+993 is the dialing code for Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia and has a coast towards the Caspian Sea to the west. The country consists almost entirely of desert. Until independence in 1991, Turkmenistan was a sub-republic in the Soviet Union. Today, the country is ruled by an authoritarian regime that is criticized for violating the human rights of its citizens. Turkmenistan has large assets in the form of natural gas and oil.
- Abbreviationfinder: Brief profiles of Turkmenistan, including geography, history, politics, economics as well as common acronyms about this country.
Geography and climate
Turkmenistan in Central Asia is on the surface slightly larger than Sweden and comprises 90 percent of the vast Karakum desert. The country has a distinct inland climate with hot summers and cold winters. Even during a day, the temperature varies greatly.
In the west, Turkmenistan has a long coastline towards the Caspian Sea, in the northwest it borders Kazakhstan, in the north to Uzbekistan, in the south to Iran and in the southeast to Afghanistan.
The Amu-Darja River flows through the easternmost part of the country before continuing into Uzbek territory and into the Aral Sea. Through the Karakum Canal, which is more than 140 km long, water from Amu-Darja is diverted to Turkmenistan’s cotton field. This has contributed to the Aral Sea being now partially dehydrated.
Country Facts
Geography
| Cultivated land | 72 % |
| Land area | 488100 km 2 |
Population and health
| Population development | 1.14 ‰ |
| Urban population (Urbanization) | 50 % |
| Death rate | 6.13 per 1000 residents |
| Life expectancy: Women | 72.93 years |
| Life expectancy: Men | 66.77 years |
| Birth rate | 19.4 births per 1000 residents |
| HDI index | 0.688 |
| Population | 5231422 |
| Infant mortality | 36.82 deaths / 1000 births |
Population Graph Source: Countryaah.com
Energy
| Electricity, production | 22300 million kWh |
| Energy consumption per resident | 4943 kg. oil per resident |
| Natural gas, production | 84800 million cubic meters |
| Crude oil, production | 13 million tons |
Infrastructure
| Internet users | 8.0 per 100 residents |
| Mobile subscriptions | 139 per 100 residents |
| Passenger cars | 106 per 1000 residents |
Business and economics
| Unemployment | 11% of the workforce |
| GDP | 16400 per resident |
| Primary occupations | 48.2 % |
| Secondary profession | 14 % |
| Tertiary professions | 37.8 % |
Turkmenistan is largely a plain and less than four percent of the land is arable. Its lowest point, 110 meters below sea level, lies on Lake Sarygamyş Köli in the north. Highland is found in the border regions against Afghanistan and Iran. In the mountain range Buy Day against Iran there are peaks of about 3000 meters above sea level. The country’s highest mountain, Airibaba, reaches 3 139 meters altitude.
The area around Purchase Day is subject to earthquakes. The capital, Ashgabat (Aşgabat), located at the foot of the mountain range, was destroyed in a severe earthquake in 1948.
The large temperature changes are most pronounced in the Karakum desert; there it can get 50 degrees hot, while the temperature in winter is sometimes below 30 min.
The rainfall is low throughout the country and the humidity is low. It rains most in the spring in the mountain areas in the west.
FACTS – GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Surface
488 199 km2 (2018)
Time
Swedish +4 hours
Adjacent country (s)
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran
Capital with number of residents
Ashgabat (Aşgabat) 828,000
Other major cities
Turkmenabat, Tasjaouz, Mary
Highest mountain
Airibaba (3 139 m asl)
Important rivers
Amu-Darja, Murgab
Largest lake
Sarygamys Köli
Average Precipitation / year
80–300 mm
Average / day
–4 °C (Jan), 28 °C (July)
2013
December
Parliamentary elections with formal challengers
December 15
Turkmenistan holds for the first time an election in which representatives of a party other than Turkmenistan’s democratic party are running for office. The Party for Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, as well as some regimented groups for women, participate young people and others. The Government Party receives 47 seats, the Party for Industrialists and Entrepreneurs receives 14 seats and the government-loyal groupings take home the remaining seats. Thus, the government controls 111 of the 125 mandates. The Election Commission states that turnout is just over 91 percent, while independent election observers indicate a significantly lower turnout. The planned Farmer’s Party has not yet been formed (see March 2012).
September
Gas agreement with Afghanistan
Turkmenistan and Afghanistan sign a 30-year agreement on gas delivery.
August
The president leaves the party
President Berdimuhamedow announces that in a multi-party system it is inappropriate for the president to be party-politically bound. He therefore leaves his membership and chairmanship of the ruling Turkmenistan Democratic Party.
April
Western criticism of MRI crime
At a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turkmenistan receives stinging criticism from the US and Western European countries for continued repression against dissent and the use of torture in detention and prisons.
January
Increased media freedom is offered
President Berdimuhamedow signs a new media law that prohibits censorship and “monopoly in the media”, gives all citizens the right to own media companies and guarantees freedom of press and expression. Media organizations such as Reporters Without Borders, however, say that the law is only to mitigate the world’s criticism of the regime’s total control over the Turkmen media and that it will hardly mean any real improvement in the media situation.