page_title: Balkan Region
section_title: Districts
hierarchical_section_title: Balkan Region / Districts
caption_attribution_description: English: A newly constructed railway station in Bereket city, October 2013
context_page_description: Balkan Region is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the far west of the country, bordering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, and Iran. Its capital is Balkanabat, formerly known as Nebit Dag. Balkan comes from “Bal akan” meaning “where the honey flows”, possibly relating to the rich petroleum reserves of the region. It has an area of 139,270 square kilometers and a population of approximately 553,500 people. Its population density of 3.3 persons per square kilometer is the lowest in Turkmenistan.
  Other cities include: Bereket, Türkmenbaşy, Gumdag, Serdar, Hazar, Etrek, Esenguly.
  The Balkan Region has significant energy reserves, which account for 94% of Turkmenistan's natural gas production and 12% of its petroleum production. It also generates 18% of the country's electric power. Due to the very low water supply, agriculture is negligible, and only 4.5% of Turkmenistan's arable lands are within the province.
  Off its Caspian shores the Balkan Region includes the island of Ogurja Ada, the most important island in Turkmenistan and one of the largest in the Caspian Sea.
context_section_description: Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty) is subdivided into 6 districts (etrap, plural etraplar):
  Bereket (previously Gazanjik)
  Esenguly
  Etrek (previously Gyzylektrek)
  Magtymguly (previously Garry Gala)
  Serdar (previously Gyzylarvat)
  Türkmenbaşy
  As of January 1, 2017, the province includes 10 cities (города or şäherler), 13 towns (посёлки or şäherçeler), 33 rural or village councils (сельские советы or geňeşlikler), and 112 villages (села, сельские населенные пункты or obalar).
  Cities include:
  Balkanabat (formerly Nebit-Dag)
  Bereket (formerly Gazanjyk (Russian: Казанджик or Газанджык))
  Garabogaz (formerly Bekdaş)
  Gumdag
  Hazar (formerly Çeleken)
  Serdar (formerly Kyzyl-Arvat, Gyzylarbat)
  Türkmenbaşy City (formerly Krasnovodsk)
caption: Railway station in Bereket city, October 2013.
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