Turkmenistan - Administration, Finance, & Educational Research

Plans call for the Ministry of Labor to be replaced by a State Corporation for Specialist Training, with the bulk of the ministry's non-training functions to shift to the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Banking. On January 16, 2001 the National Institute for Government Statistics and Information told Interfax that Turkmenistan had a state budget surplus of 98.6bn manat, the official currency, or 0.43 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2000. Budget revenues and spending totaled respectively 5,898bn and 5,799bn manat or 2 percent and 10 percent less than planned.

Tax revenues amounted to 5,706bn manat or 96 percent of all revenue. This included 1,687bn manat (23.5 percent) in value added tax; 1,200bn manat in contributions to government social insurance (21.3 percent); 769bn manat in excises (13.4 percent), 689bn manat in profit tax (12.07 percent); and 433bn manat in personal income tax (7.5 percent). The oil and gas industry and the consumer sector contributed respectively 50.7 percent and 30 percent of all tax revenue. Spending on social programs and public needs totaled 4,203bn manat of 72.4 percent of the total. This included 1,554bn manat on education, 814.7bn manat on health care, and 990.7bn manat on general government services. Turkmenistan's GDP measures 22,900bn manat in 2000. The official exchange rate is 5,200 manat for one dollar. Budget expenditures in education for 2001 comprised 28 percent of the budget.