According to cheeroutdoor, the economic development of Turkmenistan in the transitional period is aimed at the creation of a modern petrochemical and light industry, the development of agriculture.
In 2002, the volume of GDP at current prices was 63.8 trillion manats, which is 21.2% higher than in 2001. Agriculture provided 20% of GDP, the private sector (successfully developing in trade, construction and agriculture) accounted for 40% of the total GDP; the share of the construction industry is 8%.
GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) US$4,300 (2000 est.).
According to official data, the inflation rate in Turkmenistan was 8% (2000). The calculations of experts and representative offices of the World Bank and the EBRD show that inflation fluctuated at the level of 16-20%. Its further growth is predicted. Consumer price inflation 14% (2000 estimate). Unemployment in general in Turkmenistan is 40%.
The sectoral structure of the economy has undergone some changes, as the share of industry in GDP has increased – from 32% in 1999 to 38% in 2000 (the growth was achieved due to the development of the oil and gas sector, which accounts for 60% of the total industrial output).
Employment structure: agriculture and forestry 44%, industry and construction 19%, other industries – 37%.
The growth of industrial production in 2002 was 21.7%. The most dynamically developing industry, in addition to the fuel and energy complex, is textile. Growth in production in light industry was 24% in 2002; growth in the production of knitted fabric – 60%, fabrics – 20%. It is in this industry that relatively widespread introduction of new technologies is observed.
Agricultural products: cotton, grain; livestock. In 2002 (despite the low cotton harvest – 500 thousand tons), the volume of agricultural production increased by 15.5% compared to 2001 and amounted to 12.9 trillion manats.
According to the Law “On the State Budget of Turkmenistan for 2003”, budget revenues are 52 trillion 523 billion 997 million manats, expenditures – 53 trillion 32 billion 997 million manats. Public sector expenditures, most of which are planned to be directed to social needs, amount to 12 trillion 489 billion 929 million manats. The law provides for covering the costs of free provision of the population with gas, electricity and water. The minimum income tax rate is set at 8%, the maximum rate of 12% is set for a salary of 2.9 million manats.
The total external debt of Turkmenistan, according to experts, exceeded 5 billion US dollars. S. Niyazov named the figure of 1.6 billion US dollars, noting that a significant part of the debt – 1.1 billion dollars – is made up of payments on loans granted for the reconstruction of an oil refinery in the city of Turkmenbashi.
Gold and foreign exchange reserves of 2 billion in dollar terms.
According to official data, when calculated at the bank dollar rate, the average per capita income is $ 820, at the market rate – $ 203. The share of the population below the poverty line is 58% (1999, estimate).
In 2003, the average monthly salary was 1.760 million manat. The increase in wages for employees of budgetary institutions, pensions and benefits occurs 1-2 times a year. The size of the minimum pension since May 1, 2003 is 1.5 million manats.
Railways – 2440 km; motorways – 22,000 km, of which 19,488 km are paved, 4,512 km are unpaved; pipelines – for crude oil 250 km, for natural gas 4400 km.
There are 64 airports in the country, of which 22 have a hard runway.
The main inland waterway is the Amu Darya River. Port on the Caspian Sea – Turkmenbashi (former Krasnovodsk). An international line operates on the Caspian Sea between the ports of Enzeli (Iran), Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) and Olya (Russian Federation).
Merchant fleet – 1 oil tanker. In 2003, it is planned to complete the construction of a new telecommunications line Ashgabat – Balkanabat – Turkmenbashi. The section from Ashgabat to Turkmenabat was put into operation in 1998 as part of the Trans-Asian-European fiber-optic communication line with a length of 708 km. The length of the western branch will be 618 km. Along the way, dedicated digital streams will allow organizing up to 7560 telephone channels.
Between 1990 and 1998, up to $18 billion was invested in the national economy to create an infrastructure that was virtually non-existent before, of which $7 billion went into industry and $4 billion into the agricultural sector. In 2000, foreign investors accounted for 11% of the total amount of assimilated capital investments.
According to the Central Bank of Turkmenistan, the volume of bank loans in the national currency at the beginning. 2002 amounted to 5 trillion 135.1 billion manats, which is 46% more than the amount of loans on the same date in 2001. The largest increase in short-term loans – by 53%. Sectoral structure of short-term lending: loans to industrial enterprises – 48.1%, procurement sector enterprises – 25.8%, trade enterprises – 4.4%, agriculture – 2.6%, construction – 1.6%, transport and communications – 0.2%.
The share of short-term loans provided to enterprises of the non-state sector of the economy amounted to 15.2% of the total amount.
The volume of long-term credit investments in 2001 increased by 35% compared to the previous year and as of January 2002 amounted to 1 trillion 783.1 billion manats.
According to the results of 2001, the foreign trade turnover of Turkmenistan amounted to 4.969 billion US dollars, which is 16% more than in 2000. At the same time, the positive balance of foreign trade was 271 million US dollars.
Export in 2001 2.620 billion dollars. Products were exported to 57 countries of the world. The largest partners: Ukraine (46%), Italy (18%), Iran (11%), Russian Federation (6%), Turkey (5%).
In the commodity structure of exports, 57% of the total volume is occupied by natural gas, 26% by oil and oil products. Deliveries of cotton fabrics increased by 15%, clothing by 1.3 times, carpets and rugs by 1.5 times, carbon black by 1.5 times, and vegetables by 1.4 times.
Imports in 2001, 2.349 billion dollars, increased by 32% compared to the previous year. 80 countries of the world became partners. Among them are the largest: the Russian Federation (17%), Ukraine (11%), the USA (9%), Germany (8%), etc.
In the total volume of imports, the share of supplies of equipment, vehicles, raw materials and supplies amounted to 72%. The volume of purchases of consumer goods remained at the level of the previous year.
One of the important directions of foreign economic activity is the development of free economic zones (FEZ). By 2002, 8 economic zones of free enterprise and 2 free economic zones were opened.
