Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan, in central Asia, borders the Caspian Sea between Iran and Kazakhstan. The country was annexed by Russia in 1865 and became a Soviet republic in 1924; it became independent in 1991. The population in 2009 was estimated at 4.9 million, with a median age of 24.4 years, and 28.9 percent aged 14 years and younger. The population growth rate is 1.14 percent, despite a negative migration rate of minus 1.97 per 1,000, due to a high birth rate of 25.1 births per 1,000 and a total fertility rate (an estimate of the number of children per woman) of 2.2. Life expectancy at birth is 64.9 years for males and 71 for females. Eighty-five percent of the population is Turkmen, and 89 percent are Muslim. Literacy is almost universal with 99.3 percent of males and 98.3 percent of females over age 15 able to read and write.

Turkmenistan is largely desert, with little arable land, but extensive oil and natural gas deposits. The country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell in the years following independence, but recently has begun to rise: per capita GDP in 2008 was estimated at $6,100, and Turkmenistan enjoyed GDP real growth rates of around 10 percent for the previous several years. Despite this, much of the population remains in poverty, due in part to high unemployment (estimated at 60 percent in 2004). Maternal and child health care services have improved substantially since 1991. For instance, childhood immunization rates currently approach 100 percent for major diseases. The per capita expenditure on health in 2002 was $79, of which $56 was provided by the government; 4.3 percent of GDP is spent on health.