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Turkmenistan
Türkmenistan
   Turkmenistan is located north-east of Iran, on the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea, and is one of the republics born after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Much of the territory corresponds to the barren desert plain of Karakum; the country's economy is based on the cultivation of cotton and the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources (natural gas and to a lesser extent oil) of the subsoil.
Government type Presidential republic
Area 491,210 km² (189,657 sq mi)
Population 7,058,000 inh. (2022 census)
Population density 14 inh/km² (37 inh/mi²)
Capital Ashgabat (1,030,000 pop., 1,241,000 urban aggl.)
Currency Turkmenistani manat
Human development index 0.745 (91st place)
Languages Turkmen (official), Russian, Uzbek
Life expectancy M 66 years, F 73 years
Location in Asia

Boundaries:

Kazakhstan NORTH-WEST
Uzbekistan NORTH-EAST
Afghanistan SOUTH-EAST
Iran SOUTH

GEOGRAPHY DATA OF TURKMENISTAN


Largest cities
Ashgabat 1,030,000 pop., 1,241,000 urban aggl.
Türkmenabat 256,000 pop.
Dasoguz 210,000 pop.
Highest mountains
Aırybaba 3,139 m (10,299 ft)
Mount Rizeh 2,912 m (9,554 ft)
Longest rivers
Amu Darya 2,540 km (1,578 mi) total, including parts in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Largest lakes
Caspian Sea 371,000 km² (143,244 sq mi) total, shared with Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Iran
Sarygamysh 5,000 km² (1,931 sq mi) total average area including section in Uzbekistan, about 3/4 of the lake belongs to Turkmenistan
Largest islands
Ogurja Ada (in the Caspian Sea) 60 km² (26 sq mi)

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS OF TURKMENISTAN

   Turkmenistan is administratively divided into 5 provinces, to which the district of the capital Ashgabat must be added; Balkan, which constitutes the westernmost part of the territory and overlooks the Caspian Sea, is both the largest and the least populated province; Mary, on the other hand, is the province that hosts the largest number of inhabitants.

   The latest data regarding the inhabited centers date back to 1999, year in which there were 9 cities with at least 50,000 inhabitants, but with only the capital which had a population of over 500,000 units.






Ashgabat