Turkmenistan

The name of Turkmenistan ({{langx|tk|Türkmenistan}}) can be divided into two components: the ethnonym Türkmen and the Persian suffix -stan meaning "place of" or "country". The name "Turkmen" comes from Turk, plus the Sogdian suffix -men, meaning "almost Turk", in reference to their status outside the Turkic dynastic mythological system.{{Cite book |last=Zuev |first=Yury |title=Early Türks: Essays on history and ideology |publisher=Daik-Press |year=2002 |location=Almatý |page=157 |language=en}}

Muslim chroniclers like Ibn Kathir suggested that the etymology of Turkmenistan came from the words Türk and iman ({{langx|ar|إيمان|lit=faith/belief}}); this is in reference to a massive conversion to Islam of two hundred thousand households in the year 971.{{Cite web |title=البداية والنهاية/الجزء الحادي عشر - ويكي مصدر |url=https://ar.wikisource.org/wiki/%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25A8%25D8%25AF%25D8%25A7%25D9%258A%25D8%25A9_%25D9%2588%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D9%2586%25D9%2587%25D8%25A7%25D9%258A%25D8%25A9/%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25AC%25D8%25B2%25D8%25A1_%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25AD%25D8%25A7%25D8%25AF%25D9%258A_%25D8%25B9%25D8%25B4%25D8%25B1 |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=ar.wikisource.org |language=ar}}

Turkmenistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union after the independence referendum in 1991. As a result, the constitutional law was adopted on 27 October of that year and Article 1 established the new name of the state: Turkmenistan (Türkmenistan / Түркменистан).[http://www.turkmenlegaldatabase.info/ru/documents.download/id/22155.html "Constitutional Law of Turkmenistan on independence and the fundamentals of the state organisation of Turkmenistan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809152501/http://www.turkmenlegaldatabase.info/ru/documents.download/id/22155.html |date=9 August 2020}}; Ведомости Меджлиса Туркменистана", № 15, page 152 – 27 October 1991. Retrieved from the Database of Legislation of Turkmenistan, OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

A common name for the Turkmen SSR was Turkmenia ({{langx|ru|Туркмения}}, romanization: Turkmeniya), used in some reports of the country's independence.{{Cite news |agency=Reuters |date=1991-10-28 |title=Independence of Turkmenia Declared After a Referendum |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/28/world/independence-of-turkmenia-declared-after-a-referendum.html |access-date=2023-04-07 |issn=0362-4331}}

{{Main|History of Turkmenistan}}

Historically inhabited by Indo-Iranians, Turkmenistan's written history begins with its annexation by the Achaemenid Empire of Ancient Iran. After centuries of turmoil, over a thousand years later, in the 8th century AD, Turkic-speaking Oghuz tribes moved from Mongolia into present-day Central Asia. Part of a powerful confederation of tribes, these Oghuz formed the ethnic basis of the modern Turkmen population.{{Cite web |date=February 2007 |title=Country Profile: Turkmenistan |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Turkmenistan.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050226190629/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Turkmenistan.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2005 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Library of Congress Federal Research Division}} In the 10th century, the name "Turkmen" was first applied to Oghuz groups that accepted Islam and began to occupy present-day Turkmenistan. There they were under the dominion of the Seljuk Empire, which was composed of Oghuz groups living in present-day Iran and Turkmenistan. Oghuz groups in the service of the empire played an important role in the spreading of Turkic culture when they migrated westward into present-day Azerbaijan and eastern Turkey.

File:Turban helmet Met 04.3.211.jpg helmet (15th century)]]

In the 12th century, Turkmen and other tribes overthrew the Seljuk Empire. In the next century, the Mongols took over the more northern lands where the Turkmens had settled, scattering the Turkmens southward and contributing to the formation of new tribal groups. The sixteenth and eighteenth centuries saw a series of splits and confederations among the nomadic Turkmen tribes, who remained staunchly independent and inspired fear in their neighbors. By the 16th century, most of those tribes were under the nominal control of two sedentary Uzbek khanates, Khiva and Bukhoro. Turkmen soldiers were an important element of the Uzbek militaries of this period. In the 19th century, raids and rebellions by the Yomud Turkmen group resulted in that group's dispersal by the Uzbek rulers. In 1855 the Turkmen tribe of Teke led by Gowshut-Khan defeated the invading army of the Khan of Khiva Muhammad Amin Khan{{Cite web |last=Аннанепесов (Annanepesov) |first=М. (M.) |year=2000 |editor-last=Gundogdyyev |editor-first=Ovez |title=Серахское сражение 1855 года (Историко-культурное наследие Туркменистана) |trans-title=Serakhs Battle of 1855 (Historical and Cultural Heritage of Turkmenistan) |url=http://www.turkmeniya.narod.ru/sarahs-battle.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727093915/http://www.turkmeniya.narod.ru/sarahs-battle.html |archive-date=27 July 2020 |access-date=27 July 2020 |publisher=UNDP |language=ru |location=Istanbul}} and in 1861 the invading Persian army of Nasreddin-Shah.{{Cite book |last=Казем-Заде (Kazem-Zade) |first=Фируз (Firuz) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BxE9B14dr84C&q=%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD-%D1%88%D0%B0%D1%85+%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2+1861&pg=PT138 |title=Борьба за влияние в Персии. Дипломатическое противостояние России и Англии |date=2017 |publisher=Центрполиграф (Centrpoligraph) |isbn=978-5457028937 |language=ru |trans-title=Struggle for Influence in Persia. Diplomatic Confrontation between Russia and England |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203123154/https://books.google.com/books?id=BxE9B14dr84C&q=%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD-%D1%88%D0%B0%D1%85+%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2+1861&pg=PT138 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live}}

In the second half of the 19th century, northern Turkmens were the main military and political power in the Khanate of Khiva.{{Cite web |last=MacGahan |first=Januarius |date=1874 |title=Campaigning on the Oxus, and the fall of Khiva |url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/campaigning-on-the-oxus-and-the-fall-of-khiva-by-ja-macgahan-correspondent#/?tab=about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027035352/https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/campaigning-on-the-oxus-and-the-fall-of-khiva-by-ja-macgahan-correspondent#/?tab=about |archive-date=27 October 2016 |access-date=25 July 2020 |publisher=Harper & Brothers |location=New York}}{{Cite web |last=Глуховской (Glukhovskoy) |first=А. |date=1873 |title=О положении дел в Аму Дарьинском бассейне |trans-title=On the State of Affairs in the Amu Darya Basin |url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/M.Asien/XIX/1860-1880/Russ_turkmenII/Razdel_III/39.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127200544/http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/M.Asien/XIX/1860-1880/Russ_turkmenII/Razdel_III/39.htm |archive-date=27 November 2020 |access-date=25 July 2020 |language=ru}} According to Paul R. Spickard, "Prior to the Russian conquest, the Turkmen were known and feared for their involvement in the Central Asian slave trade."{{Cite book |last=Paul R. Spickard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C1G8xHAY5SUC |title=Race and Nation: Ethnic Systems in the Modern World |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-415-95003-9 |page=260}}{{Cite book |last=Scott Cameron Levi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9qVkNBge8mIC&pg=PA68 |title=The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and Its Trade: 1550–1900 |date=January 2002 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-12320-5 |page=68}}

File:1. Чарджуй (бухарские владения). У городских ворот.jpg in Russian Turkestan, 1890]]

Russian forces began occupying Turkmen territory late in the 19th century. From their Caspian Sea base at Krasnovodsk (now Türkmenbaşy), the Russians eventually overcame the Uzbek khanates. In 1879, the Russian forces were defeated by the Teke Turkmens during the first attempt to conquer the Ahal area of Turkmenistan.{{Cite web |last=Аннанепесов (Annanepesov) |first=М. (M.) |year=2000 |title=Ахалтекинские экспедиции (Историко-культурное наследие Туркменистана) |trans-title=Akhal-Teke Expeditions (Historical and Cultural Heritage of Turkmenistan) |url=http://www.turkmeniya.narod.ru/akhalteke-expeditions.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727100307/http://www.turkmeniya.narod.ru/akhalteke-expeditions.html |archive-date=27 July 2020 |access-date=27 July 2020 |publisher=UNDP |language=ru}} However, in 1881, the last significant resistance in Turkmen territory was crushed at the Battle of Geok Tepe, and shortly thereafter Turkmenistan was annexed, together with adjoining Uzbek territory, into the Russian Empire. In 1916, the Russian Empire's participation in World War I resonated in Turkmenistan, as an anticonscription revolt swept most of Russian Central Asia. Although the Russian Revolution of 1917 had little direct impact, in the 1920s Turkmen forces joined Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Uzbeks in the so-called Basmachi rebellion against the rule of the newly formed Soviet Union. In 1921 the tsarist province of Transcaspia ({{langx|ru|Закаспийская область}}, 'Transcaspian Oblast') was renamed Turkmen Oblast ({{langx|ru|Туркменская область}}), and in 1924, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was formed from it.{{Cite news |last=Muradov |first=Ruslan |date=13 May 2021 |title=История Ашхабада: время больших перемен |language=ru |publisher=«Туркменистан: золотой век» |url=https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/ru/post/54304/istoriya-ashhabada-vremya-bolshih-peremen |url-status=live |access-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515035824/https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/ru/post/54304/istoriya-ashhabada-vremya-bolshih-peremen |archive-date=15 May 2021}} By the late 1930s, Soviet reorganization of agriculture had destroyed what remained of the nomadic lifestyle in Turkmenistan, and Moscow controlled political life. The Ashgabat earthquake of 1948 killed over 110,000 people,{{Cite web |title=Significant Earthquake Information|last=National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information|year=1972|url= https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/3891|publisher=NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information|doi=10.7289/V5TD9V7K}} amounting to two-thirds of the city's population.

File:Turkmen man with camel.jpg between 1905 and 1915.]]

During the next half-century, Turkmenistan played its designated economic role within the Soviet Union and remained outside the course of major world events. Even the major liberalization movement that shook Russia in the late 1980s had little impact. However, in 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Turkmenistan declared sovereignty as a nationalist response to perceived exploitation by Moscow. Although Turkmenistan was ill-prepared for independence and then-communist leader Saparmurat Niyazov preferred to preserve the Soviet Union, in October 1991, the fragmentation of that entity forced him to call a national referendum that approved independence. On 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Niyazov continued as Turkmenistan's chief of state, replacing communism with a unique brand of independent nationalism reinforced by a pervasive cult of personality. A 1994 referendum and legislation in 1999 abolished further requirements for the president to stand for re-election (although in 1992 he completely dominated the only presidential election in which he ran, as he was the only candidate and no one else was allowed to run for the office), making him effectively president for life. During his tenure, Niyazov conducted frequent purges of public officials and abolished organizations deemed threatening. Throughout the post-Soviet era, Turkmenistan has taken a neutral position on almost all international issues. Niyazov eschewed membership in regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and in the late 1990s he maintained relations with the Taliban and its chief opponent in Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance. He offered limited support to the military campaign against the Taliban following the 11 September 2001 attacks. In 2002 an alleged assassination attempt against Niyazov led to a new wave of security restrictions, dismissals of government officials, and restrictions placed on the media. Niyazov accused exiled former foreign minister Boris Shikhmuradov of having planned the attack.

Between 2002 and 2004, serious tension arose between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan because of bilateral disputes and Niyazov's implication that Uzbekistan had a role in the 2002 assassination attempt. In 2004, a series of bilateral treaties restored friendly relations. In the parliamentary elections of December 2004 and January 2005, only Niyazov's party was represented, and no international monitors participated. In 2005, Niyazov exercised his dictatorial power by closing all hospitals outside Ashgabat and all rural libraries. The year 2006 saw intensification of the trends of arbitrary policy changes, shuffling of top officials, diminishing economic output outside the oil and gas sector, and isolation from regional and world organizations. China was among a very few nations to whom Turkmenistan made significant overtures. The sudden death of Niyazov at the end of 2006 left a complete vacuum of power, as his cult of personality, comparable to the one of eternal president Kim Il Sung of North Korea, had precluded the naming of a successor. Deputy Prime Minister Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who was named interim head of government, won a non-democratic special presidential election held in early February 2007. His appointment as interim president and subsequent run for president violated the constitution.{{Cite book |last1=Horák |first1=Slavomír |url=https://www.silkroadstudies.org/resources/pdf/SilkRoadPapers/2009_03_SRP_Horak-Sir_Turkmenistan-Berdimuhamedov.pdf |title=Dismantling Totalitarianism? Turkmenistan under Berdimuhamedow |last2=Šír |first2=Jan |date=March 2009 |publisher=Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program |isbn=978-91 85937-17-2 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=18–19 |access-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725080804/https://www.silkroadstudies.org/resources/pdf/SilkRoadPapers/2009_03_SRP_Horak-Sir_Turkmenistan-Berdimuhamedov.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2021 |url-status=live}} Berdimuhamedow won two additional non-democratic elections, with approximately 97% of the vote in both 2012{{Cite news |date=13 February 2012 |title=Turkmenistan president wins election with 96.9% of vote |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/13/turkmenistan-president-wins-election?newsfeed=true |url-status=live |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119110746/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/13/turkmenistan-president-wins-election?newsfeed=true |archive-date=19 November 2020}} and 2017.{{Cite news |last=Putz |first=Catherine |date=14 February 2017 |title=Turkmenistan, Apparently, Had an Election |publisher=The Diplomat |url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/02/turkmenistan-apparently-had-an-election/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024508/https://thediplomat.com/2017/02/turkmenistan-apparently-had-an-election/ |archive-date=15 April 2021}} His son Serdar Berdimuhamedow won a non-democratic snap presidential election in 2022, establishing a political dynasty in Turkmenistan.{{Cite web |date=15 March 2022 |title=Turkmenistan leader's son wins presidential election |url=https://apnews.com/article/central-asia-asia-turkmenistan-presidential-elections-elections-3d13e95fe055bf53525141c351708488 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315073122/https://apnews.com/article/central-asia-asia-turkmenistan-presidential-elections-elections-3d13e95fe055bf53525141c351708488 |archive-date=15 March 2022 |access-date=15 March 2022 |website=AP NEWS |publisher=Associated Press |language=en}} On 19 March 2022, Serdar Berdimuhamedov was sworn in as Turkmenistan's new president to succeed his father.{{Cite news |title=Serdar Berdimuhamedov sworn in as Turkmenistan's new president |work=www.aa.com.tr |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/serdar-berdimuhamedov-sworn-in-as-turkmenistans-new-president/2540192 |url-status=live |access-date=4 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422134741/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/serdar-berdimuhamedov-sworn-in-as-turkmenistans-new-president/2540192 |archive-date=22 April 2022}}

{{Main|Politics of Turkmenistan}}

After over a century of being a part of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union (including 67 years as a union republic), Turkmenistan declared its independence on 27 October 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzizDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 |title=Turkmenistan Country Study Guide Volume 1 |date=2011 |publisher=International Business Publications |isbn=9781438749082 |location=Washington DC |access-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203123157/https://books.google.com/books?id=GzizDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live}}

Saparmurat Niyazov, a former official of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, ruled Turkmenistan from 1985, when he became head of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR, until his death in 2006. He retained absolute control over the country as President after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 28 December 1999, Niyazov was declared President for Life of Turkmenistan by the Mejlis (parliament), which itself had taken office a week earlier in elections that included only candidates hand-picked by President Niyazov. No opposition candidates were allowed.

