Turkmenistan

"Turkomania" redirects here. For other uses, see Turkomania (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Turkestan, Turkey, or Turkmeneli.

Turkmenistan
Türkmenistan (Turkmen)
Motto: 
Türkmenistan Bitaraplygyň watanydyr
"Turkmenistan is the motherland of Neutrality"[1][2]
Anthem: 
Garaşsyz Bitarap Türkmenistanyň Döwlet Gimni
"National Anthem of Independent Neutral Turkmenistan"
Location of Turkmenistan (red)
Location of Turkmenistan (red)
Capital
and largest city
Ashgabat
37°58′N 58°20′E / 37.967°N 58.333°E / 37.967; 58.333
Official languagesTurkmen[3]
Ethnic groups
(2012)[4]
Religion
(2020)[5]
Demonym(s)Turkmenistani[6]
Turkmen[7]
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic under a totalitarian hereditary dictatorship[8][9]
• President
Serdar Berdimuhamedow
Raşit Meredow
• Chairman of the People's Council
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
Dünýägözel Gulmanowa
LegislatureAssembly
Establishment
13 May 1925
• Declared independence from the Soviet Union
22 August 1990
• Recognized
26 December 1991
18 May 1992
Area
• Total
491,210 km2 (189,660 sq mi)[10] (52nd)
• Water
24,069 km2 (9,293 sq mi)
• Water (%)
4.9
Population
• 2022[11] census
7,057,841
• Density
14.4/km2 (37.3/sq mi) (221st)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $126.132 billion[12] (93rd)
• Per capita
Increase $19,938[12] (80th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $81.822 billion[12]
• Per capita
Increase $12,934[12]
Gini (1998)40.8
medium inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.744[13]
high (94th)
CurrencyManat (TMT)
Time zoneUTC+05 (TMT)
Drives onright
Calling code+993
ISO 3166 codeTM
Internet TLD.tm

Turkmenistan[a] is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.[15] Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. It is one of the six independent Turkic states. With a population over 7 million,[16] Turkmenistan is the 35th most-populous country in Asia[17] and has the lowest population of the Central Asian republics while being one of the most sparsely populated nations on the Asian continent.[6][18][7]

Turkmenistan has long served as a thoroughfare for several empires and cultures.[6] Merv is one of the oldest oasis-cities in Central Asia,[19] and was once among the biggest cities in the world.[20] It was also one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, Turkmenistan figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1925, Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR); it became independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[6]

The country is widely criticized for its poor human rights,[21][22] including for its treatment of minorities, and its lack of press and religious freedoms. Since the independence declared from the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkmenistan has been ruled by repressive totalitarian regimes: that of President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as Türkmenbaşy or "Head of the Turkmens") until his death in 2006; Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who became president in 2007 after winning a non-democratic election (he had been vice-president and then acting president previously); and his son Serdar, who won a subsequent 2022 presidential election described by international observers as neither free nor fair, and now shares power with his father.[23][24][9]

Turkmenistan possesses the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas.[25] Most of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert. From 1993 to 2019, citizens received government-provided electricity, water and natural gas free of charge.[26] Turkmenistan is an observer state in the Organisation of Turkic States, the Türksoy community and a member of the United Nations.[27]

  1. ^ ""Turkmenistan is the motherland of Neutrality" is the motto of 2020 | Chronicles of Turkmenistan". En.hronikatm.com. 28 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Turkmen parliament places Year 2020 under national motto "Turkmenistan – Homeland of Neutrality" – tpetroleum". Turkmenpetroleum.com. 29 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Turkmenistan's Constitution of 2008" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  4. ^ "The results of census in Turkmenistan | Chronicles of Turkmenistan". Archived from the original on 6 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Turkmenistan". 3 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Turkmenistan", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 19 October 2021, archived from the original on 10 January 2021, retrieved 25 October 2021
  7. ^ a b "Dual Citizenship". Ashgabat: U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  8. ^ *Gore, Hayden (2007). "Totalitarianism: The Case of Turkmenistan" (PDF). Human Rights & Human Welfare (Human Rights in Russia and the Former Soviet Republics). Denver: Josef Korbel School of International Studies: 107–116. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021. * Williamson, Hugh (24 March 2022). "The internet is crucial". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022. Turkmenistan stands out as a totalitarian state. It gives absolutely no scope to dissident opinions and independent media. The regime censors the internet heavily. * Horák, Slavomír; Šír, Jan (March 2009). Dismantling totalitarianism?: Turkmenistan under Berdimuhamedow (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. ISBN 9789185937172. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022. * "Turkmenistan: New president, old ideas". Eurasianet. 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022. * "Nations in Transit: Turkemistan". Freedom House. 2016. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022. * Stronski, Paul (30 January 2017). "Turkmenistan at Twenty-Five: The High Price of Authoritarianism" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Turkmenistan's president expands his father's power". Associated Press. Ashgabat. 22 January 2023. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Государственный комитет Туркменистана по статистике" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. : Туркменистан — одна из пяти стран Центральной Азии, вторая среди них по площади (491,21 тысяч км2), расположен в юго-западной части региона в зоне пустынь, севернее хребта Копетдаг Туркмено-Хорасанской горной системы, между Каспийским морем на западе и рекой Амударья на востоке.
  11. ^ ""Ilat ýazuwy — 2022": Türkmenistanyň ilaty 7 million 57 müň 841 adama deň boldy | Jemgyýet". August 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Turkmenistan)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24". United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  14. ^ Clark, Larry (1998). Turkmen Reference Grammar. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 50.
  15. ^ Afanasiev (58b00667a5209), Vladimir (21 January 2021). "Deep-water friendship: Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan bury Caspian Sea hatchet". Upstream Online | Latest oil and gas news. Retrieved 7 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "2022 Complete Population and Housing Census of Turkmenistan" (PDF). unece.org.
  17. ^ "Asian Countries by Population (2024) - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info.
  18. ^ "Turkmenian". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  19. ^ "State Historical and Cultural Park "Ancient Merv"". UNESCO-WHC. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  20. ^ Tharoor, Kanishk (2016). "Lost cities #5: how the magnificent city of Merv was razed – and never recovered". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2020. Once the world's biggest city, the Silk Road metropolis of Merv in modern Turkmenistan destroyed by Genghis Khan's son and the Mongols in AD1221 with an estimated 700,000 deaths.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference flee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kerry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ "As Expected, Son Of Turkmen Leader Easily Wins Election In Familial Transfer Of Power". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Turkmenistan: Autocrat president's son claims landslide win". Deutsche Welle. 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  25. ^ "BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019" (PDF). p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Turkmen ruler ends free power, gas, water – World News". Hürriyet Daily News. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  27. ^ AA, DAILY SABAH WITH (17 November 2021). "'Turkmenistan's new status in Turkic States significant development'". Daily Sabah. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.


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