# Demographics of Turkmenistan

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.

## Demographic trends

The 17 January 1939 census showed a population of 1,251,883, of which 741.5 thousand Turkmen, 232.9 thousand Russians, 107.4 thousand Uzbeks, 61.4 thousand Kazakhs, 19.5 thousand Tatars, 8,300 Iranians, 5,400 Baloch, and 75.5 thousand other nationalities. The population of Turkmenistan increased from 1.5 million in the 1959 census to 4.5 million in the 1995 census. The population continued growing to over 5 million in 2001–2006. According to opposition media, Turkmenistan's population in 2019 was no more than 3.3 million. As of July 2021, anonymous official sources informed opposition news media that the population of Turkmenistan had fallen to between 2.7 and 2.8 million.
According to some sources, deteriorating economic conditions have led to massive emigration of Turkmenistanis to other countries in search of work, possibly as many as 1,879,413 between 2008 and 2018, inclusive. Primary destinations are Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Between 2013 and 2019, the number of emigrants to Russia from Turkmenistan doubled. As one consequence, in 2018 Turkmen authorities began barring some citizens, particularly those younger than 40 years of age, from leaving the country in an apparent effort to stem emigration.
A once-in-a-decade national census was conducted 17–27 December 2022. Opposition media reported that many people claimed not to have been interviewed by census workers, or that census workers merely telephoned respondents, and did not visit them to count residents. According to the results of the 2022 census, the results of which were published in July 2023, the population of Turkmenistan was 7,057,841. However, offshore media disputed that figure, with one source claiming it came out of "thin air". Official population estimates are likely too high, given known emigration trends.

## Vital statistics
### UN estimates

| Period | Live births per year | Deaths per year | Natural change per year | CBR$^1$ | CDR$^1$ | NC$^1$ | TFR$^1$ | IMR$^1$ |
| 1950-1955 | 55 000 | 21 000 | 35 000 | 43.2 | 16.2 | 27.0 | 6.00 | 150.0 |
| 1955-1960 | 64 000 | 23 000 | 41 000 | 43.3 | 15.5 | 27.8 | 6.02 | 140.1 |
| 1960-1965 | 78 000 | 24 000 | 53 000 | 44.6 | 13.9 | 30.7 | 6.75 | 130.3 |
| 1965-1970 | 77 000 | 24 000 | 54 000 | 38.0 | 11.7 | 26.3 | 6.34 | 120.4 |
| 1970-1975 | 87 000 | 24 000 | 63 000 | 37.1 | 10.3 | 26.8 | 6.19 | 110.6 |
| 1975-1980 | 95 000 | 26 000 | 69 000 | 35.3 | 9.6 | 25.8 | 5.32 | 100.7 |
| 1980-1985 | 107 000 | 27 000 | 81 000 | 35.2 | 8.7 | 26.5 | 4.79 | 90.9 |
| 1985-1990 | 123 000 | 28 000 | 95 000 | 35.7 | 8.2 | 27.4 | 4.55 | 81.0 |
| 1990-1995 | 128 000 | 34 000 | 94 000 | 32.9 | 8.6 | 24.3 | 4.03 | 75.5 |
| 1995-2000 | 106 000 | 34 000 | 73 000 | 25.0 | 7.8 | 17.2 | 3.03 | 61.3 |
| 2000-2005 | 108 000 | 36 000 | 72 000 | 23.3 | 7.7 | 15.6 | 2.76 | 51.7 |
| 2005-2010 | 108 000 | 38 000 | 70 000 | 22.1 | 7.8 | 14.3 | 2.50 | 50.5 |
| 2010-2015 | | | | 21.5 | 7.8 | 13.7 | 2.34 | |
| 2015-2020 | | | | 20.0 | 7.8 | 12.2 | 2.22 | |
| $^1$ CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births |||||||||

