Turkmenistan

**Turkmenistan** ( or ; , ;), also known as **Turkmenia**, is a country in South-Central Asia. It has borders with Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. It has no ocean but it is on the Caspian Sea to the west. The capital of Turkmenistan is Ashghabat.
The majority of the country is Muslim at 93%.

Turkmenistan is a non-aligned and fully neutral country.

## History

Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union since its creation, in 1922. At first, Turkmenistan was an autonomous republic within Russian SFSR. In 1925 it was promoted to a Soviet republic. Turkmenistan is an independent country since 1991, after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Saparmurat Niyazov became Turkmenistan’s first president in 1991.

## Provinces

Turkmenistan is divided into five provinces and one capital city district. The provinces are divided into districts which may be either counties or cities.

|Division|ISO 3166-2|Capital city|Area|Pop (2005)|Key|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Ashgabat||871,500|||
|TM-A|Anau||939,700|1||
|TM-B|Balkanabat||553,500|2||
|TM-D|Daşoguz||1,370,400|3||
|TM-L|Türkmenabat||1,334,500|4||
|TM-M|Mary||1,480,400|5||

## Climate

Turkmenistan is one of the driest desert areas in the world. Some places have an average annual precipitation of only . The highest temperature recorded in Ashgabat is . Kerki, an extreme inland city located on the banks of the Amu Darya river, recorded  in July 1983, but this value is unofficial. 50.1C is the highest temperature recorded at Repetek Reserve, recognized as the highest temperature ever recorded in the whole former Soviet Union.

## Geography

Turkmenistan is the world's 52nd-largest country. It is slightly smaller than Spain and somewhat larger than the US state of California. Over 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert.

The Turkmen shore along the Caspian Sea is  long. The Caspian Sea is entirely landlocked, with no access to the ocean.

The major cities include Aşgabat, Türkmenbaşy (formerly Krasnovodsk) and Daşoguz.

Turkmenistan has a humid climate. Annual rainfall is low, particularly in summer. Winters are dry and mild. The wettest region in Turkmenistan is Köýtendağ Range. Köýtendağ is in southeastern Turkmenistan on the borders with Uzbekistan.

## Infobox (country)

- **common name**: Turkmenistan
- **conventional long name**: Turkmenistan
- **image flag**: Flag of Turkmenistan.svg
- **image coat**: Emblem of Turkmenistan.svg
- **symbol type**: Emblem
- **national motto**: _List of national mottos, Türkmenistan Bitaraplygyň watanydyr_

- **national anthem**: _State Anthem of Turkmenistan, Garaşsyz Bitarap Türkmenistanyň Döwlet Gimni_

- **image map**: Turkmenistan on the globe (Afro-Eurasia centered).svg
- **capital**: Ashgabat
- **largest city**: Ashgabat
- **official languages**: Turkmen language, Turkmen
- **languages type**: Language of inter-ethnic communication
- **languages**: Russian language, Russian
- **languages2 type**: Other languages
- **languages2**: Uzbek language, Uzbek • Kazakh language, Kazakh • Eastern Armenian language, Eastern Armenian • Azerbaijani language, Azerbaijani • Balochi language, Baluji • Kurmanji • Ukrainian language, Ukrainian • Persian language, Persian and others
- **ethnic groups year**: 2012
- **demonym**: Turkmenistani
Turkmen
Turkmenian
- **government type**: Unitary state, Unitary Presidential system, presidential republic under an totalitarian hereditary dictatorship
- **leader title1**: President of Turkmenistan, President
- **leader name1**: Serdar Berdimuhamedow
- **leader title2**: Vice President of Turkmenistan, Vice President
- **leader name2**: Raşit Meredow
- **leader title3**: List of chairmen of the Assembly of Turkmenistan, Chairman of the Assembly
- **leader name3**: Gülşat Mämmedowa
- **legislature**: Assembly of Turkmenistan, Assembly (Mejlis)
- **sovereignty type**: History of Turkmenistan, Independence from Russian Empire, Russia
- **established event1**: Transcaspian Oblast, Conquest
- **established date1**: 1879
- **established event2**: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet rule
- **established date2**: 13 May 1925
- **established event3**: Declared state sovereignty
- **established date3**: 22 August 1990
- **established event4**: From the Soviet Union
- **established date4**: 27 October 1991
- **established event5**: Recognized
- **established date5**: 26 December 1991
- **established event6**: Constitution of Turkmenistan, Current constitution
- **established date6**: 18 May 1992
- **area km2**: 491,210
- **area rank**: 52nd
- **area sq mi**: 188,456
- **percent water**: 4.9
- **population estimate**: 6,031,187
- **population estimate year**: 2020
- **population estimate rank**: 113th
- **population density km2**: 10.5
- **population density sq mi**: 27.1
- **population density rank**: 221st
- **gdp ppp**: $112.659 billion
- **gdp ppp year**: 2018
- **gdp ppp per capita**: $19,526
- **gdp nominal**: $42.764 billion
- **gdp nominal year**: 2018
- **gdp nominal per capita**: $7,411
- **gini**: 40.8
- **gini year**: 1998
- **hdi**: 0.715
- **hdi year**: 2019
- **hdi change**: increase
- **hdi rank**: 111th
- **currency**: Turkmenistan Manat, Turkmen new manat
- **currency code**: TMT
- **time zone**: TMT
- **utc offset**: +05
- **drives on**: Right
- **calling code**: Telephone numbers in Turkmenistan, +993
- **cctld**: .tm