The Demographics of Turkmenistan is about the demographic features of the population of Turkmenistan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The ethnic majority in Turkmenistan call themselves Turkmen.
The economy of Turkmenistan continues to recover from the 2014 downturn in hydrocarbon prices, but remains "in the grip of its worst economic crisis since the immediate post-independence period, driven in part by low gas prices, the suspension of gas exports to Russia between 2016 and 2019...and poor harvests." Former President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow at a session of the Cabinet of Ministers on March 11, 2021, called the rate of GDP growth unsatisfactory. When discussing the 2021 government budget, he noted that 2021 would be "as difficult" a year as 2020 had been.
The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan, known informally as the Turkmen National Army is the national military of Turkmenistan. It consists of the Ground Forces, the Air Force and Air Defense Forces, Navy, and other independent formations.
Ashgabat or Asgabat, formerly named Poltoratsk between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, near the Iran-Turkmenistan border, and it has a population of 1,031,992 (2019).
Turkmenistan 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. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. It is one of the six independent Turkic states. The population is about six million and the lowest of the Central Asian republics, and Turkmenistan is one of the most sparsely populated nations in Asia.
Türkmenbaşy, formerly known as Krasnovodsk, Kyzyl-Su, and Shagadam, is a city in Balkan Province in Turkmenistan, on the Türkmenbaşy Gulf of the Caspian Sea. It sits at an elevation of 27 metres. The population was 86,800, mostly ethnic Turkmens but also Russian, Armenian and Azeri minorities. As the terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway and site of a major seaport on the Caspian, it is an important transportation center. The city is also the site of Turkmenistan's largest oil refining complex.
Turkmenistan's human rights record has been heavily criticized by various countries and scholars worldwide. Standards in education and health declined markedly during the rule of President Saparmurat Niyazov.
Balkanabat, formerly Nebit-Dag and Neftedag, is the capital city of Balkan Province, the largest province in Turkmenistan. It lies at the foot of the Balkan Daglary mountain range. Balkanabat is about 450 km west of Ashgabat and 160 km east of the seaport city of Türkmenbaşy. The city layout is a grid of apartment blocks called kvartal (quarters). The main streets are Magtymguly, Pervomayskiy and Gurbansoltan eje şaýoly.
Valery Kuzmich Nepomnyashchy is a Russian association football manager and a former player. He is currently in charge of youth development with Baltika Kaliningrad.
The Turkmen of Turkmenistan, are predominantly Muslims. According the U.S. Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2019,
According to U.S. government estimates, the country is 89 percent Muslim, 9 percent Eastern Orthodox, and 2 percent other. There are small communities of Jehovah's Witnesses, Shia Muslims, Baha’is, Roman Catholics, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and evangelical Christians, including Baptists and Pentecostals. Most ethnic Russians and Armenians identify as Orthodox Christian and generally are members of the Russian Orthodox Church or Armenian Apostolic Church. Some ethnic Russians and Armenians are also members of smaller Protestant groups. There are small pockets of Shia Muslims, consisting largely of ethnic Iranians, Azeris, and Kurds, some located in Ashgabat, with others along the border with Iran and in the western city of Turkmenbashy.
The mass media in Turkmenistan are among the world's most tightly controlled. The press is controlled by the government, which funds nearly all newspapers, criticism of the president is forbidden, and state licensing policy effectively eliminates all outlets not reflecting official views. To avoid reprisal, domestic and foreign journalists engage in self-censorship.
The Republic of Uzbekistan has an embassy in Ashgabat. Turkmenistan has an embassy in Tashkent. Both countries were previously subordinated republics of the Soviet Union as Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic and Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic before its collapse in 1991.
Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, also known as Türkmenbaşy, was a Turkmen politician who ruled Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was first secretary of the Turkmen Communist Party from 1985 until 1991 and supported the 1991 Soviet coup attempt. He continued to rule Turkmenistan for 15 years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Armenians in Central Asian states: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, were mainly settled there during the Soviet era for various reasons.
Independence Day of Turkmenistan is the main state holiday in Turkmenistan. This date is celebrated in Turkmenistan annually on September 27.
In Turkmenistan, television has been operating for over 50 years and is subject to vigorous state censorship. Notorious for a totalitarian control on media, Turkmenistan has consistently occupied one among the last three spots of the annual Press Freedom Index since its inception in 2006.
The dissolution of Russian Federation refers to a hypothetical unraveling of the Russian Federation from a unified state to various potential independent successor states. The term is frequently used in academic literature and journalism in discussions about Russian statehood and challenges that are perceived to threaten the unity and integrity of the Russian state.
The Ministry of Justice of Turkmenistan regulates the activities of the country's justice bodies. Since its inception in 1993, the ministry provides legal support to the state, and performs other tasks assigned by the Law of Turkmenistan to ensure the protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the Turkmen citizen. It was originally established on 6 September 1972 as the Justice Ministry of the Turkmen SSR. In 2003, President Saparmurat Niyazov ordered the Ministry of Justice to be renamed as the Ministry of Adalat. With Adalat being the Turkic word for justice, the change in terminology was intended to convey fairness, honor, and order within the ministry's affairs. The Ministry of Justice was also given new responsibilities that included inventorying all state-owned and private properties and overseeing the lawyers, notaries, and civil-registration offices in Turkmenistan.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan is the central government institution charged with leading the financial policy of Turkmenistan. It was established in 1991, and reformed in 2008. In 2017, it was merged again with the ministry of economy. The current Minister of Finance and Economy is Muhammetgeldi Serdarov.
