Turkmenistan

• flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south;
• low mountains along border with Iran;
• borders Caspian Sea in west

• the most densely populated areas are the southern, eastern, and northeastern oases;
• approximately 50% of the population lives in and around the capital of Ashgabat

• earthquakes;
• mudslides;
• droughts;
• dust storms;
• floods

• landlocked;
• the western and central low-lying desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country;
• eastern part is plateau

noun:

Turkmenistani(s)

adjective:

Turkmenistani

total:

30.7 years (2023 est.)

male:

30.2 years

female:

31.2 years

• the most densely populated areas are the southern, eastern, and northeastern oases;
• approximately 50% of the population lives in and around the capital of Ashgabat

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

36.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

44.7 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

28.4 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

72.1 years (2023 est.)

male:

69.1 years

female:

75.3 years

total:

2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.65 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

1.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

5.5% (2020 est.)

male:

10.6% (2020 est.)

female:

0.4% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

0.2%

women married by age 18:

6.1% (2019 est.)

total:

11% (2021 est.)

male:

13.4%

female:

7.6%

• contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides;
• salination, water logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods;
• Caspian Sea pollution;
• diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea;
• soil erosion;
• desertification

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

urban population:

54% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.23% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

26.41 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

70.63 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

52.09 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

450 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

810 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

16.12 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Turkmenistan

local long form:

none

local short form:

Turkmenistan

former:

Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic

etymology:

the suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country," so Turkmenistan literally means the "Land of the Turkmen [people]"

name:

Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)

geographic coordinates:

37 57 N, 58 23 E

time difference:

UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

derived from the Persian words esh q meaning "love" and abad meaning "inhabited place" or "city," and so loosely translates as "the city of love"

history:

several previous; latest adopted 14 September 2016

amendments:

• proposed by the Assembly or Mejlis;
• passage requires two-thirds majority vote or absolute majority approval in a referendum;
• amended several times, last in 2023 (changed legislature from bicameral to unicameral Assembly or Mejlis; reestablished People's Council or Halk Maslahaty and named former president Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW as National Leader of the Turkmen people

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Turkmenistan

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

7 years

chief of state:

President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 19 March 2022); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 19 March 2022)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 7-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 12 March 2022 (next to be held in 2029);
• note - on 11 February 2022, President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW announced his intent to retire setting up the early presidential election

election results:

• 2022: Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOW elected president;
• percent of vote - Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOW 73%, Khydyr NUNNAYEV 11.1%, Agadzhan BEKMYRADOV 7.2%, other 8.7%;
• note - Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOW is the son of previous president Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW

; 2017: Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (DPT) 97.7%, other 2.3%

description:

• unicameral Assembly or Mejlis (125 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms);
• formerly the Assembly was the lower house of the bicameral National Council or Milli Genes, which consisted of an upper house, the People's Council or Halk Maslahaty, and the Assembly or Mejlis

elections:

Mejlis (Assembly) - last held on 26 March 2023 for the Mejlis and local councils (next to be held in 2028)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - DPT 55, APT 11, PIE 11, independent 48 (individuals nominated by citizen groups);
• composition as of early as of April 2023 men 93, women 32, percent of women 25.6%

note: on 22 January 2023, a joint session of the then bicameral National Council or Milli Genes voted unanimously to abolish itself, re-establishing a unicameral legislature and a separate People's Council or Halk Maslahaty

highest court(s):

Supreme Court of Turkmenistan (consists of the court president and 21 associate judges and organized into civil, criminal, and military chambers)

judge selection and term of office:

judges appointed by the president for 5-year terms

subordinate courts:

• High Commercial Court;
• appellate courts;
• provincial, district, and city courts;
• military courts

• Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan or APT [Basim ANNAGURBANOW]
• Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Ata SERDAROW]
• Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs or PIE [Saparmyrat OWGANOW]

note: all of these parties support President BERDIMUHAMEDOW; a law authorizing the registration of political parties went into effect in January 2012; unofficial, small opposition movements exist abroad

ADB, CIS (associate member, has not ratified the 1993 CIS charter although it participates in meetings and held the chairmanship of the CIS in 2012), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO

chief of mission:

Ambassador Meret ORAZOV (since 14 February 2001)

chancery:

2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 588-1500

FAX:

[1] (202) 588-1500

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://usa.tmembassy.gov.tm/en

chief of mission:

Ambassador Matthew S. KLIMOW (since 26 June 2019)

embassy:

9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat 744000

mailing address:

7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070

telephone:

[993] (12) 94-00-45

FAX:

[993] (12) 94-26-14

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://tm.usembassy.gov/

• green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five tribal guls (designs used in producing carpets) stacked above two crossed olive branches;
• five white, five-pointed stars and a white crescent moon appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe;
• the green color and crescent moon represent Islam;
• the five stars symbolize the regions or welayats of Turkmenistan;
• the guls reflect the national identity of Turkmenistan where carpet-making has long been a part of traditional nomadic life

note: the flag of Turkmenistan is the most intricate of all national flags

name:

"Garassyz, Bitarap Turkmenistanyn" (Independent, Neutral, Turkmenistan State Anthem)

lyrics/music:

collective/Veli MUKHATOV

note: adopted 1997, lyrics revised in 2008, to eliminate references to deceased President Saparmurat NYYAZOW

total World Heritage Sites:

4 (all cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Ancient Merv;
• Kunya-Urgench;
• Parthian Fortresses of Nisa;
• Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor

• upper middle-income Central Asian economy;
• has 10% of global natural gas reserves, exporting to Russia and China;
• natural resource rich;
• authoritarian and dominated by state-owned enterprises;
• major central-south Asian pipeline development

agriculture:

48.2%

industry:

14%

services:

37.8% (2004 est.)

total:

11% (2021 est.)

male:

13.4%

female:

7.6%

on food:

37.5% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

2.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

31.7% (1998)

production:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

235,300 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

153,400 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

59,900 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

600 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

83.623 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption:

45.399 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

38.224 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

imports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

proven reserves:

11.327 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• the nation of Turkmenistan, which rivals only North Korea for its isolationism, continues to keep its telecom sector along with the broader populace under tight control;
• the country inched up just one point off the bottom of the world rankings for press and internet freedom in the most recent report from Reporters Without Borders;
• most social networks in the country are blocked, although locals do have access to the government-developed platform released in 2019;
• all internet users, however, need to identify themselves before logging on, and strict censorship over what can be viewed is in force;
• the end result is that Turkmenistan has one of the lowest penetration rates for internet access in the world (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line is 13 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity is 99 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 993;
• linked by fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch;
• an exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat (2018)

• broadcast media is government controlled and censored;
• 7 state-owned TV and 4 state-owned radio networks;
• satellite dishes and programming provide an alternative to the state-run media;
• officials sometimes limit access to satellite TV by removing satellite dishes

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 27

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

2,457,474 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

16.92 million (2018) mt-km

total:

5,113 km (2017)

broad gauge:

5,113 km (2017) 1.520-m gauge

total:

58,592 km (2002)

paved:

47,577 km (2002)

unpaved:

11,015 km (2002)