriculture:

• sowing of cereals: wheat, barley, rice, jugara; fodder crops
• wine growing;
• fruit growing;
• melon growing

The great irrigating canal is Karakum 
A leading branch of cattle- breeding is sheep-breeding (including astrakhan)and also breeding of horned cattle, horses and camels. Silkworm breeding. 
An operation length of railways is 2,12 ths km (in 1993) ; a length of motor highway of common use 13,6 ths km including with hard cover is 11,4 ths km 
The main seaport is Turkmenbashi; the railway ferry passages are: Turkmenbashi - Baku, Bekdash- Baku . There is a navigation on the river Amudarya and Karakum canal. The ither transport is a pipe-line. 
Export: natural gas, oil and oil-products, cotton ; mineral fertilizers and so on . Basic partners of foreign trade: Russia, State of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. 

National currency: manat