The former Communist Party, now known as the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, is the dominant party. The second party, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, was established in August 2012, and an agrarian party appeared two years later. Political gatherings are illegal unless government sanctioned.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}} In 2013, the first multi-party parliamentary elections were held in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan was a one-party state from 1991 to 2012; however, the 2013 elections were widely seen as rigged.{{Cite web |date=8 September 2014 |title=Turkmenistan |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/turkmenistan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215140250/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/turkmenistan |archive-date=15 February 2016 |access-date=12 February 2016}} In practice, all parties in parliament operate jointly under the direction of the DPT. There are no true opposition parties in the Turkmen parliament.{{Cite news |last=Stronski |first=Paul |date=22 May 2017 |script-title=ru:Независимому Туркменистану двадцать пять лет: цена авторитаризма |language=ru |work=carnegie.ru |url=http://carnegie.ru/2017/05/22/ru-pub-70020 |url-status=live |access-date=23 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522140924/http://carnegie.ru/2017/05/22/ru-pub-70020 |archive-date=22 May 2017}}

File:Turkmenistan Wedding.jpg in Ashgabat]]

Since the December 2006 death of Niyazov, Turkmenistan's leadership has made tentative moves to open up the country. His successor, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, repealed some of Niyazov's most idiosyncratic policies, including banning operas and circuses for being "insufficiently Turkmen", though other such rules were later put into place such as the banning of non-white cars.{{Cite web |date=7 January 2018 |title=Turkmenistan's road police detain vehicles of all colours except white |url=https://en.hronikatm.com/2018/01/turkmenistans-road-police-detain-vehicles-of-all-colours-except-white/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206224659/https://en.hronikatm.com/2018/01/turkmenistans-road-police-detain-vehicles-of-all-colours-except-white/ |archive-date=6 February 2021 |access-date=4 November 2021 |website=Chronicles of Turkmenistan |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Sergeev |first=Angel |date=12 January 2018 |title=Turkmenistan Bans All Non-White Cars From Capital |publisher=motor1.com |url=https://www.motor1.com/news/226932/turkmenistan-president-bans-black-cars/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609202155/https://www.motor1.com/news/226932/turkmenistan-president-bans-black-cars/ |archive-date=9 June 2020}} In education, Berdimuhamedow's government increased basic education from nine years to ten, and higher education was extended from four years to five. Berdimuhamedow was succeeded by his son Serdar in 2022.{{Cite news |date=19 March 2022 |title=Turkmenistan holds inauguration of new president (UPDATE) |work=Trend News Agency |url=https://en.trend.az/casia/turkmenistan/3571398.html |url-status=live |access-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319125735/https://en.trend.az/casia/turkmenistan/3571398.html |archive-date=19 March 2022}}

The politics of Turkmenistan take place in the framework of a presidential republic, with the President both head of state and head of government. Under Niyazov, Turkmenistan had a one-party system; however, in September 2008, the People's Council unanimously passed a resolution adopting a new Constitution. The latter resulted in the abolition of the council and a significant increase in the size of Parliament in December 2008 and also permits the formation of multiple political parties.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan Politics |url=http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=487259232&Country=Turkmenistan&topic=Summary&subtopic=Political+structure |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329121454/https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js |archive-date=29 March 2021 |access-date=26 January 2021 |website=The Economist Intelligence Unit}}

{{See also|Assembly of Turkmenistan|People's Council of Turkmenistan|National Council of Turkmenistan}}

The Assembly ({{langx|tk|Mejlis}}) is since January 2023 the unicameral legislature of Turkmenistan.{{Citation |title=Cоздан высший представительный орган народной власти – Халк Маслахаты Туркменистана |date=22 January 2023 |url=https://metbugat.gov.tm/newspaper/download?id=9681 |publisher=Neytralny Turkmenistan |language=ru |access-date=4 April 2023 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203132214/https://metbugat.gov.tm/newspaper/download?id=9681 |url-status=dead}}{{Citation |title=Халк Маслахаты стал самостоятельным законодательным органом, а парламент однопалатным |date=23 January 2023 |url=https://rus.azathabar.com/a/32234359.html |publisher=RFE/RL |language=ru}} Between March 2021 and 21 January 2023 it was the lower house of the now defunct bicameral National Council of Turkmenistan ({{langx|tk|Milli Geňeş}}). It has 125 members,{{Cite web |title=MEJLIS HAKYNDA |url=https://mejlis.gov.tm/mejlis-hakynda |access-date=31 March 2021 |archive-date=10 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610090001/https://mejlis.gov.tm/mejlis-hakynda |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=World Bulletin [ Turkmenistan adopts investor-friendly constitution ] |url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=28836 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007110513/http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=28836 |archive-date=7 October 2008 |access-date=26 September 2008}} elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies.

The People's Council of Turkmenistan ({{langx|tk|Halk Maslahaty}}, [xɑlq mɑθlɑxɑt̪ɯ]; "People's Council") is Turkmenistan's independent "representative body" exerting supreme constitutional authority. It includes in its membership, but is not considered part of, the legislature. Inter alia it is empowered to amend the constitution. Its chairperson is appointed by the president and is designated the "National Leader".{{Citation |title=Указ Президента Туркменистана О Председателе Халк Маслахаты Туркменистана |date=21 January 2023 |url=https://tdh.gov.tm/ru/post/34440/ukaz-prezidenta-turkmenistana-19 |publisher=Туркменистан сегодня |language=ru}} State media referred to the People's Council as the "supreme organ of government authority". From 2018 to 2023 it was the upper chamber of the National Council of Turkmenistan.

Outside observers consider the Turkmen legislature to be a rubber stamp parliament.{{Cite news |date=26 March 2018 |title=Turkmenistan votes for a new 'rubber-stamp' parliament |publisher=bne IntelliNews |url=https://www.intellinews.com/turkmenistan-votes-for-a-new-rubber-stamp-parliament-138871/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024116/https://www.intellinews.com/turkmenistan-votes-for-a-new-rubber-stamp-parliament-138871/ |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Pannier |first=Bruce |date=22 March 2018 |title=Turkmen Elections Look Like Next Step Toward Dynasty |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/qishloq-ovozi-turkmenistan-berdymukhammedov-the-second/29115690.html |url-status=live |access-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033439/https://www.rferl.org/a/qishloq-ovozi-turkmenistan-berdymukhammedov-the-second/29115690.html |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Clement |first=Victoria |date=21 October 2019 |title=Passing the baton in Turkmenistan |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/passing-the-baton-in-turkmenistan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408040848/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/passing-the-baton-in-turkmenistan/ |archive-date=8 April 2021 |access-date=31 March 2021 |publisher=Atlantic Council}} The 2018 OSCE election observer mission noted,

The 25 March elections lacked important prerequisites of a genuinely democratic electoral process. The political environment is only nominally pluralist and does not offer voters political alternatives. Exercise of fundamental freedoms is severely curtailed, inhibiting free expression of the voters' will. Despite measures to demonstrate transparency, the integrity of elections was not ensured, leaving veracity of results in doubt{{Cite web |title=TURKMENISTAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 25 March 2018 ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Final Report |url=https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/8/382915_0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033433/https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/8/382915_0.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=4 April 2021}}

{{See also|Supreme Court of Turkmenistan}}

The judiciary in Turkmenistan is not independent. Under Articles 71 and 100 of the constitution of Turkmenistan, the president appoints all judges, including the chairperson (chief justice) of the Supreme Court, and may dismiss them with the consent of the Parliament.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan's Constitution of 2008 with Amendments through 2016 |url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Turkmenistan_2016.pdf?lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325141731/https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Turkmenistan_2016.pdf?lang=en |archive-date=25 March 2021 |access-date=31 March 2021 |publisher=constituteproject.org}} Outside observers consider the Turkmen legislature to be a rubber stamp parliament, and thus despite constitutional guarantees of judicial independence under Articles 98 and 99, the judiciary is de facto firmly under presidential control.{{Cite web |title=TURKMENISTAN 2019 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT |url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TURKMENISTAN-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322155912/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TURKMENISTAN-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf |archive-date=22 March 2021 |access-date=31 March 2021 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |page=8}} The chief justice is considered a member of the executive authority of the government and sits on the State Security Council.{{Cite news |date=4 March 2021 |title=Türkmenistanyň Döwlet howpsuzlyk geňeşiniň agzalaryna Türkmenistanyň "Türkmenistanyň Watan goragçysy" diýen hormatly adyny dakmak hakynda |language=Turkmen |publisher="Türkmenistan: Altyn asyr" |url=https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/tk/habar/52620/turkmenistanyn-prezidentinin-permany-2 |url-status=live |access-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415023950/https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/tk/habar/52620/turkmenistanyn-prezidentinin-permany-2 |archive-date=15 April 2021}} The U.S. Department of State stated in its 2020-human rights report on Turkmenistan,

Although the law provides for an independent judiciary, the executive controls it, and it is subordinate to the executive. There was no legislative review of the president's judicial appointments and dismissals. The president had sole authority to dismiss any judge. The judiciary was widely reputed to be corrupt and inefficient.{{Cite web |date=28 March 2021 |title=TURKMENISTAN 2020 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT |url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/TURKMENISTAN-2020-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415034251/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/TURKMENISTAN-2020-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=5 April 2021 |publisher=U.S. Department of State}}

Many national laws of Turkmenistan have been published online on the Ministry of Justice website.{{Cite web |title=Hukuk Maglumatlary Merkezi |url=https://minjust.gov.tm/mmerkezi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411211436/https://minjust.gov.tm/mmerkezi |archive-date=11 April 2021 |access-date=11 April 2021 |language=Turkmen}}

{{Main|Foreign relations of Turkmenistan}}

File:Vladimir Putin and Serdar Berdimuhamedow (2022-06-10) 01.jpg and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 10 June 2022]]

Turkmenistan's declaration of "permanent neutrality" was formally recognized by the United Nations in 1995.{{Cite web |title=A/RES/50/80. Maintenance of international security |url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/50/a50r080.htm |website=un.org}} Former President Saparmurat Niyazov stated that the neutrality would prevent Turkmenistan from participating in multi-national defense organizations, but allows military assistance. Its neutral foreign policy has an important place in the country's constitution. Turkmenistan has diplomatic relations with 139 countries, some of the most important partners being Afghanistan, Armenia, Iran, Pakistan and Russia.{{Cite web |title=Diplomatic relations |url=http://mfa.gov.tm/en/mfa-en/diplomacy/diplomatic-relations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102908/http://www.mfa.gov.tm/en/mfa-en/diplomacy/diplomatic-relations |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=14 February 2016 |website=Mfa.gov.tm}} Turkmenistan is a member of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Islamic Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Organization of Turkic Culture and observer member of Organisation of Turkic States.

Turkmenistan is the 83rd most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 Global Peace Index.{{Cite web|url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf|title=2024 Global Peace Index}}

{{main|Armed Forces of Turkmenistan}}

File:Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (66).jpgSA and T-72UMG units]]

The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan ({{langx|tk|Türkmenistanyň Ýaragly Güýçleri}}), known informally as the Turkmen National Army ({{Langx|tk|Türkmenistanyň Milli goşun}}) is the national military of Turkmenistan. It consists of the Ground Forces, the Air Force and Air Defense Forces, Navy, and other independent formations (etc. Border Troops, Internal Troops and National Guard).

{{main|Law enforcement in Turkmenistan}}

The national police force in Turkmenistan is mostly governed by the Interior Ministry. The Ministry of National Security (KNB) is the intelligence-gathering asset. The Interior Ministry commands the 25,000 personnel of the national police force directly, while the KNB deals with intelligence and counterintelligence work.

{{Main|Human rights in Turkmenistan}}

Turkmenistan has been widely criticised for human rights abuses and has imposed severe restrictions on foreign travel for its citizens.{{Cite news |date=20 June 2003 |title=Russians 'flee' Turkmenistan |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3007598.stm |url-status=live |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406064632/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3007598.stm |archive-date=6 April 2019}}{{Cite news |last=Spetalnick |first=Matt |date=3 November 2015 |title=Kerry reassures Afghanistan's neighbors over U.S. troop drawdown |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-centralasia-usa-kerry/kerry-reassures-afghanistans-neighbors-over-u-s-troop-drawdown-idUSKCN0SS0R720151103 |url-status=live |access-date=23 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303112343/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-centralasia-usa-kerry/kerry-reassures-afghanistans-neighbors-over-u-s-troop-drawdown-idUSKCN0SS0R720151103 |archive-date=3 March 2020}} Discrimination against the country's ethnic minorities remains in practice. Universities have been encouraged to reject applicants with non-Turkmen surnames, especially ethnic Russians.{{Cite web |date=21 February 2005 |title=Turkmenistan: Russian Students Targeted |url=http://www.iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=175615&apc_state=henirca2003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421080307/https://iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=175615&apc_state=henirca2003 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Institute for War and Peace Reporting}} It is forbidden to teach the customs and language of the Baloch, an ethnic minority.{{Cite press release |title=Alternative report on the Human Rights situation in Turkmenistan for the Universal Periodic Review |publisher=FIDH |url=http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/Alternative_report_Turk_UPR_eng.pdf |access-date=23 July 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421080307/https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/Alternative_report_Turk_UPR_eng.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2022}} The same happens to Uzbeks, though the Uzbek language was formerly taught in some national schools.

According to Human Rights Watch, "Turkmenistan remains one of the world's most repressive countries. The country is virtually closed to independent scrutiny, media and religious freedoms are subject to draconian restrictions, and human rights defenders and other activists face the constant threat of government reprisal."{{Cite book |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/turkmenistan |title=World Report 2014: Turkmenistan |date=2 January 2014 |publisher=Hrw.org |access-date=28 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126151300/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/turkmenistan |archive-date=26 January 2014 |url-status=live}}

According to Reporters Without Borders's 2014 World Press Freedom Index, Turkmenistan had the 3rd worst press freedom conditions in the world (178/180 countries), just before North Korea and Eritrea.{{Cite web |title=Reporters Without Borders |url=https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214120404/http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php |archive-date=14 February 2014 |access-date=14 February 2016 |website=rsf.org}} It is considered to be one of the "10 Most Censored Countries". Each broadcast under Niyazov began with a pledge that the broadcaster's tongue will shrivel if he slanders the country, flag, or president.{{Cite web |title=10 Most Censored Countries |url=http://www.cpj.org/censored/index.html |access-date=30 January 2012 |publisher=Cpj.org}}

Religious minorities are discriminated against for conscientious objection and practising their religion by imprisonment, preventing foreign travel, confiscating copies of Christian literature or defamation.{{Cite web |date=21 May 2015 |title=Turkmenistan: International Religious Freedom Report 2004 |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2004/35490.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216035152/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2004/35490.htm |archive-date=16 February 2020 |access-date=15 March 2016 |website=www.state.gov/ |publisher=United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor}}{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan 2015/2016: Freedom of religion |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/turkmenistan/report-turkmenistan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310014857/https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/turkmenistan/report-turkmenistan/ |archive-date=10 March 2015 |access-date=15 March 2016 |website=www.amnesty.org}}{{Cite web |title=One Year of Unjust Imprisonment in Turkmenistan |url=https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/turkmenistan/year-in-prison-20160215/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711232856/https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/turkmenistan/year-in-prison-20160215/ |archive-date=11 July 2016 |access-date=15 March 2016 |publisher=jw.org}} Many detainees who have been arrested for exercising their freedom of religion or belief were tortured and subsequently sentenced to imprisonment, many of them without a court decision.{{Cite web |last=Corley |first=Felix |title=Turkmenistan: Torture and jail for one 4 year and 14 short-term prisoners of conscience |date=21 May 2015 |url=https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2063 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015153243/http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2063 |archive-date=15 October 2018 |access-date=16 April 2024 |website=Forum 18 News Service |language=en-uk}}{{Cite news |date=12 January 2017 |title=Turkmenistan |language=en |work=Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/turkmenistan |url-status=live |access-date=20 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630194342/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/turkmenistan |archive-date=30 June 2017}} Homosexual acts are illegal in Turkmenistan.{{Cite news |date=17 May 2016 |title=LGBT relationships are illegal in 74 countries, research finds |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/gay-lesbian-bisexual-relationships-illegal-in-74-countries-a7033666.html |url-status=live |access-date=12 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827151517/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/gay-lesbian-bisexual-relationships-illegal-in-74-countries-a7033666.html |archive-date=27 August 2017}}

The use of the death penalty in the country was suspended in 1999,{{Cite news |title=Asia-Pacific – Turkmenistan suspends death penalty |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/249665.stm |url-status=live |access-date=20 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407081142/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/249665.stm |archive-date=7 April 2022}} before being formally abolished in 2008.

