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Central Asia

Turkmenistan

Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan.

Muslim population93%of the population

Population7.1 millionpeople (current)

CapitalAshgabatUTC+5

Currency4.13 = $1Turkmenistani manat (TMM) (2017)

Country basics

Turkmenistan is a Central Asian republic on the Caspian Sea, mostly covered by the Karakum desert.

Turkmenistan is a republic with Ashgabat as its capital and Turkmen as its official language, and it holds a declared policy of permanent neutrality. The manat is the currency, and natural gas piped to China leads its exports.

Official name

Turkmenistan

Region

Asia · Central Asia

Government

Unitary presidential republic under a totalitarian hereditary dictatorship

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+05:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+993

Currency

Turkmenistan manat (TMT, m)

Member of

Website

https://www.turkmenistan.gov.tm

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 93%, Christian 6.4%, Buddhist <1%, folk religion <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified <1%

Languages

Russian; Turkmen

People and cities

Population

7.1 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

31.6 years (2025)

Living in cities

54% (2023)

Largest cities

Ashgabat (capital) 902,000

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

4.13 Turkmenistani manat (TMM) per US dollar (2017)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$18,000 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

11.5% (2022)

Unemployment

4.4% (2024)

Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending

36.5% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

72.4 years (2024)

Doctors

1.93 per 1,000 people (2023)

Hospital beds

4 per 1,000 people (2021)

Safe drinking water

100% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

21% of people (2017)

Literacy

99.9% of adults (2022)

Land and climate

Climate

Subtropical desert

SizeSlightly more than three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California

488,100 sq km

Natural hazards

Earthquakes; mudslides; droughts; dust storms; floods

National holiday

Independence Day, 27 October (1991)