MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Turkmenistan
Index
Under the conditions of independence in the early 1990s, the standard
of living in Turkmenistan did not drop as dramatically as it did in other
former Soviet republics. Thus, the relatively small population of the
nation of Turkmenistan did not require extensive state investment for the
basic requirements of survival as the nation attempted the transition to a
market economy.
Living Standards
Although living standards have not declined as sharply in Turkmenistan
as in many other former Soviet republics, they have dropped in absolute
terms for most citizens since 1991. Availability of food and consumer
goods also has declined at the same time that prices have generally risen.
The difference between living conditions and standards in the city and the
village is immense. Aside from material differences such as the prevalence
of paved streets, electricity, plumbing, and natural gas in the cities,
there are also many disparities in terms of culture and way of life.
Thanks to the rebirth of national culture, however, the village has
assumed a more prominent role in society as a valuable repository of
Turkmen language and traditional culture.
Wages
Most families in Turkmenistan derive the bulk of their income from
state employment of some sort. As they were under the Soviet system, wage
differences among various types of employment are relatively small.
Industry, construction, transportation, and science have offered the
highest wages; health, education, and services, the lowest. Since 1990
direct employment in government administration has offered relatively high
wages. Agricultural workers, especially those on collective farms, earn
very low salaries, and the standard of living in rural areas is far below
that in Turkmen cities, contributing to a widening cultural difference
between the two segments of the population.
In 1990 nearly half the population earned wages below the official
poverty line, which was 100 rubles per month at that time (for value of
the ruble--see Glossary). Only 3.4 percent of the population received more
than 300 rubles per month in 1990. In the three years after the onset of
inflation in 1991, real wages dropped by 47.6 percent, meaning a decline
in the standard of living for most citizens (see Labor, this ch.).
Prices
Prices of all commodities rose sharply in 1991 when the Soviet Union
removed the pervasive state controls that had limited inflation in the
1980s. Retail prices rose by an average of 90 percent in 1991, and then
they rose by more than 800 percent when the new national government freed
most prices completely in 1992. The average rate for the first nine months
of 1994 was 605 percent. As world market prices rise and currency
fluctuations affect prices and purchasing power, consumer price increases
continue to outstrip rises in per capita incomes. In 1989 the average
worker spent about two-thirds of his or her salary on food, fuel,
clothing, and durable goods, but that ratio increased sharply in the years
that followed. As prices rose, the supply of almost all food and many
consumer goods was curtailed. The introduction of the manat (see Glossary)
as the national currency in November 1993 likely worsened the already
deteriorating consumer purchasing power. The prices of forty basic
commodities immediately rose 900 percent, and wages were raised only 200
percent to compensate.
Housing
In 1989 the state owned more than 70 percent of urban housing and about
10 percent of rural housing. The remainder of urban housing was owned
privately or by housing cooperatives. The average citizen had 11.2 square
meters of housing space in urban areas, 10.5 square meters in rural areas.
In 1989 some 31 percent of housing (urban and rural areas combined) had
running water, 27 percent had central heating, and 20 percent had a sewer
line.
In 1991 nearly all families had television sets, refrigerators, and
sewing machines, and 84 percent had washing machines. Only 26 percent
owned cars, however, and the quality of durable goods was quite low by
Western standards.
Data as of March 1996
|
|