{{See also|Telecommunications in Turkmenistan#Censorship}}

Despite the launch of Turkmenistan's first communication satellite, the TurkmenSat 1, in April 2015, the Turkmen government banned all satellite dishes in Turkmenistan the same month. The statement issued by the government indicated that all existing satellite dishes would have to be removed or destroyed—despite the communications receiving antennas having been legally installed since 1995—in an effort by the government to fully block access of the population to many "hundreds of independent international media outlets" which are currently accessible in the country only through satellite dishes, including all leading international news channels in different languages. The main target of this campaign is Radio Azatlyk, the Turkmen-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.{{Cite news |last=Forrester |first=Chris |date=22 April 2015 |title=Satellite dishes banned in Turkmenistan |work=Advanced Television |url=http://advanced-television.com/2015/04/22/satellite-dishes-banned-in-turkmenistan/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423192643/http://advanced-television.com/2015/04/22/satellite-dishes-banned-in-turkmenistan/ |archive-date=23 April 2015}}

Internet access is filtered and websites to which the government objects are blocked. Blocked websites include opposition news media, YouTube, many social media sites (including Facebook), and encrypted communications applications. Use of virtual private networks to circumvent censorship is prohibited.{{Cite news |last=Pannier |first=Bruce |date=19 September 2020 |title=Turkmenistan Increases Crackdown On Internet Access As Living Standards Continue Downward Spiral |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-increases-crackdown-on-internet-access-as-living-standards-continue-downward-spiral/30846977.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328050049/https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-increases-crackdown-on-internet-access-as-living-standards-continue-downward-spiral/30846977.html |archive-date=28 March 2021}}{{Cite news |date=23 March 2021 |title=Turkmenistan: Internet welcome, or no VPNs allowed here |publisher=Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-internet-welcome-or-no-vpns-allowed-here |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324213713/https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-internet-welcome-or-no-vpns-allowed-here |archive-date=24 March 2021}}{{Cite web |title=Phone and internet in Turkmenistan |url=https://caravanistan.com/turkmenistan/phone-internet/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419023650/https://caravanistan.com/turkmenistan/phone-internet/ |archive-date=19 April 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |publisher=Caravanistan}}

{{main|Corruption in Turkmenistan}}

Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index placed Turkmenistan in a tie with Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 169th place globally, between Chad and Equatorial Guinea, with a score of 19 out of 100.{{Cite web |title=CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX |date=25 January 2022 |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021/index/tkm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705122054/https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021/index/tkm |archive-date=5 July 2022 |access-date=30 June 2022 |publisher=Transparency International}}

Opposition media and foreign human rights organizations describe Turkmenistan as suffering from rampant corruption. A non-governmental organization, Crude Accountability, has openly called the economy of Turkmenistan a kleptocracy.{{Cite web |date=June 2021 |title=Turkmenistan: A Model Kleptocracy |url=https://crudeaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/web_Turkmenistan_A_Model_Kleptocracy_report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725112947/https://crudeaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/web_Turkmenistan_A_Model_Kleptocracy_report.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2021 |access-date=29 July 2021 |publisher=Crude Accountability}} Opposition and domestic state-controlled media have described widespread bribery in education and law enforcement.{{Cite news |date=29 July 2021 |title=Коронабизнес» продолжается. За год власти Туркменистана не изжили коррупцию в сфере эпидзащиты |language=ru |publisher=Turkmen.News |url=https://turkmen.news/news/corruption-coronavirus/ |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729155146/https://turkmen.news/news/corruption-coronavirus/ |archive-date=29 July 2021}}{{Cite news |date=9 October 2020 |title=В Туркменистане выявлены многочисленные факты взяточничества в сфере образования |language=ru |publisher=Turkmenportal |url=https://turkmenportal.com/blog/31114/v-turkmenistane-vyyavleny-mnogochislennye-fakty-vzyatochnichestva-v-sfere-obrazovaniya |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922112535/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/31114/v-turkmenistane-vyyavleny-mnogochislennye-fakty-vzyatochnichestva-v-sfere-obrazovaniya |archive-date=22 September 2021}}{{Cite news |date=8 August 2018 |title=Взятки за поступление в вузы Туркменистана берут в долларах |language=ru |publisher=Chronicles of Turkmenistan |url=https://www.hronikatm.com/2018/08/vzyatki-za-postuplenie-v-vuzyi-turkmenistana-berut-v-dollarah/}}{{Cite news |date=30 August 2019 |title=Размер взятки за устройство ребенка в русский класс достигает 20 тысяч манатов |language=ru |publisher=Chronicles of Turkmenistan |url=https://www.hronikatm.com/2019/08/school-corruption/ |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806040807/https://www.hronikatm.com/2019/08/school-corruption/ |archive-date=6 August 2021}} In 2019, the national chief of police, Minister of Internal Affairs Isgender Mulikov, was convicted and imprisoned for corruption.{{Cite news |date=28 September 2020 |title=Спустя год стали известны статьи УК, по которым осуждены И. Муликов, М. Нобатов и Ч. Кулов |language=Russian |publisher=turkmen.news |url=https://turkmen.news/news/mulikov-nobatov-kulov/ |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020010936/https://turkmen.news/news/mulikov-nobatov-kulov/ |archive-date=20 October 2020}}{{Cite news |date=3 December 2019 |title=Бывший министр внутренних дел Туркменистана осуждён |language=Russian |publisher=RFE/RL, Inc. |url=https://rus.azathabar.com/a/30305784.html |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014122353/https://rus.azathabar.com/a/30305784.html |archive-date=14 October 2020}}{{Cite web |title=Watan habarlary 03.12.2019 | Ghostarchive |url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/VHj0XfsRRHM |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=ghostarchive.org}}{{Cite news |date=1 October 2019 |title=Президент Туркменистана уволил главу МВД за серьёзные недостатки в работе |language=Russian |publisher=Turkmenportal.ru |url=https://turkmenportal.com/blog/22036/prezident-turkmenistana-uvolil-glavu-mvd-za-sereznye-nedostatki-v-rabote |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729155148/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/22036/prezident-turkmenistana-uvolil-glavu-mvd-za-sereznye-nedostatki-v-rabote |archive-date=29 July 2021}}{{Cite news |date=4 December 2019 |title=Обритый экс-глава МВД Туркмении перед камерой повинился за преступления |language=Russian |publisher=Fergana |url=https://fergana.news/news/113015/ |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729155149/https://fergana.news/news/113015/ |archive-date=29 July 2021}}{{Cite news |date=5 January 2019 |title=Туркменистан: министр внутренних дел появился в наручниках |language=Russian |publisher=Eurasianet |url=https://russian.eurasianet.org/%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD-%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80-%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%85-%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%8F%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%81%D1%8F-%D0%B2-%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%83%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%85 |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014122451/https://russian.eurasianet.org/%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD-%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80-%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%85-%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%8F%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%81%D1%8F-%D0%B2-%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%83%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%85 |archive-date=14 October 2020}}{{Cite news |date=4 January 2019 |title=В Туркменистане осужден экс-глава МВД. По ТВ его показали кающимся и остриженным наголо |language=Russian |publisher=RFE/RL, Inc. |url=https://rus.ozodi.org/a/turkmenistan/30307359.html |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926015630/https://rus.ozodi.org/a/turkmenistan/30307359.html |archive-date=26 September 2020}}{{Cite news |date=4 December 2019 |title=Президент Туркменистана провёл выездное заседание Госсовета безопасности |language=Russian |publisher=Turkmenportal.com |url=https://turkmenportal.com/blog/23558/prezident-turkmenistana-provel-vyezdnoe-zasedanie-gossoveta-bezopasnosti |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806183018/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/23558/prezident-turkmenistana-provel-vyezdnoe-zasedanie-gossoveta-bezopasnosti |archive-date=6 August 2020}}{{Cite news |date=3 December 2019 |title=Итоги работы силовых ведомств за 11 месяцев года рассмотрены на заседании Госсовета безопасности |language=Russian |publisher=Туркменистан сегодня |url=http://tdh.gov.tm/news/tm/articles.aspx&article20703&cat11}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}{{Excessive citations inline|date=February 2025}} In 2020, the deputy prime minister for education and science, Pürli Agamyradow, was dismissed for failure to control bribery in education.

The illegal adoption of abandoned babies in Turkmenistan is blamed on rampant corruption in the agencies involved in the legal adoption process which pushes some parents to a "cheaper and faster" option.{{Cite news |date=7 July 2021 |title=Buying Babies In Turkmenistan: 'Rampant' Corruption Drives Couples To Illegal Adoptions |language=en |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-buying-babies/31346163.html |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707202215/https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-buying-babies/31346163.html |archive-date=7 July 2021}} One married couple in the eastern Farap district said that they had to provide documents and letters from 40 different agencies to support their adoption application, yet three years later there was still no decision on their bid. Meanwhile, wealthier applicants in Farap received a child for legal adoption within four months after applying because they paid up to 50,000 manats (about $14,300) in bribes.

{{Main|Geography of Turkmenistan|List of mountains of Turkmenistan}}

File:Turkmenistan Topography.png

File:Water Stress, Top Countries (2020).svg

At {{convert|488100|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, Turkmenistan is the world's 52nd-largest country. It is slightly smaller than Spain and larger than Cameroon. It lies between latitudes 35° and 43° N, and longitudes 52° and 67° E.

Over 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert. The center of the country is dominated by the Turan Depression and the Karakum Desert. Topographically, Turkmenistan is bounded by the Ustyurt Plateau to the north, the Kopet Dag Range to the south, the Paropamyz Plateau, the Koytendag Range to the east, the Amu Darya Valley, and the Caspian Sea to the west.{{Cite book |last1=Çaryýew |first1=B. |url=https://docplayer.biz.tr/181461559-Turkmenistanyn-bilim-ministrligi-tarapyndan-hodurlenildi.html#show_full_text |title=Türkmenistanyň Geografiýasy |last2=Ilamanow |first2=Ýa. |date=2010 |publisher=Bilim Ministrligi |location=Ashgabat |language=Turkmen |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024121/https://docplayer.biz.tr/181461559-Turkmenistanyn-bilim-ministrligi-tarapyndan-hodurlenildi.html#show_full_text |archive-date=15 April 2021 |url-status=live}} Turkmenistan includes three tectonic regions, the Epigersin platform region, the Alpine shrinkage region, and the Epiplatform orogenesis region. The Alpine tectonic region is the epicenter of earthquakes in Turkmenistan. Strong earthquakes occurred in the Kopet Dag Range in 1869, 1893, 1895, 1929, 1948, and 1994. The city of Ashgabat and surrounding villages were largely destroyed by the 1948 earthquake.

The Kopet Dag Range, along the southwestern border, reaches {{convert|2,912|m|ft|lk=out|abbr=off}} at Kuh-e Rizeh (Mount Rizeh).{{Cite web |title=Golil - Peakbagger.com |url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=10469 |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=www.peakbagger.com}}

The Great Balkhan Range in the west of the country (Balkan Province) and the Köýtendag Range on the southeastern border with Uzbekistan (Lebap Province) are the only other significant elevations. The Great Balkhan Range rises to {{convert|1880|m|ft}} at Mount Arlan{{Cite web |date=1 November 2004 |title=Mount Arlan |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=13160 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118131221/http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=13160 |archive-date=18 January 2012 |access-date=30 January 2012 |publisher=Peakbagger.com}} and the highest summit in Turkmenistan is Ayrybaba in the Kugitangtau Range – {{convert|3137|m|ft}}.{{Cite web |date=1 November 2004 |title=Ayrybaba |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=10488 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203025158/http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=10488 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Peakbagger.com}} The Kopet Dag mountain range forms most of the border between Turkmenistan and Iran.

Major rivers include the Amu Darya, the Murghab River, the Tejen River, and the Atrek (Etrek) River. Tributaries of the Atrek include the Sumbar River and Chandyr River.

The Turkmen shore along the Caspian Sea is {{convert|1748|km|mi}} long. The Caspian Sea is entirely landlocked, with no natural access to the ocean, although the Volga–Don Canal allows shipping access to and from the Black Sea.

Major cities include Aşgabat, Türkmenbaşy (formerly Krasnovodsk), Balkanabat, Daşoguz, Türkmenabat, and Mary.

{{Main|Climate of Turkmenistan|Environmental issues in Turkmenistan}}

File:Koppen-Geiger Map TKM present.svg

Turkmenistan is in a temperate desert zone with a dry continental climate. Remote from the open sea, with mountain ranges to the south and southeast, Turkmenistan's climate is characterized by low precipitation, low cloudiness, and high evaporation. Absence of mountains to the north allows cold Arctic air to penetrate southward to the southerly mountain ranges, which in turn block warm, moist air from the Indian Ocean. Limited winter and spring rains are attributable to moist air from the west, originating in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Winters are mild and dry, with most precipitation falling between January and May. The Kopet Dag Range receives the highest level of precipitation.

The Karakum Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world; some places have an average annual precipitation of only {{convert|12|mm|in|2|abbr=on}}. The highest temperature recorded in Ashgabat is {{convert|48.0|°C|lk=on}} and Kerki, an extreme inland city located on the banks of the Amu Darya river, recorded {{convert|51.7|°C}} in July 1983, although this value is unofficial. {{convert|50.1|C|F|0}} is the highest temperature recorded at Repetek Reserve, recognized as the highest temperature ever recorded in the whole former Soviet Union.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan |url=https://jsis.washington.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/TURKMENISTAN.pdf |publisher=Washington University }}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Turkmenistan enjoys 235–240 sunny days per year. The average number of degree days ranges from 4500 to 5000 Celsius, sufficient for production of extra long staple cotton.

Turkmenistan contains seven terrestrial ecoregions: Alai-Western Tian Shan steppe, Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe, Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert, Caspian lowland desert, Central Asian riparian woodlands, Central Asian southern desert, and Kopet Dag semi-desert.{{Cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |display-authors=1 |year=2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |issn=0006-3568 |pmc=5451287 |pmid=28608869 |doi-access=free |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad}}

Turkmenistan's greenhouse gas emissions per person (17.5 tCO2e) are considerably higher than the OECD average: due mainly to natural gas seepage from oil and gas exploration.{{Cite web |date=24 September 2019 |title=Strategic Infrastructure Planning for Sustainable Development in Turkmenistan |url=http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=ENV%2FEPOC%2FEAP%282019%2912&doclanguage=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207170454/http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=ENV%2FEPOC%2FEAP%282019%2912&doclanguage=en |archive-date=7 February 2020 |access-date=3 March 2020 |website=OECD}}

{{further|Districts of Turkmenistan}}

Turkmenistan is divided into five provinces or welayatlar (singular welayat) and one capital city district. The provinces are subdivided into districts (etraplar, sing. etrap), which may be either counties or cities. According to the Constitution of Turkmenistan (Article 16 in the 2008 Constitution, Article 47 in the 1992 Constitution), some cities may have the status of welaýat (province) or etrap (district).{{clear left}}

{{Turkmenistan Provinces Image Map}}

{{Main|Economy of Turkmenistan|Agriculture in Turkmenistan}}

The country possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil resources.{{Cite web |title=BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019 |url=https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2019-full-report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226123745/https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2019-full-report.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2019 |access-date=13 December 2019}}

Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its economy. In 2019, the unemployment rate was estimated to be 4.27%.

Between 1998 and 2002, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, the value of total exports rose sharply due to increases in international oil and gas prices. The subsequent collapse of both hydrocarbon and cotton prices in 2014 cut revenues from export sales severely, causing Turkmenistan to run trade deficits from 2015 through 2017. Economic prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty and the burden of foreign debt,{{Cite web |title=Country risk of Turkmenistan: Economy |url=https://import-export.societegenerale.fr/en/country/turkmenistan/economy-country-risk#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20updated%20IMF,post%2Dpandemic%20global%20economic%20recovery. |access-date=27 January 2021 |website=Societe Generale |publisher=Export Enterprises SA}}{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} coupled with continued low hydrocarbon prices and reduced Chinese purchases of natural gas.{{Cite web |last=Hess |first=Maximilian |date=16 June 2020 |title=Central Asian Gas Exports to China: Beijing's Latest Bargaining Chip? |url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/06/central-asian-gas-exports-to-china-beijings-latest-bargaining-chip/ |publisher=Foreign Policy Research Institute}}{{Cite news |last=Rickleton |first=Chris |date=22 January 2021 |title=Turkmenistan: Big on gas, short on options |publisher=Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-big-on-gas-short-on-options |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129123431/https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-big-on-gas-short-on-options |archive-date=29 January 2021}} One reflection of economic stress is the black-market exchange rate for the Turkmen manat, which though officially set at 3.5 manats to the US dollar, reportedly was trading in November 2022 at 18.5 manats to the dollar.{{Cite web |date=29 November 2022 |title=Turkmenistan: Seoul man |url=https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-seoul-man |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314212335/https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-seoul-man |archive-date=14 March 2023 |access-date=11 April 2023 |website=Eurasianet}}

President Niyazov spent much of the country's revenue on extensively renovating cities, Ashgabat in particular. Corruption watchdogs voiced particular concern over the management of Turkmenistan's currency reserves, most of which are held in off-budget funds such as the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund in the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, according to a report released in April 2006 by London-based non-governmental organization Global Witness.

