When the Turkestan and Central Asian military districts were divided into national armies, Turkmenistan inherited the naval group in Krasnovodsk (now Turkmenbashi town), a fighter squadron, airfields with good runways, and an army division. By now, however, Turkmenistan has one of the weakest armies in Central Asia. It did not buy any military or technical equipment. It did not train its officers in Russia, the United States, or other countries. Turkmenistan concentrated on internal security requirements for dealing with the opposition. The regime did not think it necessary to build up the army because of the country's neutral status and he army deteriorated as a result.

The numerical strength of the Turkmen Armed Forces does not exceed 40,000 men. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Turkmenistan inherited the largest army group in Central Asia with two bases - near Mary and Ashkhabad. The Ground Forces include nearly 600 T-72 tanks, over 1,000 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and about 500 artillery pieces of over 100 mm caliber.

The Air Force numbers over 300 helicopters and aircraft - MIG-23 (172), SU-17 (65), SU-25 (46), MIG-25 (24), MIG-29 (24), MIG-21 (3), L-39 (2), and TU-154B (2).

The main base of the Turkmen Navy is in Turkmenbashi port. A small base for river vessels is located in Kelif on the Amudarja River. The numerical strength of the Navy (with the river fleet) totals 2,000 men.

Statistics released by the government of Turkmenistan indicate that production of oil, gas and the industrial sector increased considerably during the period January-October 2003. Total production of gas in Turkmenistan during the period reviewed was 47.2 billion cubic meters, an 8% increase over the same period of last year. Of this amount,34.7 billion cubic meters were exported, 6% more than in January-October 2002. Oil output totaled 8.145 million tons, 10% more than in January-October 2002. The output of oil refineries increased by 19%, reaching 5.6 million tons.

The State enterprise Turkmengaz extracted 40.1 billion cubic meters of gas during the January-October 2003 period - 8% more than during the same period of last year. About 73% of this output was exported to Russia, Ukraine and Iran. Production of gas condensates increased by 22% during this period. Turkmenneft produced 5.6 million tons of oil, 19% more than during January-October 2002. Petrol production was up by 22%, diesel oil output - by 30%, FFO - by 42%, bitumen - by 21%, while production of lubricants more than tripled.

The Ministry of Textiles reported an 18% increase in the volume of textile made-ups during January-October 2003. Sales amounted to 1473.4 billion Manats during this period. This ministry is now the third largest foreign exchange earner of Turkmenistan after Turkmengaz and Turkmenneft. As regards other textiles, the output of washed wool grew by 38%, of silk fabrics by 30%, of stitched items by 150%, of single strand cotton yarn by 14%, of knitwear by 2%, of stockings and socks by 16%.

Footwear output increased by 33%, while food processing expanded considerably, due mainly to a 60% growth in vegetable oil production. Production of canned fruit and vegetables grew by 7%.

A treaty concerning the delimitation and demarcation of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan border has been ratified. Its length is 425 km, but there is still no agreement on one section at the meeting point of the two countries' borders with Uzbekistan. A protocol delimiting 96% of the Kazakh-Uzbek border was signed and ratified in 2002.