### Registered births and deaths

Note that vital statistics were not published after 1994 by TurkmenStat.
| | Average population | Live births | Deaths | Natural change | Crude birth rate (per 1000) | Crude death rate (per 1000) | Natural change (per 1000) |
| 1950 | 1,211,000 | 46,335 | 12,411 | 33,924 | 38.3 | 10.2 | 28.0 |
| 1951 | 1,234,000 | 46,417 | 12,707 | 33,710 | 37.6 | 10.3 | 27.3 |
| 1952 | 1,260,000 | 49,306 | 14,775 | 34,531 | 39.1 | 11.7 | 27.4 |
| 1953 | 1,290,000 | 48,482 | 15,567 | 32,915 | 37.6 | 12.1 | 25.5 |
| 1954 | 1,321,000 | 51,162 | 14,650 | 36,512 | 38.7 | 11.1 | 27.6 |
| 1955 | 1,356,000 | 55,171 | 14,075 | 41,096 | 40.7 | 10.4 | 30.3 |
| 1956 | 1,390,000 | 53,528 | 11,783 | 41,745 | 38.5 | 8.5 | 30.0 |
| 1957 | 1,434,000 | 55,955 | 10,940 | 45,015 | 39.0 | 7.6 | 31.4 |
| 1958 | 1,487,000 | 59,235 | 10,987 | 48,248 | 39.8 | 7.4 | 32.4 |
| 1959 | 1,539,000 | 60,430 | 10,594 | 49,836 | 39.3 | 6.9 | 32.4 |
| 1960 | 1,593,000 | 67,676 | 10,433 | 57,243 | 42.5 | 6.5 | 35.9 |
| 1961 | 1,653,000 | 67,790 | 10,841 | 56,949 | 41.0 | 6.6 | 34.5 |
| 1962 | 1,713,000 | 68,725 | 11,772 | 56,953 | 40.1 | 6.9 | 33.2 |
| 1963 | 1,773,000 | 70,005 | 11,098 | 58,907 | 39.5 | 6.3 | 33.2 |
| 1964 | 1,833,000 | 69,777 | 11,623 | 58,154 | 38.1 | 6.3 | 31.8 |
| 1965 | 1,890,000 | 70,258 | 13,152 | 57,106 | 37.2 | 7.0 | 30.2 |
| 1966 | 1,943,000 | 73,109 | 13,036 | 60,073 | 37.6 | 6.7 | 30.9 |
| 1967 | 2,001,000 | 71,062 | 14,043 | 57,019 | 35.5 | 7.0 | 28.5 |
| 1968 | 2,061,000 | 73,470 | 14,223 | 59,247 | 35.6 | 6.9 | 28.7 |
| 1969 | 2,124,000 | 72,892 | 14,754 | 58,138 | 34.3 | 6.9 | 27.4 |
| 1970 | 2,188,000 | 77,080 | 14,370 | 62,710 | 35.2 | 6.6 | 28.6 |
| 1971 | 2,251,000 | 78,357 | 15,031 | 63,326 | 34.8 | 6.7 | 28.1 |
| 1972 | 2,315,000 | 78,841 | 16,680 | 62,161 | 34.0 | 7.2 | 26.8 |
| 1973 | 2,380,000 | 82,111 | 17,336 | 64,775 | 34.5 | 7.3 | 27.2 |
| 1974 | 2,449,000 | 84,607 | 17,766 | 66,841 | 34.5 | 7.2 | 27.3 |
| 1975 | 2,520,000 | 87,369 | 19,876 | 67,493 | 34.7 | 7.9 | 26.8 |
| 1976 | 2,588,000 | 90,765 | 20,040 | 70,725 | 35.1 | 7.7 | 27.4 |
| 1977 | 2,655,000 | 91,826 | 20,801 | 71,025 | 34.6 | 7.8 | 26.8 |
| 1978 | 2,724,000 | 93,798 | 21,847 | 71,951 | 34.4 | 8.0 | 26.4 |
| 1979 | 2,792,000 | 97,511 | 21,583 | 75,928 | 34.9 | 7.7 | 27.2 |
| 1980 | 2,861,000 | 98,069 | 23,863 | 74,206 | 34.3 | 8.3 | 25.9 |
| 1981 | 2,931,000 | 100,627 | 24,883 | 75,744 | 34.3 | 8.5 | 25.8 |
| 1982 | 3,003,000 | 104,340 | 23,984 | 80,356 | 34.7 | 8.0 | 26.8 |
| 1983 | 3,076,000 | 108,171 | 26,015 | 82,156 | 35.2 | 8.5 | 26.7 |
| 1984 | 3,151,000 | 111,083 | 25,760 | 85,323 | 35.3 | 8.2 | 27.1 |
| 1985 | 3,229,000 | 116,285 | 26,080 | 90,205 | 36.0 | 8.1 | 27.9 |
| 1986 | 3,310,000 | 122,337 | 27,865 | 94,472 | 37.0 | 8.4 | 28.5 |
| 1987 | 3,393,000 | 126,787 | 26,802 | 99,985 | 37.4 | 7.9 | 29.5 |
| 1988 | 3,479,000 | 125,887 | 27,317 | 98,570 | 36.2 | 7.9 | 28.3 |
| 1989 | 3,571,000 | 124,992 | 27,609 | 97,383 | 35.0 | 7.7 | 27.3 |
| 1990 | 3,668,000 | 125,343 | 25,755 | 99,588 | 34.2 | 7.0 | 27.2 |
| 1991 | 3,772,000 | 126,248 | 27,403 | 98,845 | 33.5 | 7.3 | 26.2 |
| 1992 | 3,883,000 | 131,034 | 27,509 | 103,525 | 33.7 | 7.1 | 26.7 |
| 1993 | 3,993,000 | 130,708 | 31,171 | 99,537 | 32.7 | 7.8 | 24.9 |
| 1994 | 4,096,000 | 129,700 | 32,067 | 97,633 | 31.7 | 7.8 | 23.8 |
| 1995 | | 130,200 | | | | | |
| 1996 | | 125,400 | | | | | |
| 1997 | | 126,200 | | | | | |
| 1998 | | 121,900 | | | | | |
| 1999 | | 120,100 | | | | | |
| 2000 | | 119,665 | | | | | |
| 2001 | | 115,400 | | | | | |
| 2002 | | 111,039 | | | | | |
| 2003 | | 111,900 | | | | | |
| 2004 | | 115,119 | | | | | |
| 2005 | | 116,209 | | | | | |
| 2006 | | 116,542 | | | | | |
| 2007 | | 103,700 | | | | | |
| 2008 | | 114,900 | | | | | |
| 2009 | | 129,900 | | | | | |
| 2010 | | 144,600 | | | | | |

### Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
| Year | Total | Total | Urban | Urban | Rural | Rural |
| Year | CBR | TFR | CBR | TFR | CBR | TFR |
| 2000 | 24.6 | 2.89 (2.66) | 20.5 | 2.46 (2.29) | 28.2 | 3.30 (3.00) |

### Life expectancy

| Period | Life expectancy in Years | Period | Life expectancy in Years |
| 1950–1955 | 51.3 | 1985–1990 | 62.8 |
| 1955–1960 | 53.4 | 1990–1995 | 62.7 |
| 1960–1965 | 55.5 | 1995–2000 | 63.2 |
| 1965–1970 | 57.6 | 2000–2005 | 64.2 |
| 1970–1975 | 59.2 | 2005–2010 | 65.8 |
| 1975–1980 | 60.2 | 2010–2015 | 67.3 |
| 1980–1985 | 61.8 | | |
Source: UN World Population Prospects

## Ethnic groups

The table shows the ethnic composition of Turkmenistan's population (in percent) between 1926 and 2022. There has been a sharp decline in the Slavic ethnic groups (Russians and Ukrainians) and also Kazakhs and Tatars since independence (as captured in the 1979 and 1995 censuses). Uzbeks are now the second largest ethnic group in Turkmenistan, with Russians relegated to the third place. According to data announced in Ashgabat in February 2001, 91% of the population are Turkmen, 3% are Uzbeks, and 2% are Russians. Between 1989 and 2001 the number of Turkmen in Turkmenistan doubled (from 2.5 to 4.9 million), while the number of Russians dropped by two-thirds (from 334,000 to slightly over 100,000).
Population of Turkmenistan according to ethnic group 1926–2022 :
| Ethnic group | census 1926$^1$ | census 1926$^1$ | census 1939$^2$ | census 1939$^2$ | census 1959$^3$ | census 1959$^3$ | census 1970$^4$ | census 1970$^4$ | census 1979$^5$ | census 1979$^5$ | census 1989$^6$ | census 1989$^6$ | census 1995$^7$ | census 1995$^7$ | census 2022$^9$ | census 2022$^9$ |
| Ethnic group | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Turkmens | 719,792 | 71.9 | 741,488 | 59.2 | 923,724 | 60.9 | 1,416,700 | 65.6 | 1,891,695 | 68.4 | 2,536,606 | 72.0 | 3,403,639 | 76.7 | 6,120,854 | 86.7 |
| Uzbeks | 104,971 | 10.5 | 107,451 | 8.6 | 125,231 | 8.3 | 179,498 | 8.3 | 233,730 | 8.5 | 317,333 | 9.0 | 408,259 | 9.2 | 642,476 | 9.1 |
| Russians | 75,357 | 7.5 | 232,924 | 18.6 | 262,701 | 17.3 | 313,079 | 14.5 | 349,170 | 12.6 | 333,892 | 9.5 | 297,319 | 6.7 | 114,447 | 1.6 |
| Balochi | 9,974 | 1.0 | 5,396 | 0.4 | 7,626 | 0.5 | 12,374 | 0.6 | 18,584 | 0.7 | 28,280 | 0.8 | 36,428 | 0.8 | 87,503 | 1.2 |
| Azerbaijanis | 4,229 | 0.4 | 7,442 | 0.6 | 12,868 | 0.8 | 16,775 | 0.8 | 23,548 | 0.9 | 33,365 | 0.9 | 36,586 | 0.8 | 26,576 | 0.4 |
| Armenians | 13,859 | 1.4 | 15,996 | 1.3 | 19,696 | 1.3 | 23,054 | 1.1 | 26,605 | 1.0 | 31,829 | 0.9 | 33,638 | 0.8 | 14,711 | 0.2 |
| Kazakhs | 9,471 | 0.9 | 61,397 | 4.9 | 69,522 | 4.6 | 68,519 | 3.2 | 79,539 | 2.9 | 87,802 | 2.5 | 88,752 | 2.0 | 11,825 | 0.2 |
| Tatars | 4,769 | 0.5 | 19,517 | 1.6 | 29,946 | 2.0 | 36,457 | 1.7 | 40,432 | 1.5 | 39,277 | 1.1 | 35,501 | 0.8 | 8,643 | 0.1 |
| Ukrainians | 6,877 | 0.7 | 21,778 | 1.7 | 20,955 | 1.4 | 35,398 | 1.6 | 37,118 | 1.3 | 35,578 | 1.0 | 23,064 | 0.5 | 2,566 | 0.0 |