According to a decree of the Peoples' Council of 14 August 2003,Resolution of Halk Maslahaty (Peoples' Council of Turkmenistan) N 35 (14 August 2003) electricity, natural gas, water and salt were to have been subsidized for citizens until 2030. Under implementing regulations, every citizen was entitled to 35 kilowatt hours of electricity and 50 cubic meters of natural gas each month. The state also provided 250 liters (66 gallons) of water per day.{{Cite news |date=6 July 2017 |title=Turkmenistan leader wants to end free power, gas, and water |url=http://www.dw.com/en/turkmenistan-leader-wants-to-end-free-power-gas-and-water/a-39152012 |url-status=live |access-date=22 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201111623/http://www.dw.com/en/turkmenistan-leader-wants-to-end-free-power-gas-and-water/a-39152012 |archive-date=1 December 2017}} As of 1 January 2019, however, all such subsidies were abolished, and payment for utilities was implemented.{{Cite news |last=Putz |first=Catherine |date=27 September 2018 |title=Turkmenistan Set to Rollback Subsidies for Good |publisher=The Diplomat |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/turkmenistan-set-to-rollback-subsidies-for-good/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121123750/https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/turkmenistan-set-to-rollback-subsidies-for-good/ |archive-date=21 January 2021}}{{Cite news |date=26 September 2018 |title=Turkmenistan Cuts Last Vestiges Of Program For Free Utilities |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-cuts-last-vestiges-of-program-for-free-utilities/29511308.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902172745/https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-cuts-last-vestiges-of-program-for-free-utilities/29511308.html |archive-date=2 September 2019}}{{Cite news |last1=Bugayev |first1=Toymyrat |last2=Najibullah |first2=Farangis |title=The Gas Man Cometh: In Turkmenistan, Free Energy No More |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmen-energy-consumers-get-shock-treatment/29594173.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220105930/https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmen-energy-consumers-get-shock-treatment/29594173.html |archive-date=20 February 2021}}{{Cite news |date=26 July 2019 |title=Pay for Electricity on Time or Face Court, Public Warned in East Turkmenistan |publisher=Turkmen.news |url=https://en.turkmen.news/news/utilities-turkmenistan/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121203114/https://en.turkmen.news/news/utilities-turkmenistan/ |archive-date=21 January 2021}}

{{Main|Economy of Turkmenistan#Natural gas|Pipelines in Turkmenistan}}

File:TAPI-ceremony-Serhetabat.jpg]]

{{As of|May 2011}}, the Galkynysh Gas Field was estimated to possess the second-largest volume of gas in the world, after the South Pars field in the Persian Gulf. Reserves at the Galkynysh Gas Field are estimated at 21.2 trillion cubic metres.{{Cite news |last=Solovyov |first=Dmitry |date=25 May 2011 |title=Turkmen gas field to be world's second-largest |work=Reuters |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/gas-turkmenistan-idUKLDE74O23A20110525 |url-status=dead |access-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219043938/https://uk.reuters.com/article/gas-turkmenistan-idUKLDE74O23A20110525 |archive-date=19 December 2019}} The Turkmenistan Natural Gas Company (Türkmengaz) controls gas extraction in the country. Gas production is the most dynamic and promising sector of the national economy.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan – Oil & Gas |url=https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/turkmenistan-oil-gas |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818095428/https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/turkmenistan-oil-gas |archive-date=18 August 2022 |access-date=2 February 2021 |website=International Trade Administration}} In 2009 the government of Turkmenistan began a policy of diversifying export routes for its raw materials.{{Cite web |date=3 February 2010 |title=Turkmenistan. Diversifying export routes |url=http://www.europarussia.com/posts/1748 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235050/http://www.europarussia.com/posts/1748 |archive-date=2 December 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Europarussia.com}}

Prior to 1958, gas production was limited to associated gas from oil wells in western Turkmenistan. In 1958, the first gas wells were drilled at Serhetabat (then Kushky) and at Derweze. Oil and gas fields were discovered in the Central Karakum Desert between 1959 and 1965. In addition to Derweze, these include Takyr, Shyh, Chaljulba, Topjulba, Chemmerli, Atabay, Sakarchage, Atasary, Mydar, Goyun, and Zakli. These fields are located in Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments. The Turkmen gas industry got underway with the opening of the Ojak gas field in 1966. To put this in perspective, associated gas production in Turkmenistan was only 1.157 billion cubic meters in 1965, but by 1970 natural gas production reached 13 billion cubic meters, and by 1989, 90 billion cubic meters. The USSR exported much of this gas to western Europe. Following independence, natural gas extraction fell as Turkmenistan sought export markets but was limited to existing delivery infrastructure under Russian control: Turkmenistan-Russia in two lines (3087 km, originating at Ojak, and another of 2259 km, also originating at Ojak); the Gumdag line (2530 km); and the Shatlyk line (2644 km) to Russia, Ukraine, and the Caucasus. On 1 January 2016, Russia halted natural gas purchases from Turkmenistan after reducing them step by step for the previous years.{{Cite news |last=Putz |first=Catherine |date=16 January 2016 |title=Russia's Gazprom Stops Buying Gas from Turkmenistan |publisher=Eurasianet |url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/01/russias-gazprom-stops-buying-gas-from-turkmenistan/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209042051/https://thediplomat.com/2016/01/russias-gazprom-stops-buying-gas-from-turkmenistan/ |archive-date=9 February 2021}} Russia's Gazprom announced resumption of purchases in April 2019, but reported volumes remained low compared to previous delivery levels.{{Cite news |date=16 April 2016 |title=Russia's Gazprom Resumes Buying Turkmen Gas After Three-Year Halt |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-gazprom-turkmenistan/29883131.html |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024239/https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-gazprom-turkmenistan/29883131.html |archive-date=15 April 2021}}

In 1997, the Korpeje-Gurtguy natural gas pipeline was built to Iran. It is 140 kilometers in length and was the first gas pipeline to a foreign customer constructed after independence. Turkmenistan's exports of natural gas to Iran, estimated at 12 bcma, ended on 1 January 2017, when Turkmengaz unilaterally cut off deliveries, citing payment arrears.{{Cite news |last=Pannier |first=Bruce |date=2 January 2017 |title=Turkmen Cutoff Of Iran Leaves Dwindling Gas Options For Ashgabat |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-iran-gas-dispute-dwindling-options/28209476.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116141032/https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-iran-gas-dispute-dwindling-options/28209476.html |archive-date=16 January 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Mukhtarli |first=Fuad |date=23 August 2017 |title=Turkmenistan Turns To Europe As Iran, Russia Shut Off Their Gas Markets |publisher=Caspian News |url=https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/turkmenistan-turns-to-europe-as-iran-russia-shut-off-their-gas-markets-2017-8-18-8/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303021739/https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/turkmenistan-turns-to-europe-as-iran-russia-shut-off-their-gas-markets-2017-8-18-8/ |archive-date=3 March 2021}}

In December 2009, the first line, Line A, of the Trans-Asia pipeline to China opened, creating a second major market for Turkmen natural gas. By 2015 Turkmenistan was delivering up to 35 billion cubic meters per annum (bcma) to China.{{Cite web |title=Flow of natural gas from Central Asia |url=http://www.cnpc.com.cn/en/FlowofnaturalgasfromCentralAsia/FlowofnaturalgasfromCentralAsia2.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225070830/http://www.cnpc.com.cn/en/FlowofnaturalgasfromCentralAsia/FlowofnaturalgasfromCentralAsia2.shtml |archive-date=25 February 2021 |access-date=13 February 2021 |website=www.cnpc.com.cn}}

China is the largest buyer of gas from Turkmenistan, via three pipelines linking the two countries through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In 2019, China bought over 30bcm of gas from Turkmenistan,{{Cite web |last=Hess |first=Maximilian |title=Central Asian Gas Exports to China: Beijing's Latest Bargaining Chip? |url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/06/central-asian-gas-exports-to-china-beijings-latest-bargaining-chip/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209183944/https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/06/central-asian-gas-exports-to-china-beijings-latest-bargaining-chip/ |archive-date=9 February 2021 |access-date=2 February 2021 |website=Foreign Policy Research Institute}}{{Cite web |date=24 December 2009 |title=China plays Pipelineistan' |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KL24Ag07.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224215442/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KL24Ag07.html |archive-date=24 December 2009 |access-date=3 May 2010 |publisher=Atimes.com}} making China Turkmenistan's main external source of revenue.Vakulchuk, Roman and Indra Overland (2019) [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329310641 "China's Belt and Road Initiative through the Lens of Central Asia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024180554/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329310641_China%27s_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_through_the_lens_of_Central_Asia |date=24 October 2021}}, in Fanny M. Cheung and Ying-yi Hong (eds) Regional Connection under the Belt and Road Initiative. The Prospects for Economic and Financial Cooperation. London: Routledge, pp. 115–133. In 2023, the Turkmenistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Turkmenistan's quota on this pipeline system was 40 bcma.{{citation |url=https://mfa.gov.tm/en/news/3990 |title=STATEMENT FOR MEDIA | date=12 August 2023 |publisher=Turkmenistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs}}

The East–West pipeline was completed in December 2015, with the intent of delivering up to 30 bcm of natural gas to the Caspian shore for eventual export through a yet-to-be-built Trans-Caspian natural gas pipeline connecting the Belek-1 compressor station in Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan.

The Turkmenistan government continues to pursue construction of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline, or TAPI.{{Cite web |date=17 April 2020 |title=Islamabad needs to fast-track TAPI pipeline |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/2200597/2-islamabad-needs-fast-track-tapi-pipeline |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424225403/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2200597/2-islamabad-needs-fast-track-tapi-pipeline |archive-date=24 April 2021 |access-date=5 January 2021 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}} The anticipated cost of the TAPI pipeline is currently estimated at $25 billion. Turkmenistan's section of the pipeline was started in 2015 and was completed in 2019, though the Afghanistan and Pakistan sections remain under construction.

6 billion dollars worth of methane, a greenhouse gas which causes climate change, was estimated to leak in 2019/20.{{Cite news |date=2022-02-04 |title=Satellites map huge methane plumes from oil and gas |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60203683 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218002909/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60203683 |archive-date=18 February 2022}}

{{Main|Economy of Turkmenistan#Oil}}

{{See also|Pipelines in Turkmenistan}}

File:Jack-up-rig-in-the-caspian-sea.JPG of Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea]]

Oil was known to exist in western Turkmenistan as early as the 18th century. General Aleksey Kuropatkin reported in 1879 that the Cheleken Peninsula had as many as three thousand oil sources.{{Cite book |last=Kuropatkin |first=Aleksey |url=https://rusneb.ru/catalog/000199_000009_003592081/ |title=Туркмения и Туркмены |date=1879 |publisher=Типоrрафия В.А. Полефини |location=St. Petersburg |page=2 |language=Russian |access-date=29 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024253/https://rusneb.ru/catalog/000199_000009_003592081/ |archive-date=15 April 2021 |url-status=live}} Turkmen settlers in the 19th century extracted oil near the surface and shipped it to Astrakhan by ship and to Iran by camel caravan. Commercial oil drilling began in the 1890s. The oil extraction industry grew with the exploitation of the fields in Cheleken in 1909 (by Branobel) and in Balkanabat in the 1930s. Production leaped ahead with the discovery of the Gumdag field in 1948 and the Goturdepe field in 1959. By 1940 production had reached two million tons per year, by 1960 over four million tons, and by 1970 over 14 million tons. Oil production in 2019 was 9.8 million tons.{{Cite book |title=Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl |date=2020 |publisher=State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan |location=Ashgabat |language=Turkmen, Russian, English}}

Oil wells are mainly found in the western lowlands. This area also produces associated natural gas. The main oil fields are Cheleken, Gonurdepe, Nebitdag, Gumdag, Barsagelmez, Guyujyk, Gyzylgum, Ordekli, Gogerendag, Gamyshlyja, Ekerem, Chekishler, Keymir, Ekizek, and Bugdayly. Oil is also produced from offshore wells in the Caspian Sea. Most oil is extracted by the Turkmenistan State Company (Concern) Türkmennebit from fields at Goturdepe, Balkanabat, and on the Cheleken Peninsula near the Caspian Sea, which have a combined estimated reserve of 700 million tons. Much of the oil produced in Turkmenistan is refined in the Türkmenbaşy and Seydi refineries. Some oil is exported by tanker vessel across the Caspian Sea en route to Europe via Baku and Makhachkala.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan Oil and Gas |url=http://turkmenistanoil.tripod.com/id4.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202234531/http://turkmenistanoil.tripod.com/id4.html |archive-date=2 December 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Turkmenistanoil.tripod.com}}{{Cite news |last1=Ershov |first1=Alexander |last2=Yagova |first2=Olga |date=2 December 2019 |title=After Turkmen oil breakthrough, Vitol adds products to portfolio |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkmenistan-products-vitol/after-turkmen-oil-breakthrough-vitol-adds-products-to-portfolio-idUSKBN1Y61JY |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415025133/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkmenistan-products-vitol/after-turkmen-oil-breakthrough-vitol-adds-products-to-portfolio-idUSKBN1Y61JY |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite news |date=14 December 2020 |title=SOCAR Trading wins tender for Turkmen oil purchase |publisher=News.ru |url=https://news.ru/en/economics/socar-trading-wins-tender-for-turkmen-oil-purchase/ |url-status=dead |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033337/https://news.ru/en/economics/socar-trading-wins-tender-for-turkmen-oil-purchase/ |archive-date=15 April 2021}} Foreign firms involved in offshore oil extraction include Eni S.p.A. of Italy, Dragon Oil of the United Arab Emirates, and Petronas of Malaysia.

On 21 January 2021, the governments of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop an oil field in the Caspian Sea that straddles the nations' border. Known previously as Kyapaz in Azeri and Serdar in Turkmen, the oil field, now called Dostluk ("friendship" in both languages), potentially has reserves of up to 60 million tons of oil as well as associated natural gas.{{Cite news |last=Adams |first=Mikaila |date=22 January 2021 |title=Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan sign MoU for Caspian Sea field |publisher=Oil & Gas Journal |url=https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/article/14196058/turkmenistan-azerbaijan-sign-mou-for-caspian-sea-field |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413141205/https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/article/14196058/turkmenistan-azerbaijan-sign-mou-for-caspian-sea-field |archive-date=13 April 2021}}{{Cite news |last=O'Byrne |first=David |date=22 January 2021 |title=Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan agreement advances Caspian gas cooperation |publisher=Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-and-turkmenistan-agreement-advances-caspian-gas-cooperation |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210152311/https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-and-turkmenistan-agreement-advances-caspian-gas-cooperation |archive-date=10 February 2021}}{{Cite news |date=21 January 2021 |title=Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan Finally Reach Deal On Lucrative Caspian Sea Energy Field |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-turkmenistan-deal-caspian-energy-field-dostluq-/31061674.html |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213131502/https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-turkmenistan-deal-caspian-energy-field-dostluq-/31061674.html |archive-date=13 February 2021}}

{{See also|Economy of Turkmenistan#Power generation}}

File:Gorskii 04414u.jpg

Turkmenistan's first electrical power plant was built in 1909 and went into full operation in 1913. As of 2019 it was still in operation. The original triple-turbine Hindukush hydroelectric plant, built by the Austro-Hungarian company Ganz Works{{Cite web |title=Abraham Ganz at the Hindukush |url=http://riowang.blogspot.com/2015/09/abraham-ganz-at-hindukush.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729214123/http://riowang.blogspot.com/2015/09/abraham-ganz-at-hindukush.html |archive-date=29 July 2021 |access-date=29 July 2021 |publisher=Poemas del rio Wang}} on the Murghab River, was designed to produce 1.2 megawatts at 16.5 kilovolts.{{Cite news |date=28 July 2019 |title=Hindukush Power Station is 110 years old |publisher=Turkmenistan News Gazette |url=https://turkmenistannewsgazette.com/hindukush-power-station-is-110-years-old/ |url-status=live |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024741/https://turkmenistannewsgazette.com/hindukush-power-station-is-110-years-old/ |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite web |date=17 January 2016 |title=О министерстве |url=http://minenergo.gov.tm/ru/node/3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033457/http://minenergo.gov.tm/ru/node/3 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=2 March 2021 |publisher=Ministry of Energy of Turkmenistan |language=Russian}} Until 1957, however, most electrical power in Turkmenistan was produced locally by small diesel generators and diesel-electric locomotives.

