Country
France Turkmenistan
Leader
Population
65,630,692 5,054,828
Life Expectancy
81.460 years 68.840 years
Capital City
Paris Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550) Ashgabat (population: 727,700)
Human Development Index
0.955 0.728 GDP per capita $35,600 US $7,900 US
Literacy Rate
99% 98.8%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9 1.8
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6% 16% Wealthiest Citizens Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US) NA Unemployment Rate 9.300% 60.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished Abolished
Political System
republic republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire) 27 October 1991 (from Soviet Union) Religions Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% Languages French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% Exports machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, textiles, cotton fiber External Debt $5,633,000,000,000 $ $524,700,000 US Exchange Rate euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004) Turkmen manat (TMM) per US dollar - 14,250 (as of 1 May 2008 est.) Military Budget as percentage of GDP 2.600% 3.400% Beijing Olympics Medal Count 40 0 Location Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan Area 643,801 km sq 488,100 km sq Coastline 0 km 0 km Climate subtropical desert