| Others | 51,615 | 5.2 | 38,494 | 3.1 | 44,106 | 2.9 | 57,026 | 2.6 | 64,327 | 2.3 | 78,755 | 2.2 | 71,168 | 1.7 | 28,220 | 0.4 |
| Total | 1,000,914 | 1,000,914 | 1,251,883 | 1,251,883 | 1,516,375 | 1,516,375 | 2,158,880 | 2,158,880 | 2,764,848 | 2,764,848 | 3,522,717 | 3,522,717 | 4,434,354 | 4,434,354 | 7,057,841 | 7,057,841 |
| $^1$ Source: . $^2$ Source: Archived 21 December 2012 at archive.today. $^3$ Source: . $^4$ Source: . $^5$ Source: . $^6$ Source: . $^7$ Source: $^8$ Source: |||||||||||||||||

### Azerbaijanis in Turkmenistan

The significant presence of Azerbaijanis in Turkmenistan dates from the early twentieth century. A massive influx of Azerbaijanis migrated to Turkmenistan due to the devastating 1902 Shamakhi earthquake.
Beyler of Shamakhi settled mainly in Krasnovodsk and Ashgabad (now known as Turkmenbashi and Ashgabat respectively). The Beyler's wealth spurred a big "investment boom" in Turkestan (Turkmenistan). Beyler began to build new buildings by using modernized technological equipment. In a short time, a large number of hotels, houses, teahouses, caravanserais, mosques, madrasas, schools, and theaters were built.
Azerbaijanis were also involved in the fight against the Bolsheviks. Azerbaijanis were found among the Basmachi fighters led by Enver Pasha, and some helped finance the movement. For decades, the fight against the colonial policy of Bolsheviks failed. Most of the members of Basmachi movement were killed in the battles of the independence of Turkestan, the other part were exiled to labor camps of Gulag.
During the 70 years of Soviet rule, Azerbaijani Bays and warriors were declared as a national enemy and their names were erased from history books. Today they have been rehabilitated.
At the period of the collapse of the USSR, 36,000 Azerbaijanis lived in Turkmenistan, now their population has reached over 52,000.
While living in Turkmenistan, Azerbaijanis have contributed to the culture and art of the country. Musical instruments such as Gaval, Nagara, Tar, Saz and Kamancheh have gained popularity in Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijani dishes like dovga, syabzi-frying, and sweet rice have become favorite dishes of Turkmenistanis. Today, the Azerbaijani community of Turkmenistan has its own mosques, musicians, and dancers.
Some famous Azerbaijanis from Turkmenistan are: the chief of Baku City Executive Power Hajibala Abutalibov, Elnur Huseynov who represented Azerbaijan twice in the Eurovision Song Contest and the winner of The Voice of Turkey, singer Natavan Habibi, a well-known geologist Shamil Azizbayov, film director Ajdar Ibrahimov, national heroes of Azerbaijan Fakhraddin Musayev and Tahir Bagirov, the first woman in the oil industry, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1959 to 1983. Tahira Tahirova also was born in Turkmenistan.

## Religion

* Islam 95.8%
* Christianity 1.1%
* No Religion 3.0%
* Other Religions 0.1% (2020 est.)