In 1957, Soviet authorities created a republic-level directorate for power generation, and in 1966 Turkmenistan entered the first phase of connecting its remote regions to the regional Central Asian electrical grid. By 1979 all rural areas of Turkmenistan were brought on line. Construction of the Mary thermal power plant began in 1969, and by 1987 the eighth and final generator block was completed, bringing the plant to its design capacity of 1.686 gigawatts. In 1998 Turkmenenergo commissioned its first gas-turbine power plant, using GE turbines.

As of 2010, Turkmenistan featured eight major power plants operating on natural gas, in Mary, Ashgabat, Balkanabat, Buzmeyin (suburb of Ashgabat), Dashoguz, Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenabat, and Seydi. As of 2013, Turkmenistan had 10 electrical power plants equipped with 32 turbines, including 14 steam-driven, 15 gas powered, and 3 hydroelectric.{{Cite web |last=Rejepova |first=Tavus |date=3 June 2013 |title=Turkmenistan Adopts Electric Power Industry Development Plan |url=https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/field-reports/item/12748-turkmenistan-adopts-electric-power-industry-development-plan.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024122/https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/field-reports/item/12748-turkmenistan-adopts-electric-power-industry-development-plan.html |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=15 March 2021 |publisher=CACI Analyst}} Power output in 2011 was 18.27 billion kWh, of which 2.5 billion kWh was exported. Major power generating installations include the Hindukush Hydroelectric Station,{{Cite book |last=Curtis |first=Glenn |url=http://countrystudies.us/turkmenistan/22.htm |title=Turkmenistan: A Country Study |date=1996 |publisher=The Library of Congress |location=Washington DC |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613172956/http://countrystudies.us/turkmenistan/22.htm |archive-date=13 June 2011 |url-status=live}} which has a rated capacity of 350 megawatts, and the Mary Thermoelectric Power Station,{{Cite news |last= |date=8 September 2018 |title=Turkmenistan to double power exports, eyes Pakistani market |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-turkmenistan-powerstation-idUSKCN1LO0A6 |url-status=dead |access-date=5 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203123148/https://www.reuters.com/?edition-redirect=uk |archive-date=3 February 2023}} which has a rated capacity of 1,370 megawatts. In 2018, electrical power production totaled more than 21 billion kilowatt-hours.{{Cite web |title=U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) – Qb |url=https://www.eia.gov/opendata/qb.php?sdid=INTL.2-12-TKM-BKWH.A |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226223703/https://www.eia.gov/opendata/qb.php?sdid=INTL.2-12-TKM-BKWH.A |archive-date=26 February 2021 |access-date=5 January 2021 |website=www.eia.gov}}

Since 2013, additional power plants have been constructed in Mary and Ahal province, and Çärjew District of Lebap province. The Mary-3 combined cycle power plant, built by Çalık Holding with GE turbines, commissioned in 2018, produces 1.574 gigawatts of electrical power and is specifically intended to support expanded exports of electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Zerger power plant built by Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, and Rönesans Holding in Çärjew District has a design capacity of 432 megawatts from three 144-megawatt gas turbines and was commissioned in September 2021.{{Cite news |date=3 September 2021 |title=Успешно реализован проект по строительству газотурбинной электростанции |language=ru |publisher=Туркменистан: золотой век |url=https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/ru/post/56822/uspeshno-realizovan-proekt-po-stroitelstvu-gazoturbinnoj-elektrostancii |url-status=live |access-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909013215/https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/ru/post/56822/uspeshno-realizovan-proekt-po-stroitelstvu-gazoturbinnoj-elektrostancii |archive-date=9 September 2021}} It is also primarily intended for export of electricity. The Ahal power plant, with capacity of 650 megawatts, was constructed to power the city of Ashgabat and in particular the Olympic Village.{{Cite news |date=1 October 2020 |title=Turkmenistan has increased its electricity exports by 1.5 times |publisher=Orient |url=https://orient.tm/en/turkmenistan-has-increased-its-electricity-exports-by-1-5-times/ |url-status=dead |access-date=15 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429055550/https://orient.tm/en/turkmenistan-has-increased-its-electricity-exports-by-1-5-times/ |archive-date=29 April 2021}}{{Cite web |date=29 May 2015 |title=Ambassador Allan Mustard visits the largest GE-supplied gas turbine power plant in Turkmenistan |url=https://tm.usembassy.gov/ambassador-allan-mustard-visits-largest-ge-supplied-gas-turbine-power-plant-turkmenistan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621155724/https://tm.usembassy.gov/ambassador-allan-mustard-visits-largest-ge-supplied-gas-turbine-power-plant-turkmenistan/ |archive-date=21 June 2021 |access-date=15 March 2021 |publisher=U.S. Embassy Ashgabat}}{{Cite news |last=Hasanov |first=Huseyn |date=17 September 2019 |title=Turkmen power stations using GE technology |publisher=Trend |url=https://en.trend.az/casia/turkmenistan/3119523.html |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325115803/https://en.trend.az/casia/turkmenistan/3119523.html |archive-date=25 March 2022}}{{Cite news |date=2 November 2020 |title="Watan" DES elektrik energiýasynyň önümçiligini 1,4 esse artdyrar |language=Turkmen |publisher=Biznes Türkmenistan |url=https://business.com.tm/tm/post/6216/watan-des-elektrik-energiyasynyn-onumchiligini-14-esse-artdyrar |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033446/https://business.com.tm/tm/post/6216/watan-des-elektrik-energiyasynyn-onumchiligini-14-esse-artdyrar |archive-date=15 April 2021}}

Turkmenistan is a net exporter of electrical power to Central Asian republics and southern neighbors. In 2019, total electrical energy generation in Turkmenistan reportedly totaled 22,521.6 million kilowatt-hours (22.52 terawatt-hours).{{Cite book |title=Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl |date=2020 |publisher=State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan |location=Ashgabat |page=28 |language=Turkmen, Russian, English}}

{{Main|Agriculture in Turkmenistan}}

Following independence in 1991, Soviet-era collective- and state farms were converted to "farmers associations" ({{langx|tk|daýhan birleşigi}}). Virtually all field crops are irrigated due to the aridity of the climate. The top crop in terms of area planted is wheat (761 thousand hectares in 2019), followed by cotton (551 thousand hectares in 2019).

Turkmenistan is the world's tenth-largest cotton producer.{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Steph |date=7 September 2020 |title=Top Cotton Producing Countries in the World |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-cotton-producing-countries-in-the-world.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122002233/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-cotton-producing-countries-in-the-world.html |archive-date=22 January 2021 |access-date=27 January 2021 |website=World Atlas}} Turkmenistan started producing cotton in the Murghab Valley following conquest of Merv by the Russian Empire in 1884.{{Cite journal |last=Lipovsky |first=Igor |date=1995 |title=The Central Asian cotton epic |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02634939508400923 |url-status=live |journal=Central Asian Survey |location=University of St Petersburg |volume=14 |issue=4 |page=542 |doi=10.1080/02634939508400923 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033335/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02634939508400923 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=27 January 2021 |issn = 0263-4937}} According to human rights organizations, public sector workers, such as teachers and doctors, are required by the government to pick cotton under the threat of losing their jobs if they refuse.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan's Forced Labor Problem |url=http://www.cottoncampaign.org/turkmenistans-forced-labor-problem.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124052919/http://www.cottoncampaign.org/turkmenistans-forced-labor-problem.html |archive-date=24 January 2021 |access-date=27 January 2021 |website=Cotton Campaign}}

During the 2020 season, Turkmenistan reportedly produced roughly 1.5 million tons of raw cotton. In 2012, around 7,000 tractors, 5,000 cotton cultivators, 2,200 sewing machines and other machinery, mainly procured from Belarus and the United States, were used. Prior to imposition of a ban on export of raw cotton in October 2018, Turkmenistan exported raw cotton to Russia, Iran, South Korea, United Kingdom, China, Indonesia, Turkey, Ukraine, Singapore and the Baltic states. Beginning in 2019, the Turkmenistan government shifted focus to export of cotton yarn and finished textiles and garments.{{Cite news |date=26 July 2012 |title=Turkmenistan to Privilege US Farm Machinery Manufacturers |work=The Gazette of Central Asia |publisher=Satrapia |url=http://www.satrapia.com/news/article/turkmenistan-to-privilege-us-farm-machinery-manufacturers/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725195723/http://www.satrapia.com/news/article/turkmenistan-to-privilege-us-farm-machinery-manufacturers/ |archive-date=25 July 2014}}{{Cite news |date=1 May 2019 |title=Turkmen president instructs to accelerate sowing of raw cotton |publisher=Azernews |url=https://www.azernews.az/region/149930.html#:~:text=Moreover%2C%20in%20October%202018%2C%20President,country's%20rapidly%20developing%20textile%20industry. |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415035757/https://www.azernews.az/region/149930.html#:~:text=Moreover%2C%20in%20October%202018%2C%20President,country's%20rapidly%20developing%20textile%20industry. |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Muradov |first=Sapar |date=11 February 2019 |title=Turkmenistan will decrease the export of raw cotton and increase the production of finished products from it |publisher=Orient |url=https://orient.tm/en/turkmenistan-will-decrease-the-export-of-raw-cotton-and-increase-the-production-of-finished-products-from-it/ |url-status=dead |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033255/https://orient.tm/en/turkmenistan-will-decrease-the-export-of-raw-cotton-and-increase-the-production-of-finished-products-from-it/ |archive-date=15 April 2021}}

File:Darvasa gas crater panorama.jpg]]

{{Main|Tourism in Turkmenistan}}

Turkmenistan reported arrival of 14,438 foreign tourists in 2019. Turkmenistan's international tourism has not grown significantly despite creation of the Awaza tourist zone on the Caspian Sea.{{Cite web |title=Las Vegas on the Caspian? |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2011/12/20111230155633146491.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714115410/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2011/12/20111230155633146491.html |archive-date=14 July 2020 |access-date=29 July 2014 |website=aljazeera.com}} Every traveler must obtain a visa before entering Turkmenistan (see Visa policy of Turkmenistan). To obtain a tourist visa, citizens of most countries need visa support from a local travel agency. For tourists visiting Turkmenistan, organized tours exist providing visits to historical sites in and near Daşoguz, Konye-Urgench, Nisa, Ancient Merv, and Mary, as well as beach tours to Avaza and medical tours and holidays in the sanatoria in Mollagara, Bayramaly, Ýylysuw and Archman.{{Cite web |title=turkmenistan |url=https://www.turkmen-travel.com/eng/places-to-go-see/health-resorts-sanatoriums/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621144208/https://www.turkmen-travel.com/eng/places-to-go-see/health-resorts-sanatoriums/ |archive-date=21 June 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |website=www.turkmen-travel.com}}{{Cite web |title=Türkmenistandaky melhemhanalar | Syýahatçylyk | Turkmenportal.com |url=https://turkmenportal.com/tm/catalog/syyahatchylyk/turkmenistandaky-melhemhanalar |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421080226/https://turkmenportal.com/tm/catalog/syyahatchylyk/turkmenistandaky-melhemhanalar |archive-date=21 April 2022 |access-date=14 February 2021 |website=Türkmenistanyň, internet portaly}}{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkmenistan/attractions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415185230/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkmenistan/attractions |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |publisher=Lonely Planet}}

In January 2022 President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow ordered that the fire at the Darvaza gas crater, known informally as the country's "Gateway to Hell", and one of Turkmenistan's most popular tourist attractions, should be extinguished for environmental and health reasons, as well as part of efforts to increase gas exports. A possible explanation for the fire is that a Soviet drilling operation in 1971 caused it; however, in 2013 Canadian explorer George Kourounis examined the crater and believed that no one actually knew how it started.{{Cite web |date=8 January 2022 |title=Turkmenistan plans to close its 'Gateway to Hell' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59920221 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502230637/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59920221 |archive-date=2 May 2022 |access-date=8 January 2022 |website=BBC}}

{{Main|Transportation in Turkmenistan}}

{{Update section|date=April 2025}}

Prior to the 1917 Russian Revolution, only three automobiles existed in Turkmenistan, all of them foreign models in Ashgabat. No automobile roads existed between settlements. After the revolution, Soviet authorities graded dirt roads to connect Mary and Kushky (Serhetabat), Tejen and Sarahs, Kyzyl-Arvat (Serdar) with Garrygala (Magtymguly) and Chekishler, i.e., with important border crossings. In 1887–1888 the Gaudan Highway ({{langx|ru|Гауданское шоссе}}) was built between Ashgabat and the Persian border at Gaudan Pass, and Persian authorities extended it to Mashhad, allowing for easier commercial relations. Municipal bus service began in Ashgabat in 1925 with five routes, and taxicab service began in 1938 with five vehicles. The road network was extended in the 1970s with construction of republic-level highways connecting Ashgabat and Kazanjyk (Bereket), Ashgabat and Bayramaly, Nebit Dag (Balkanabat) and Krasnovodsk (Türkmenbaşy), Çärjew (Turkmenabat) and Kerki, and Mary and Kushka (Serhetabat).{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1984 |title=Транспорт / Железнодорожный транспорт |encyclopedia=Туркменская ССР |publisher=Chuvash Obkom CPSU |pages=236–237 |language=Russian |trans-title=Transport / Rail transport}}

The primary west–east motor route is the M37 highway linking the Turkmenbashy International Seaport to the Farap border crossing via Ashgabat, Mary, and Turkmenabat. The primary north–south route is the Ashgabat-Dashoguz Automobile Road ({{langx|tk|Aşgabat-Daşoguz awtomobil ýoly}}), built in the 2000s. Major international routes include European route E003, European route E60, European route E121, and Asian Highway (AH) routes AH5, AH70, AH75, AH77, and AH78.{{Cite web |title=Asian Highway Database |url=http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Turkmenistan.xls |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828160707/https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Turkmenistan.xls |archive-date=28 August 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |publisher=United Nations}}

A new toll motorway is under construction between Ashgabat and Turkmenabat by the Turkmen Awtoban company, which will construct the 600-km highway in three phases: Ashgabat-Tejen by December 2020, Tejen-Mary by December 2022 and Mary-Turkmenabat by December 2023.{{Needs update|date=February 2025}} A sister project to link Türkmenbaşy and Ashgabat was suspended when the Turkish contractor Polimeks walked away from the project, reportedly because of non-payment.{{Cite web |date=15 October 2020 |title=Turkmenistan Country Commercial Guide: Transportation |url=https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/turkmenistan-transportation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131232314/https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/turkmenistan-transportation |archive-date=31 January 2021 |access-date=26 January 2021 |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce}}

As of 29 January 2019, the Turkmen Automobile Roads state concern ({{langx|tk|Türkmenawtoýollary}}) was subordinated by presidential decree to the Ministry of Construction and Architecture, and responsibility for road construction and maintenance was shifted to provincial and municipal governments.{{Cite news |date=29 January 2019 |title=УКАЗ Президента Туркменистана О преобразовании Государственного концерна "Türkmenawtoýollary" |language=Russian |publisher=parahat.info |url=https://www.parahat.info/edict/1627 |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128153256/https://www.parahat.info/edict/1627 |archive-date=28 January 2021}}{{Cite news |date=29 January 2019 |title=Строительство автодорог в Туркменистане переходит в ведение городских и региональных властей |language=Russian |publisher=Orient |url=https://orient.tm/stroitelstvo-avtodorog-v-turkmenis/ |url-status=dead |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024133/https://orient.tm/stroitelstvo-avtodorog-v-turkmenis/ |archive-date=15 April 2021}} Operation of motor coaches (buses) and taxicabs is the responsibility of the Automobile Services Agency ({{langx|tk|Türkmenawtoulaglary Agentligi}}) of the Ministry of Industry and Communication.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenawtoulaglary agency |url=https://awtoulag.gov.tm/en/site/a/index |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303060809/https://www.awtoulag.gov.tm/en/site/a/index |archive-date=3 March 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |website=awtoulag.gov.tm}}

{{See also|List of airports in Turkmenistan|List of Turkmenistan Airlines destinations}}

