Turkmenistan Area Code

+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 Area Code

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.