Turkmenistan

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
Present-day Turkmenistan has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. Various Persian empires ruled the area in antiquity, and Alexander the Great, Muslim armies, the Mongols, Turkic warriors, and eventually the Russians conquered it. In 1924, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic; it achieved independence when the USSR dissolved in 1991.

Geography

Area
total : 488,100 sq km
land: 469,930 sq km
water: 18,170 sq km

Climate
subtropical desert

Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt

People and Society

Population
total: 5,744,151 (2024 est.)

Ethnic groups
Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003 est.)

Languages
Turkmen (official) 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%

Religions
Muslim 93%, Christian 6.4%, Buddhist <1%, folk religion <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified <1% (2020 est.)

Population growth rate
0.92% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
presidential republic; authoritarian

Capital
name: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)

Executive branch
chief of state: President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV (since 19 March 2022)
head of government: President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV (since 19 March 2022)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Meret ORAZOV (since 14 February 2001)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Elizabeth ROOD (since 31 July 2024)

Economy

Economic overview
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

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$134.555 billion (2024 est.)
$131.576 billion (2023 est.)
$123.778 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$18,000 (2024 est.)
$17,900 (2023 est.)
$17,100 (2022 est.)

Exports
$13.111 billion (2023 est.)
$14.67 billion (2022 est.)
$10.282 billion (2021 est.)

Exports - partners
China 63%, Turkey 11%, Greece 7%, Uzbekistan 6%, Azerbaijan 4% (2023)

Exports - commodities
natural gas, refined petroleum, fertilizers, crude petroleum, electricity (2023)

Imports
$7.563 billion (2023 est.)
$7.362 billion (2022 est.)
$6.25 billion (2021 est.)

Imports - partners
Turkey 21%, UAE 21%, China 20%, Kazakhstan 8%, Germany 5% (2023)

Imports - commodities
broadcasting equipment, cars, wheat, computers, iron pipes (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.764, ranking it 95th out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 101st out of 158 countries tested with a score of 5.119. (more information)