File:Boeing 777-22KLR EZ-A778.jpg Boeing 777-200LR]]

Air service began in 1927 with a route between Çärjew (Turkmenabat) and Tashauz (Dashoguz), flying German Junkers 13 and Soviet K-4 aircraft, each capable of carrying four passengers. In 1932 an aerodrome was built in Ashgabat on the site of the current Howdan neighborhoods, for both passenger and freight service, the latter mainly to deliver supplies to sulfur mines near Derweze in the Karakum Desert.{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1984 |title=Транспорт / Воздушный транспорт |encyclopedia=Туркменская ССР |publisher=Chuvash Obkom CPSU |pages=237 |language=Russian |trans-title=Transport / Air transport}}

Airports serving the major cities of Ashgabat, Dashoguz, Mary, Turkmenabat, and Türkmenbaşy, which are operated by Turkmenistan's civil aviation authority's airline, Türkmenhowaýollary, feature scheduled domestic commercial air service.{{Cite web |title=Uçuşlaryň ugry we rejesi |url=https://turkmenistanairlines.tm// |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414144432/https://turkmenistanairlines.tm/ |archive-date=14 April 2021 |access-date=5 April 2021 |website=Turkmenistan Airlines}}{{Cite web |title=ОБЩАЯ ИНФОРМАЦИЯ |url=https://caa.gov.tm/ru/item/159 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121213024/https://caa.gov.tm/ru/item/159 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |language=Russian}} Under normal circumstances international scheduled commercial air service is limited to Ashgabat. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, international flights take off from and land at Turkmenabat, where quarantine facilities have been established.{{Cite web |date=5 October 2020 |title=Turkmenistan Travel Advisory |url=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/turkmenistan-travel-advisory.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205180123/https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/turkmenistan-travel-advisory.html |archive-date=5 February 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |publisher=U.S. Department of State}}{{Cite news |date=2 November 2020 |title=Четырнадцать потерянных дней жизни. О нахождении в карантинном лагере в Туркменабаде |language=Russian |publisher=Turkmen.news |url=https://turkmen.news/news/karantin-turkmenista/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225025324/https://turkmen.news/news/karantin-turkmenista/ |archive-date=25 February 2021}}

State-owned Turkmenistan Airlines is the only Turkmen air carrier. Turkmenistan Airlines' passenger fleet is composed of Boeing and Bombardier Aerospace aircraft.{{Cite web |title=Мы не подведём |url=http://www.ogoniok.com/archive/2001/4680-2/80-20-21/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521175039/http://www.ogoniok.com/archive/2001/4680-2/80-20-21/ |archive-date=21 May 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Ogoniok.com}} Air transport carries more than two thousand passengers daily in the country.{{Cite web |last=V@DIM |title=Могучие крылья страны |url=http://turkmenistan.gov.tm/?id=715 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208073112/http://turkmenistan.gov.tm/?id=715 |archive-date=8 February 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Turkmenistan.gov.tm}} Under normal conditions, international flights annually transport over half a million people into and out of Turkmenistan, and Turkmenistan Air operates regular flights to Moscow, London, Frankfurt, Birmingham, Bangkok, Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Amritsar, Kyiv, Lviv, Beijing, Istanbul, Minsk, Almaty, Tashkent, and St. Petersburg.

Small airfields serve industrial sites near other cities, but do not feature scheduled commercial passenger service. Airfields slated for modernization and expansion include those serving Garabogaz, Jebel, and Galaýmor.{{Cite news |date=14 December 2020 |title=Международный тендер на проектирование и строительство нового аэропорта в посёлке городского типа Джебел города Балканабат |language=Russian |publisher=Нейтральный Туркменистан}}{{Cite news |date=18 January 2019 |title=Aspects of modernization of segments of Turkmenistan's economy are discussed at the session of the Government |publisher=Türkmen Döwlet Habarlary |url=http://tdh.gov.tm/news/en/articles.aspx&article16348&cat26 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214165910/http://tdh.gov.tm/news/en/articles.aspx%26article16348%26cat26 |archive-date=14 December 2019}}{{Cite news |date=19 May 2018 |title=Президент Туркменистана провёл совместное заседание Кабинета Министров и Госсовета безопасности |language=Russian |publisher=Turkmenportal |url=https://turkmenportal.com/blog/14616/prezident-turkmenistana-provel-sovmestnoe-zasedanie-kabineta-ministrov-i-gossoveta-bezopasnosti}}{{Cite news |date=3 February 2018 |title=В Гарабогазе будет построен новый аэропорт |language=Russian |publisher=Turkmenportal |url=https://turkmenportal.com/blog/13377/v-garabogaze-budet-postroen-novyi-aeroport |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024510/https://turkmenportal.com/blog/13377/v-garabogaze-budet-postroen-novyi-aeroport |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite news |date=15 December 2020 |title=Рядом с курортом "Моллакара" в Туркменистане планируют построить аэропорт |language=Russian |publisher=Turkmen.news |url=https://turkmen.news/lenta/airport-jebel/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116201043/https://turkmen.news/lenta/airport-jebel/ |archive-date=16 January 2021}} The new Turkmenabat International Airport was commissioned in February 2018.{{Cite news |date=14 February 2018 |title=В Туркменабаде построили международный аэропорт |language=Russian |publisher=Авиатранспортное обозрение |url=http://www.ato.ru/content/v-turkmenabade-postroili-mezhdunarodnyy-aeroport |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415035815/http://www.ato.ru/content/v-turkmenabade-postroili-mezhdunarodnyy-aeroport |archive-date=15 April 2021}} In June 2021, an international airport was opened in Kerki.

File:Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (314).jpg

Since 1962, the Turkmenbashy International Seaport has operated a passenger ferry to the port of Baku, Azerbaijan as well as rail ferries to other ports on the Caspian Sea (Baku, Aktau). In recent years tanker transport of oil to the ports of Baku and Makhachkala has increased.

In May 2018, construction was completed of a major expansion of the Turkmenbashy seaport.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan – Country Commercial Guide |url=https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/turkmenistan-transportation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116155956/https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/turkmenistan-transportation |archive-date=16 January 2021 |access-date=15 October 2020 |website=International Trade Administration}}{{Cite web |title=Порт Туркменбаши будет полностью реконструирован |date=16 May 2011 |url=http://portnews.ru/news/65119/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002408/http://portnews.ru/news/65119/ |archive-date=3 December 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Portnews.ru}} Cost of the project was $1.5 billion. The general contractor for the project was Gap Inşaat, a subsidiary of Çalık Holding of Turkey. The expansion added 17 million tons of annual capacity, making total throughput including previously existing facilities of over 25 million tons per year. The international ferry and passenger terminals will be able to serve 300,000 passengers and 75,000 vehicles per year, and the container terminal is designed to handle 400,000 TEU (20-foot container equivalent) per year.{{Cite news |last=Tuchman |first=Janice L. |date=26 September 2018 |title=Global Best Project, Airport/Port & Project of the Year Finalist: Turkmenbashi International Seaport Project |publisher=Enineering News-Record, BNP Media |url=https://www.enr.com/articles/45265-global-best-project-airportport-turkmenbashi-international-seaport-project |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033608/https://www.enr.com/articles/45265-global-best-project-airportport-turkmenbashi-international-seaport-project |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite web |date=28 May 2018 |title=Most important pit-stop on the Silk Road: Turkmenbashi International Seaport |url=https://www.calik.com/en/press-room/press-releases/most-important-pit-stop-on-the-silk-road-turkmenbashi-international-seaport |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415035801/https://www.calik.com/en/press-room/press-releases/most-important-pit-stop-on-the-silk-road-turkmenbashi-international-seaport |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |publisher=Çalık Holding}}{{Cite news |last=Hasanov |first=Huseyn |date=2 May 2018 |title=Turkish company completes seaport project in Turkmenbashi city |publisher=Trend |url=https://en.trend.az/casia/turkmenistan/2896894.html |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033336/https://en.trend.az/casia/turkmenistan/2896894.html |archive-date=15 April 2021}}

File:Turkmen Diesel locomotive2.jpg

{{Main|Rail transport in Turkmenistan}}

{{Main|Türkmendemirýollary}}

The first rail line in Turkmenistan was built in 1880, from the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea to Mollagara. By October 1881 the line was extended to Kyzyl-Arvat, by 1886 had reached Çärjew. In 1887 a wooden rail bridge was built over the Amu Darya, and the line was continued to Samarkand (1888) and Tashkent (1898).{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1984 |title=Транспорт / Железнодорожный транспорт |encyclopedia=Туркменская ССР |publisher=Chuvash Obkom CPSU |pages=235–236 |language=Russian |trans-title=Transport / Rail transport}} Rail service in Turkmenistan began as part of Imperial Russia's Trans-Caspian Railway, then of the Central Asian Railway. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the railway network in Turkmenistan was transferred to and operated by the state-owned Türkmendemirýollary. The rail gauge is the same as the Russian (and former Soviet) one-1520 millimeters.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

The total length of railways is 3181 km. Only domestic passenger service is available, except for special trains operated by tour operators.{{Cite web |title=Расписание |url=https://www.railway.gov.tm/ru/schedule |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119214435/https://railway.gov.tm/ru/schedule |archive-date=19 January 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |language=Turkmen, Russian}} The railway carries approximately 5.5 million passengers and moves nearly 24 million tons of freight per year.{{Cite web |title=О НАС |url=https://www.railway.gov.tm/ru/about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305201612/https://railway.gov.tm/ru/about |archive-date=5 March 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |publisher=Türkmendemirýollary |language=Russian}}{{Cite web |title=ORIENT SILK ROAD EXPRESS TRAIN |url=https://www.scottdunn.com/us/uzbekistan/tours/orient-silk-road-express-train |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033358/https://www.scottdunn.com/us/uzbekistan/tours/orient-silk-road-express-train |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=5 April 2021}}

Turkmen Railways is currently constructing a rail line in Afghanistan to connect Serhetabat to Herat.{{Cite news |date=22 September 2020 |title=Turkmenistan and Afghanistan discussed construction of Akina-Andhoy and Turgundi-Herat railway lines |publisher=Turkmenportal |url=https://turkmenportal.com/en/blog/30606/turkmenistan-and-afghanistan-discussed-construction-of-akinaandhoy-and-turgundiherat-railway-lines |url-status=live |access-date=5 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415035755/https://turkmenportal.com/en/blog/30606/turkmenistan-and-afghanistan-discussed-construction-of-akinaandhoy-and-turgundiherat-railway-lines |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Needs update|date=February 2025}} Upon completion, it may connect to the proposed rail line to connect Herat to Khaf, Iran.{{Cite web |title=Khaf-Herat Railway Project |url=https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/khaf-herat-railway-project/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429054702/https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/khaf-herat-railway-project/ |archive-date=29 April 2021 |access-date=5 April 2021 |publisher=Railway Technology}}{{Needs update|date=February 2025}}

{{Main|Demographics of Turkmenistan}}

File:Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (215).jpg at the 20th Independence Day parade, 2011]]

The last census to be published in full was held in 1995. Detailed results of every census since then have been kept secret, although a total figure for the 2022 census was released. Available figures indicate that most of Turkmenistan's citizens are ethnic Turkmens with sizeable minorities of Uzbeks and Russians. Smaller minorities include Kazakhs, Tatars, Ukrainians, Kurds (native to the Kopet Dagh mountains), Armenians, Azeris, Balochs and Pashtuns. The percentage of ethnic Russians in Turkmenistan dropped from 18.6% in 1939 to 9.5% in 1989. The CIA World Factbook estimated the ethnic composition of Turkmenistan in 2003 as 85% Turkmen, 5% Uzbek, 4% Russian and 6% other. According to official data announced in Ashgabat {{As of|2001|02|alt=in February 2001}}, 91% of the population were Turkmen, 3% were Uzbeks and 2% were 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).{{Cite journal |date=14 April 2001 |title=Ethnic composition of Turkmenistan in 2001 |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/037/evro010.php |url-status=live |journal=Demoscope Weekly |issue=37–38 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208143733/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/037/evro010.php |archive-date=8 December 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013}}{{Cite web |title=Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg2.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226132826/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg2.php |archive-date=26 February 2009 |access-date=10 April 2021}} As of 2021, the number of Russians in Turkmenistan was estimated at 100,000.{{Cite news |date=23 April 2021 |title=Численность русских в Туркменистане снизилась до уровня 1930–х годов |language=ru |publisher=Turkmen.News |url=https://turkmen.news/lenta/turkmenistan-russkie-chislennost/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423222606/https://turkmen.news/lenta/turkmenistan-russkie-chislennost/ |archive-date=23 April 2021}}

Opposition media reported that some results of the 2012 census had been surreptitiously released, including a total population number of 4,751,120. According to this source, as of 2012 85.6% of the population was ethnically Turkmen, followed by 5.8% ethnic Uzbek and 5.1% ethnic Russian. In contrast, an official Turkmen delegation reported to the UN in January 2015 some different figures on national minorities, including slightly under 9% ethnic Uzbek, 2.2% ethnic Russian, and 0.4% ethnic Kazakh. The 2012 census reportedly counted 58 different nationalities.{{Cite news |date=3 February 2015 |title=Результаты переписи населения в Туркменистане |language=Russian |publisher=Chronicles of Turkmenistan |url=https://www.hronikatm.com/2015/02/rezultatyi-perepisi-naseleniya-v-turkmenistane/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603140011/https://www.hronikatm.com/2015/02/rezultatyi-perepisi-naseleniya-v-turkmenistane/ |archive-date=3 June 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Goble |first=Paul |date=10 February 2015 |title=Unpublished Census Provides Rare and Unvarnished Look at Turkmenistan |url=https://jamestown.org/program/unpublished-census-provides-rare-and-unvarnished-look-at-turkmenistan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604143637/https://jamestown.org/program/unpublished-census-provides-rare-and-unvarnished-look-at-turkmenistan/ |archive-date=4 June 2021 |access-date=30 March 2021 |publisher=Jamestown Foundation}}{{Cite news |date=19 August 2021 |title=Госкомстат Узбекистана раскрыл численность этнических туркменов в стране |language=ru |publisher=Turkmen News |url=https://turkmen.news/lenta/uzbekistan-turkmeny/ |url-status=live |access-date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819172754/https://turkmen.news/lenta/uzbekistan-turkmeny/ |archive-date=19 August 2021}}

Official population estimates are likely too high, given known emigration trends.{{Cite book |last=Moya Flynn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLeAxHLmgR8C&pg=PA15 |title=Migrant Resettlement in the Russian Federation: Reconstructing 'homes' and 'homelands' |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84331-117-1 |page=15 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203123138/https://books.google.com/books?id=YLeAxHLmgR8C&pg=PA15 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live}} Population growth has been offset by emigration in search of permanent employment. In July 2021 opposition media reported, based on three independent anonymous sources, that the population of Turkmenistan was between 2.7 and 2.8 million.{{Cite news |date=2 July 2021 |title=Источники: Туркменистан в состоянии депопуляции. В стране осталось 2,7 миллиона населения |language=ru |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://rus.azathabar.com/a/turkmenistan-in-state-of-depopulation-with-under-three-million-people/31338392.html |url-status=live |access-date=7 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703091207/https://rus.azathabar.com/a/turkmenistan-in-state-of-depopulation-with-under-three-million-people/31338392.html |archive-date=3 July 2021}}

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.{{Cite news |date=10 January 2023 |title=Тайная перепись. Как в Туркменистане прошло важнейшее статистическое исследование |language=ru |publisher=Turkmen.News |url=https://turkmen.news/tajnaya-perepis-kak-v-turkmenistane-proshlo-vazhnejshee-statisticheskoe-issledovanie/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114014723/https://turkmen.news/tajnaya-perepis-kak-v-turkmenistane-proshlo-vazhnejshee-statisticheskoe-issledovanie/ |archive-date=14 January 2023}}{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan: Deaths of despair {{!}} Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-deaths-of-despair |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185726/https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-deaths-of-despair |archive-date=9 July 2021 |access-date=9 July 2021 |website=eurasianet.org |language=en}} According to the official results of the 2022 census published in July 2023, the population of Turkmenistan was 7,057,841.{{citation| url=https://tdh.gov.tm/ru/post/36778/rasshirennoe-zasedanie-kabineta-ministrov-turkmenistana-17 | title=Расширенное заседание Кабинета Министров Туркменистана |date= 14 July 2023 | language=ru |publisher = Туркменистан сегодня}}{{citation| url=https://turkmenportal.com/tm/blog/64479/ilat-yazuwy--2022-turkmenistanyn-ilaty-7-million-57-mun-841-adama-den-boldy | title="Ilat ýazuwy — 2022": Türkmenistanyň ilaty 7 million 57 müň 841 adama deň boldy |language=tk |date=14 July 2023 |publisher=Turkmenportal}} However, offshore media disputed that figure, with one source claiming it came out of "thin air".{{citation | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-census-fake-numbers-population-decline/32516559.html |title='Out Of Thin Air': Turkmen Unconvinced By New Census Results Amid Severe Population Decline |date=24 July 2023 |publisher=RFE/RL}}{{citation |url=https://turkmen.news/turkmenistan-oficialno-raskryl-chislennost-naseleniya/ |title=Туркменистан официально раскрыл численность населения |date=15 July 2023 |language=ru |publisher=Turkmen.News}}

