Country Info

Turkmenistan

Geography
Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia and borders with Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Caspian Sea. Its territory is 488,100 square kilometers, of which approximately 80% is desert. The main rivers are the Amu-Darya, Tejen, Murgab and Sumbar. Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan located in the southern part of the country. Turkmenistan is divided into five administrative regions (velayats): Ahal, Balkan, Lebap, Mary and Dashogus each consisting of several districts (etraps). The main sea port of Turkmenistan is Turkmenbashi (former Krasnovodsk) on the Caspian Sea. 

Population
According to Government statistics, population of Turkmenistan is 6.7 million (2006). Of the total population, 47.4% live in the urban areas.The largest ethnic group in the country is Turkmen.Other ethnic groupsinclude Uzbek, Russian,  Kazak, Tatar,Ukrainian, Armenian and Azerbaijani. The Turkmen language is the official state language. However, in most of the urban areas theRussian language continues to be widely spoken. Majority of the population is Sunni Muslim. There are also Russian Orthodox, Armenian Christian and other confessions in Turkmenistan.  

History
Despite its rich past history, Turkmenistan is a relatively young state. It declared its independence in October 1991 and following the dissolution of the Soviet Union it became the member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In March 1992, Turkmenistan became a member of the United Nations (UN) and on 12 December 1995 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the status of permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan, which has become the guiding principle of Turkmenistan's foreign policy.

Political System
Turkmenistan’s political system and decision-making structures remain highly centralized and are characterized by a strong presidency. Mr. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the current President of Turkmenistan was elected on 14 February 2007 and received 89.23 % of the votes cast. Under the presidency of Mr. Berdymukhammedov, the new Government has initiated the reforms in different areas, including the agriculture, information and communication technologies, economy, education, local governance and other areas. Democratic Party of Turkmenistan is the only political party. Legislative branch is represented by unicameral Mejlis (Parliament) consisting of fifty members elected directly by constituencies through an absolute majority of the votes cast. The latest elections took place in December 2004.

Economy 
Turkmenistan  has a highly specialized  economy,  which largely depends on export of natural gas, oil and cotton. Its per capita Gross Domestic Product is US$ 3.838, and its Human Development Index value is 0.713, which ranks it 105th among 177 countries. Vast hydrocarbon resources of the country make it an important player in world energy markets. Turkmenistan's natural gas reserves rank it among top ten in the world. Due to the resumption of energy exports in the late 1990s, Turkmenistan has been experiencing steady positive growth during 1998-2003. Realizing the need for diversification of productive base and reducing the country’s reliance on income flowing from exports of hydrocarbon resources, the Government has announced the reforms in the economic sector in 2007.