Iran and Turkmenistan Comparison - Examine Similarities and Differences

Country
Iran	Turkmenistan
Leader
Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei	President: Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov
Population
78,868,711	5,054,828
Life Expectancy
70.350 years	68.840 years
Capital City
Tehran	Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
Largest city
Tehran (population: 7,153,310)	Ashgabat (population: 727,700)
Human Development Index
0.777	0.728
GDP per capita
$13,200 US	$7,900 US
Literacy Rate
77%	98.8%
Corruption Perception Index
2.3	1.8
Percentage of Women in Parliament
2.8%	16%
Wealthiest Citizens

Unemployment Rate
15.300%	60.000%
Death Penalty
Legal	Abolished

Political System
theocratic republic	republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Independence date
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)	27 October 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Religions
Muslim 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%	Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Languages
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%	Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Exports
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets	gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, textiles, cotton fiber
External Debt
$17,900,000,000 $	$524,700,000 US
Exchange Rate
Iranian rials (IRR) per US dollar - 9,142.8 (2008 est.), 9,407.5 (2007), 9,227.1 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,614 (2004) note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002	Turkmen manat (TMM) per US dollar - 14,250 (as of 1 May 2008 est.)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.500%	3.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2	0
Location
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan	Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Area
1,648,195 km sq	488,100 km sq
Coastline
2,440 km	0 km
Climate
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast	subtropical desert

» More Rankings

Iran vs Turkmenistan