{{Largest cities

| country = Turkmenistan

| stat_ref =List of cities in Turkmenistan

| div_name = Province

|city_1 = Ashgabat

|div_1 = Ashgabat{{!}}Capital

|pop_1 = 947,221

|img_1 = Neutrality-Road-Ashgabat-2015.JPG

|city_2 = Türkmenabat

|div_2 = Lebap Province{{!}}Lebap

|pop_2 = 279,765

|img_2 = Lebap welaýatynyň Ruhyýet köşgi.jpg

|city_3 = Daşoguz

|div_3 = Daşoguz Province{{!}}Daşoguz

|pop_3 = 245,872

|img_3 = Baking Bread in Bai Bazaar, Dashoguz.jpg

|city_4 = Mary, Turkmenistan{{!}}Mary

|div_4 = Mary Province{{!}}Mary

|pop_4 = 126,141

|img_4 =

|city_5 = Serdar (city){{!}}Serdar

|div_5 = Balkan Province{{!}}Balkan

|pop_5 = 93,692

|city_6 = Baýramaly

|div_6 = Mary Province{{!}}Mary

|pop_6 = 91,713

|city_7 = Balkanabat

|div_7 = Balkan Province{{!}}Balkan

|pop_7 = 90,149

|city_8 = Tejen

|div_8 = Ahal Province{{!}}Ahal

|pop_8 = 79,324

|city_9 = Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan{{!}}Türkmenbaşy

|div_9 = Balkan Province{{!}}Balkan

|pop_9 = 73,803

|city_10 = Magdanly

|div_10 = Lebap Province{{!}}Lebap

|pop_10 = 68,133

}}

{{See also|Demographics of Turkmenistan#Demographic trends}}

Based on data from receiving countries, MeteoZhurnal estimated that at least 102,346 Turkmenistani citizens emigrated abroad in 2019, 78% of them to Turkey, and 24,206 apparently returned home, for net migration of 77,014.{{Cite news |date=1 May 2021 |title=В 2019 году из Туркменистана эмигрировало порядка 110 тысяч человек или 2,2% населения страны |language=ru |publisher=МетеоЖурнал |url=http://meteojurnal.ru/stati/v-2019-godu-iz-turkmenistana-emigrirovalo-poryadka-110-tysyach-chelovek-ili-22-naseleniya-strany/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504063838/http://meteojurnal.ru/stati/v-2019-godu-iz-turkmenistana-emigrirovalo-poryadka-110-tysyach-chelovek-ili-22-naseleniya-strany/ |archive-date=4 May 2021}} According to leaked results of a 2018 survey, between 2008 and 2018 1,879,413 Turkmenistani citizens emigrated permanently out of an estimated base population of 5.4 million.{{Cite news |last=Najibullah |first=Farangis |date=8 June 2019 |title=Escape From Turkmenistan: Almost 2 Million Have Fled, But The President Looks The Other Way |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/escape-from-turkmenistan-almost-2-million-have-fled-but-the-president-won-t-hear-of-it/29987972.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024233/https://www.rferl.org/a/escape-from-turkmenistan-almost-2-million-have-fled-but-the-president-won-t-hear-of-it/29987972.html |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite news |date=7 July 2018 |title=Turkmenezuela: Turkmenistan finds a novel solution to mass emigration |publisher=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/07/05/turkmenistan-finds-a-novel-solution-to-mass-emigration |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024116/https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/07/05/turkmenistan-finds-a-novel-solution-to-mass-emigration |archive-date=15 April 2021}} Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hajiyev stated publicly in August 2023 that in 2022 267,330 Turkmenistan citizens had traveled abroad, but without indicating either how many of these had emigrated or how many had returned.{{citation |url=https://turkmen.news/vepa-hadzhiev-zayavil-o-roste-chisla-vezzhayushchih-v-stranu/ |title= Вепа Хаджиев заявил о росте числа въезжающих в страну |date=24 August 2023 |language=ru |publisher=Turkmen.News | trans-title=Vepa Hajiyev announced growth of arrivals in the country}}

{{Main|Turkmen tribes}}

The tribal nature of Turkmen society is well documented. The major modern Turkmen tribes are Teke, Yomut, Ersari, Chowdur, Gokleng and Saryk.{{Cite book |last=Peyrouse |first=Sebastien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGKmBgAAQBAJ&q=turkmen+tribes+teke&pg=PA52 |title=Turkmenistan: Strategies of Power, Dilemmas of Development |date=12 February 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317453260 |page=52 |language=en |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203123159/https://books.google.com/books?id=uGKmBgAAQBAJ&q=turkmen+tribes+teke&pg=PA52 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live}}{{Cite book |last=Edgar |first=Adrienne Lynn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Q11AQAAQBAJ&q=turkmen+tribes+teke&pg=PA21 |title=Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan |date=5 September 2006 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9781400844296 |page=21 |language=en |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203123202/https://books.google.com/books?id=9Q11AQAAQBAJ&q=turkmen+tribes+teke&pg=PA21 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live}} The most numerous are the Teke.{{Cite book |last=Adle |first=Chahryar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPfcfF8LRWQC&q=turkmen+tribes+teke&pg=PA47 |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Towards the contemporary period : from the mid-nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century |date=1 January 2005 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=9789231039850 |page=47 |language=en |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203123202/https://books.google.com/books?id=XPfcfF8LRWQC&q=turkmen+tribes+teke&pg=PA47 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live}}

{{Further|Turkmenization}}

Turkmen is the official language of Turkmenistan (per the 1992 Constitution), a language that shares to some degree mutual intelligibility with Azerbaijani and Turkish.{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Keith |title=Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World |date=2010 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-080-87775-4 |page=1117}} Since the late 20th century, the government of Turkmenistan has taken steps to distance itself from the Russian language (which has been seen as a soft power tool for Russian interests). The first step in this campaign was the shift to the Latin alphabet in 1993,{{Cite web |last=Bekmurzaev |first=Nurbek |date=28 February 2019 |title=Russian Language Status in Central Asian Countries |url=https://cabar.asia/en/russian-language-status-in-central-asian-countries |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173149/https://cabar.asia/en/russian-language-status-in-central-asian-countries |archive-date=20 September 2022 |access-date=22 June 2022 |publisher=Central Asian Bureau for Analytical Reporting}} and Russian lost its status as the language of inter-ethnic communication in 1996.{{Cite web |title=Введение | language=ru | trans-title=Introduction |url=http://www.fundeh.org/files/publications/90/vedenie_obshchee_sostoyanie_russkogo_yazyka.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122143/http://www.fundeh.org/files/publications/90/vedenie_obshchee_sostoyanie_russkogo_yazyka.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=16 October 2015}} As of 1999, Turkmen was spoken by 72% of the population, Russian by 12% (349,000), Uzbek by 9% (317,000), and other languages by 7% (Kazakh (88,000), Tatar (40,400), Ukrainian (37,118), Azerbaijani (33,000), Armenian (32,000), Northern Kurdish (20,000), Lezgian (10,400), Persian (8,000), Belarusian (5,290), Erzya (3,490), Korean (3,490), Bashkir (2,610), Karakalpak (2,540), Ossetic (1,890), Dargwa (1,600), Lak (1,590), Tajik (1,280), Georgian (1,050), Lithuanian (224), Tabasaran (180), and Dungan).{{Cite web |date=19 February 1999 |title=Ethnologue |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/country/TM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303103433/http://www.ethnologue.com/country/TM |archive-date=3 March 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Ethnologue}}

{{Further|Religion in Turkmenistan|Islam in Turkmenistan}}

File:Ashgabat mosque IMG 5756 (26111145635).jpg

According to The World Factbook, Muslims constitute 93% of the population while 6% of the population are followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the remaining 1% religion is reported as non-religious. According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, 93.1% of Turkmenistan's population is Muslim.{{Cite web |date=October 2009 |title=MAPPING THE GLOBAL MUSLIM POPULATION : A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population |url=http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810075151/http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2011 |access-date=14 February 2016 |website=Pewforum.org}}

The first migrants were sent as missionaries and often were adopted as patriarchs of particular clans or tribal groups, thereby becoming their "founders." Reformulation of communal identity around such figures accounts for one of the highly localized developments of Islamic practice in Turkmenistan.{{Cite book |last1=Mark Juergensmeyer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1312 |title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion |last2=Wade Clark Roof |date=18 October 2011 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5 |pages=1312–}}

In the Soviet era, all religious beliefs were attacked by the communist authorities as superstition and "vestiges of the past." Most religious schooling and religious observance were banned, and the vast majority of mosques were closed. However, since 1990, efforts have been made to regain some of the cultural heritage lost under Soviet rule.{{Cite news |last=Pannier |first=Bruce |date=2 February 2012 |title=Our Imperiled Cultural Heritage |language=en |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1077492.html |url-status=live |access-date=5 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129003800/https://www.rferl.org/a/1077492.html |archive-date=29 November 2020}}

Former president Saparmurat Niyazov ordered that basic Islamic principles be taught in public schools. More religious institutions, including religious schools and mosques, have appeared, many with the support of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Turkey. Under Niyazov, religious classes were held in both schools and mosques, with instruction in Arabic language, the Qur'an and the hadith, and history of Islam.{{Cite web |last1=Larry Clark |last2=Michael Thurman |last3=David Tyson |name-list-style=amp |date=March 1996 |editor-last=Glenn E. Curtis |title=A Country Study: Turkmenistan |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/about.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710004153/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/about.html |archive-date=10 July 2012 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Library of Congress Federal Research Division}} At present, the only educational institution teaching religion is the theological faculty of Turkmen State University.

File:Pokrovkaya Church, Mary.jpg church in Mary]]

President Niyazov wrote his own religious text, published in separate volumes in 2001 and 2004, entitled the Ruhnama ("Book of the Soul"). The Turkmenbashy regime required that the book, which formed the basis of the educational system in Turkmenistan, be given equal status with the Quran (mosques were required to display the two books side by side). The book was heavily promoted as part of the former president's personality cult, and knowledge of the Ruhnama was required even for obtaining a driver's license.{{Cite news |date=2 August 2004 |title=Asia-Pacific | Turkmen drivers face unusual test |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3528746.stm |url-status=live |access-date=3 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208122431/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3528746.stm |archive-date=8 February 2010}} Quotations from the Ruhnama are inscribed on the walls of the Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque, which many Muslims consider sacrilegious.{{Cite web |date=6 December 2020 |title=Kipchak Mosque |url=https://caravanistan.com/turkmenistan/kipchak-mosque/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421183116/https://caravanistan.com/turkmenistan/kipchak-mosque/ |archive-date=21 April 2021 |access-date=31 March 2021 |publisher=Caravanistan}}

Most Christians in Turkmenistan belong to Eastern Orthodoxy (about 5% of the population).{{Cite web |title=Столетие.ru: "Туркменбаши хотел рухнамезировать Православие" / Статьи / Патриархия.ru |url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/192008.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809112657/http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/192008.html |archive-date=9 August 2020 |access-date=23 February 2012 |publisher=Patriarchia.ru}} There are 12 Russian Orthodox churches in Turkmenistan, four of which are in Ashgabat.{{Cite web |title=Православие в Туркменистане / Приходы |url=http://pravoslavie.tm/prikhody |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616010432/http://www.pravoslavie.tm/prikhody |archive-date=16 June 2015 |access-date=31 March 2021 |language=Russian}} An archpriest resident in Ashgabat leads the Orthodox Church within the country. Until 2007 Turkmenistan fell under the religious jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox archbishop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, but since then has been subordinate to the Archbishop of Pyatigorsk and Cherkessia.{{Cite web |title=Православие в Туркменистане / История и современность |url=http://pravoslavie.tm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810225459/http://pravoslavie.tm/ |archive-date=10 August 2011 |access-date=31 March 2021 |language=Russian}} There are no Russian Orthodox seminaries in Turkmenistan.

There are also small communities of the following denominations: the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, Pentecostal Christians, the Protestant Word of Life Church, the Greater Grace World Outreach Church, the New Apostolic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and several unaffiliated, nondenominational evangelical Christian groups. In addition, there are small communities of Baháʼís, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and Hare Krishnas.

The history of Baháʼí Faith in Turkmenistan is as old as the religion itself, and Baháʼí communities still exist today.{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan |url=http://bahai-library.com/momen_encyclopedia_turkmenistan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805203330/http://bahai-library.com/momen_encyclopedia_turkmenistan |archive-date=5 August 2011 |access-date=12 September 2011 |publisher=Bahai-library.com}} The first Baháʼí House of Worship was built in Ashgabat at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was seized by the Soviets in the 1920s and converted to an art gallery. It was heavily damaged in the earthquake of 1948 and later demolished. The site was converted to a public park.Herrmann, Duane L. (Fall 1994) "Houses As perfect As Is Possible" World Order pp. 17–31

The Russian Academy of Sciences has identified many instances of syncretic influence of pre-Islamic Turkic belief systems on practice of Islam among Turkmen.{{Cite book |last=Demidov |first=Sergey Mikhaylovich |url=http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf |title=Растения и Животные в Легендах и Верованиях Туркмен |date=2020 |publisher=Staryy sad |location=Moscow |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033254/http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2021 |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Culture of Turkmenistan}}

The Turkmen people have traditionally been nomads and equestrians; even today after the fall of the USSR, attempts to urbanize the Turkmens have not been very successful.{{Cite book |last=Blackwell |first=Carole |url=https://www.routledge.com/Tradition-and-Society-in-Turkmenistan-Gender-Oral-Culture-and-Song/Blackwell/p/book/9781138862487 |title=Tradition and Society in Turkmenistan: Gender, Oral Culture and Song |date=2001 |publisher=Curzon |isbn=0-7007-1354-9 |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429102944/https://www.routledge.com/Tradition-and-Society-in-Turkmenistan-Gender-Oral-Culture-and-Song/Blackwell/p/book/9781138862487 |archive-date=29 April 2021 |url-status=live}} They never really formed a coherent nation or ethnic group until they were forged into one by Joseph Stalin in the 1930s. Turkmen are divided into clans, and each clan has its own dialect and style of dress.{{Cite book |last=Clement |first=Victoria |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/book/learning-to-become-turkmen-literacy-language-and-power-1914-2014 |title=Learning to Become Turkmen |date=2018 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |isbn=978-0822964636 |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421080226/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/book/learning-to-become-turkmen-literacy-language-and-power-1914-2014 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |url-status=live}} Turkmens are famous for making knotted Turkmen carpets, often mistakenly called Bukhara rugs in the West. These are elaborate and colorful hand-knotted carpets, which help indicate the distinctions among the various Turkmen clans. Ethnic groups throughout the region build yurts, circular houses with dome roofs, made of a wooden frame covered in felt from the hides of sheep or other livestock. Horses play a vital role in various recreational pursuits across the region, from the horse racing to horseback fighting, where skilled riders attempt to unseat their opponents.{{Cite book |last=Ali Abbas Çınar |title=Turkmen Horses and Equine Culture |date=2001 |publisher=Rota Matbaacilik |isbn=9789759581114 |page=48 |oclc=237881620}}

Turkmen men wear traditional telpek or "mekan telpek" hats, which are large black or white sheepskin hats. Traditional dress for men consists of these high, shaggy sheepskin hats and red robes over white shirts. Women wear long sack-dresses over narrow trousers (the pants are trimmed with a band of embroidery at the ankle). Female headdresses usually consist of silver jewelry. Bracelets and brooches are set with semi-precious stones.

{{Main|Mass media in Turkmenistan}}

{{Further|Telecommunications in Turkmenistan}}

Newspapers and monthly magazines are published by state-controlled media outlets, primarily in Turkmen. The daily official newspaper is published in both Turkmen (Türkmenistan){{Cite web |title=Gazetler | TDNG |url=https://metbugat.gov.tm/newspapers?id=10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415035750/https://metbugat.gov.tm/newspapers?id=10 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=metbugat.gov.tm}} and Russian (Нейтральный Туркменистан).{{Cite web |title=Gazetler | TDNG |url=https://metbugat.gov.tm/newspapers?id=11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033446/https://metbugat.gov.tm/newspapers?id=11 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=metbugat.gov.tm}} Two online news portals repeat official content, Turkmenportal and Parahat.info,{{Cite web |title=Parahat Info |url=https://www.parahat.info/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226213037/https://www.parahat.info/ |archive-date=26 February 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |website=www.parahat.info}} in addition to the official "Golden Age" ({{langx|tk|Altyn Asyr}}, {{langx|ru|Золотой век}}) news website,{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr |url=https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/tk |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318074754/https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/tk |archive-date=18 March 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=turkmenistan.gov.tm}} which is available in Turkmen, Russian, and English. Two Ashgabat-based private news organizations, Infoabad{{Cite web |title=Новости Туркменистана сегодня |url=http://infoabad.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330143544/http://infoabad.com/ |archive-date=30 March 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=infoabad.com}} and Arzuw,{{Cite web |title=Главная |url=https://arzuw.news/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024514/https://arzuw.news/ |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=Arzuw NEWS – новости Туркменистана}} offer online content.

Articles published by the state-controlled newspapers are heavily censored and written to glorify the state and its leader. Uncensored press coverage specific to Turkmenistan is provided only by news organizations located outside Turkmenistan: Azatlyk Radiosy,{{Cite web |title=Azatlyk Radiosy |url=https://www.azathabar.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328194551/https://www.azathabar.com/ |archive-date=28 March 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=Azatlyk Radiosy}} the Turkmen service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty based in Prague; Chronicles of Turkmenistan,{{Cite web |title=Хроника Туркменистана – Новости Туркменистана о которых не сообщат официальные СМИ |url=https://www.hronikatm.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817015954/https://www.hronikatm.com/ |archive-date=17 August 2019 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=Хроника Туркменистана}} the Vienna-based outlet of the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights; Turkmen.news,{{Cite web |title=New |url=https://turkmen.news/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217190623/https://turkmen.news/ |archive-date=17 February 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |website=turkmen.news}} previously known as Alternative News of Turkmenistan, based in the Netherlands; and Gündogar.{{Cite web |title=Гундогар :: Главная страница |url=https://www.gundogar.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414222348/http://www.gundogar.org/ |archive-date=14 April 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=www.gundogar.org}} In addition, Mediazona Central Asia,{{Cite web |title=Медиазона Центральная Азия |url=https://mediazona.ca/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024122/https://mediazona.ca/ |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=Медиазона Центральная Азия}} Eurasianet{{Cite web |title=Home | Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001034029/https://eurasianet.org/ |archive-date=1 October 2019 |access-date=14 February 2021 |website=eurasianet.org}} and Central Asia News{{Cite web |title=Новости Центральной Азии |url=https://centralasia.news/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224235411/https://centralasia.news/ |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021 |website=centralasia.news}} provide some reporting on events in Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan currently broadcasts eight national TV channels{{Cite web|url=https://turkmenportal.com/blog/63901/telekanal-arkadag-nachal-veshchanie-v-turkmenistane|title=Телеканал «Аркадаг» начал вещание в Туркменистане | Общество|website=Туркменистан, интернет портал о культурной, деловой и развлекательной жизни в Туркменистане}} via satellite. They are Altyn Asyr, Ýaşlyk, Miras, Turkmenistan (in seven languages), Türkmen Owazy (music), Aşgabat, Turkmenistan Sport and Arkadag. There are no commercial or private TV stations. The nightly official news broadcast, Watan (Homeland), is available on YouTube.{{Cite web |title=Watan Habarlary – YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC89qzYVCh6y1sUq5_JtcoXA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415222906/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC89qzYVCh6y1sUq5_JtcoXA |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021 |website=www.youtube.com}}{{Primary source inline|date=March 2023}}

{{external media

| float = right

| video1 = Example of Turkmenistan TV News{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan TV News "Watan", 25.06.2014 (Part 1) | Ghostarchive |url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/cDiO4btIKfs |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=ghostarchive.org}}

| video2 = Turkmen President celebrates Independence Day{{Cite web |title=Президент Туркменистана наградил медалями чиновников и получил золотые статуи | Ghostarchive |url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/BvI9W_f8UgA |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=ghostarchive.org}}

}}

Although officially banned, widespread use of satellite dish receivers allows access to foreign programming, particularly outside Ashgabat.{{Cite news |last=Danilin |first=Nikita |date=4 May 2020 |title=Лагеря, молчание и надежда на могильник. Что происходит в Туркменистане во время пандемии |language=Russian |publisher=«Медиазона Центральная Азия» |url=https://mediazona.ca/article/2020/05/04/virusbashi |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033446/https://mediazona.ca/article/2020/05/04/virusbashi |archive-date=15 April 2021}} Due to the high mutual intelligibility of the Turkmen and Turkish languages, Turkish-language programs have grown in popularity despite official efforts to discourage viewership.{{Cite news |last=Tursunbaeva |first=Kanykei |date=7 August 2014 |title=Central Asia's Rulers View Turkish "Soap Power" with Suspicion |publisher=Global Voices |url=https://globalvoices.org/2014/08/07/central-asias-rulers-view-turkish-soap-power-with-suspicion/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033252/https://globalvoices.org/2014/08/07/central-asias-rulers-view-turkish-soap-power-with-suspicion/ |archive-date=15 April 2021}}{{Cite news |date=15 March 2021 |title=Рубрика "Туркмены Мира": Ограничение турецких мультфильмов в туркменских детских садах и турецких сериалов на узбекском телевидении |language=Russian |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://rus.azathabar.com/a/31151243.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411033523/https://rus.azathabar.com/a/31151243.html |archive-date=11 April 2021}}{{Cite news |date=9 March 2021 |title=Turkmenistan: A ban on all news, ye who enter here |publisher=Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-a-ban-on-all-news-ye-who-enter-here |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407111013/https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-a-ban-on-all-news-ye-who-enter-here |archive-date=7 April 2021}}{{Cite news |date=29 January 2021 |title=Запрет на TikTok и иностранное ТВ. В школах Туркменистана "нравственное воспитание" девушек снова на повестке дня |language=Russian |publisher=RFE/RL |url=https://rus.azathabar.com/a/31075710.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033743/https://rus.azathabar.com/a/31075710.html |archive-date=15 April 2021}}

Internet services are the least developed in Central Asia. Access to Internet services is provided by the government's ISP company, Turkmentelekom. As of 27 January 2021, Turkmenistan reported an estimated 1,265,794 internet users, or roughly 21% of the total population.{{Cite web |title=Retrieved: 5 April 2013 |url=http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430095416/https://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm |archive-date=30 April 2019 |access-date=25 November 2013 |publisher=Internetworldstats.com}}{{Cite web |title=Individuals using the Internet (% of population) – Turkmenistan |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=TM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415025356/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=TM |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=27 January 2021 |website=World bank}}

{{Main|Public holidays in Turkmenistan}}

Holidays in Turkmenistan are laid out in the Constitution of Turkmenistan. Holidays in Turkmenistan practiced internationally include New Year's Day, Nowruz, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha. Turkmenistan exclusive holidays include Melon Day, Turkmen Woman's Day, and the Day of Remembrance for Saparmurat Niyazov.

{{Main|Education in Turkmenistan}}

File:Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (251).jpg

Education is universal and mandatory through the secondary level. Under former President Niyazov, the total duration of primary and secondary education was reduced from 10 to 9 years. President Berdimuhamedov restored 10-year education as of the 2007–2008 school year. Effective 2013, general education in Turkmenistan was expanded to three-stages lasting 12 years: elementary school (grades 1–3), high school – the first cycle of secondary education with duration of 5 years (grades 4–8), and secondary school (grades 9–12).{{Cite web |date=2 March 2013 |title=Turkmenistan adopts 12-year secondary education |url=http://en.trend.az/regions/casia/turkmenistan/2125523.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504041327/http://en.trend.az/regions/casia/turkmenistan/2125523.html |archive-date=4 May 2013 |access-date=28 July 2014 |website=Trend}}{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan: golden age |url=http://turkmenistan.gov.tm/_eng/?id=1950 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809053308/http://turkmenistan.gov.tm/_eng/?id=1950 |archive-date=9 August 2014 |website=turkmenistan.gov.tm}}

At the end of the 2019–20 academic year, nearly 80,000 Turkmen pupils graduated from high school.{{Cite web |date=25 May 2020 |title=Состоялись мероприятия по случаю окончания учебного года |url=http://tdh.gov.tm/news/articles.aspx&article22752&cat15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527225019/http://tdh.gov.tm/news/articles.aspx%26article22752%26cat15 |archive-date=27 May 2020 |access-date=16 December 2021 |publisher=Государственное информационное агентство Туркменистана (TDH) – Туркменистан сегодня |language=ru}} As of the 2019–20 academic year, 12,242 of these students were admitted to institutions of higher education in Turkmenistan. An additional 9,063 were admitted to the country's 42 vocational colleges.{{Cite news |title=ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ |language=ru |url=https://www.mfa.gov.tm/ru/articles/8 |url-status=live |access-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033554/https://www.mfa.gov.tm/ru/articles/8 |archive-date=15 April 2021}} An estimated 95,000 Turkmen students were enrolled in institutions of higher education abroad as of Autumn 2019.{{Cite news |date=6 December 2019 |title=Эксперт назвал количество туркменских студентов за рубежом |language=Russian |publisher=CentralAsia.news |url=https://centralasia.news/5665-jekspert-nazval-kolichestvo-turkmenskih-studentov-za-rubezhom.html |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033254/https://centralasia.news/5665-jekspert-nazval-kolichestvo-turkmenskih-studentov-za-rubezhom.html |archive-date=15 April 2021}}

{{See also|Ashgabat#Architecture}}{{No sources|section|date=April 2025}}

The tasks for modern Turkmen architecture are diverse application of modern aesthetics, the search for an architect's own artistic style, and inclusion of the existing historico-cultural environment. Most major new buildings, especially those in Ashgabat, are faced with white marble. Major projects such as Turkmenistan Tower, Bagt köşgi, Alem Cultural and Entertainment Center, Ashgabat Flagpole have transformed the country's skyline and promote its identity as a modern, contemporary city.

{{Further|Sports in Turkmenistan}}{{No sources|section|date=April 2025}}

The most popular sport in Turkmenistan is football. The national team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. However, the team has appeared twice at the AFC Asian Cup, in 2004 and 2019; they failed to advance past the group stage in both editions. Another popular sport is archery; Turkmenistan holds league and local competitions for archery. International sports events hosted in Turkmenistan include; the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships.

{{Portal|Asia|Turkmenistan|}}

• Outline of Turkmenistan
• Index of Turkmenistan-related articles

{{Clear}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{reflist}}

{{See also|Bibliography of the history of Central Asia}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |last=Abazov |first=Rafis |title=Historical Dictionary of Turkmenistan |date=2005 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5362-1}}
• {{Cite book |last=Blackwell |first=Carole |url=https://www.routledge.com/Tradition-and-Society-in-Turkmenistan-Gender-Oral-Culture-and-Song/Blackwell/p/book/9781138862487 |title=Tradition and Society in Turkmenistan: Gender, Oral Culture and Song |date=2001 |publisher=Curzon |isbn=0-7007-1354-9 |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429102944/https://www.routledge.com/Tradition-and-Society-in-Turkmenistan-Gender-Oral-Culture-and-Song/Blackwell/p/book/9781138862487 |archive-date=29 April 2021 |url-status=live}}
• {{Cite book |last=Brummel |first=Paul |title=Bradt Travel Guide: Turkmenistan |date=2006 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-84162-144-9}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Clammer |first1=Paul |title=Lonely Planet Guide: Central Asia |last2=Kohn |first2=Michael |last3=Mayhew |first3=Bradley |date=2014 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74179-953-8}}
• {{Cite book |last=Clement |first=Victoria |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/book/learning-to-become-turkmen-literacy-language-and-power-1914-2014 |title=Learning to Become Turkmen |date=2018 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |isbn=978-0822964636 |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421080226/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/book/learning-to-become-turkmen-literacy-language-and-power-1914-2014 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |url-status=live}}
• {{Cite book |last=Edgar |first=Adrienne Lynn |url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691127996/tribal-nation |title=Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan |date=2004 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12799-6 |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421080226/https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691127996/tribal-nation |archive-date=21 April 2022 |url-status=live}}
• {{Cite book |last=Hopkirk |first=Peter |title=The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia |title-link=The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia |date=1992 |publisher=Kodansha International |isbn=978-1-56836-022-5 |author-link=Peter Hopkirk}}
• {{Cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Robert |title=Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus |date=2001 |publisher=Vintage |isbn=978-0-3757-0576-2}}
• {{Cite book |last=Kropf |first=John |title=Unknown Sands: Journeys Around the World's Most Isolated Country |date=2006 |publisher=Dusty Spark Publishing |isbn=978-0-9763-5651-6}}
• {{Cite book |last=Lobanov-Rostovsky |first=Andrei |title=Russia and Asia |date=1965 |publisher=George Wahr Publishing Co. |isbn=978-1-1259-8932-6 |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Nahaylo |first1=Bohdan |title=Soviet Disunion: A History of the Nationalities problem in the USSR |last2=Swoboda |first2=Victor |date=1990 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=0029224012}}
• {{Cite book |last=Rall |first=Ted |url=https://archive.org/details/silkroadtoruinis0000rall |title=Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East? |date=2006 |publisher=NBM Publishing |isbn=978-1-56163-454-5 |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book |last=Rashid |first=Ahmed |title=The Resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism? |date=2017}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Rasizade |first=Alec |date=October 2003 |title=Turkmenbashi and his Turkmenistan |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110266765.html |journal=Contemporary Review |publisher=Oxford |volume=283 |pages=197–206 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106030453/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110266765.html |archive-date=6 January 2007 |number=1653}}
• {{Cite book |title=The Nationalities Question in the Soviet Union |date=1995 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Graham |edition=2nd}}
• {{Cite magazine |last=Theroux |first=Paul |date=28 May 2007 |title=The Golden Man: Saparmurat Niyazov's reign of insanity |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/05/28/the-golden-man |url-status=live |magazine=The New Yorker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522115155/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/05/28/the-golden-man |archive-date=22 May 2021 |access-date=2 November 2015}}
• {{Cite book |last=Vilmer |first=Jean-Baptiste |title=Turkménistan |date=2009 |publisher=Editions Non Lieu |isbn=978-2352700685 |language=French}}

{{Refend}}

{{Sister project links|voy=Turkmenistan}}

• [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/turkmenistan/ "Turkmenistan"]. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• [http://vk.com/moderntm Modern Turkmenistan photos]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080607085919/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/turkmenistan.htm Turkmenistan] at UCB Libraries GovPubs
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16094646 Turkmenistan profile] from the BBC News
• {{wikiatlas|Turkmenistan}}
• [https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=7/39.419/58.447 OpenStreetMap online atlas of Turkmenistan]
• [https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Turkmenistan OpenStreetMap wiki article on Turkmenistan]
• {{Wikivoyage inline}}
• [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=TM Key Development Forecasts for Turkmenistan] from International Futures

; Government

• [http://www.turkmenistan.gov.tm/ Turkmenistan government information portal]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090114091910/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-t/turkmenistan.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140722015659/http://tourism.gov.tm/en/ Tourism Committee of Turkmenistan]

; Other

• [https://en.hronikatm.com/ "Chronicles of Turkmenistan". Publication of Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights.]
• [http://www.ashgabat.us/ Official photo gallery from Turkmenistan and Ashgabat]
• [http://www.turkiye-turkmenistan.com/ daily news and analysis in Turkish English and Turkmen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103092439/http://www.turkiye-turkmenistan.com/ |date=3 November 2015 }}

{{Turkmenistan topics}}

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