Country	Turkmenistan
Capital	Ashgabat
Continent	Asia
Currency	Turkmen new manat(TMT)
Languages	Turkmen, Russian & Uzbek

Locaion

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

Geographic Co ordinates

40 00 N, 60 00 E

Land Boundries

Total:3,736 km
Border countries:Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km

Geography - note

landlocked; the western and central low-lying desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau

Population

4,940,916 (July 2010 est.)
Country comparison to the world:115

Nationality

Noun:Turkmen(s)
Adjective:Turkmen

Ethnic groups

Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)

Religions

Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%

Languages

Turkmen (official) 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%

Country Name

Conventional long form:none
Conventional short form:Turkmenistan
Local long form:none
Local short form:Turkmenistan
Former:Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic

Government Type

defines itself as a secular democracy and a presidential republic; in actuality displays authoritarian presidential rule, with power concentrated within the executive branch

Capital

Name:Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
Geographic coordinates:37 57 N, 58 23 E
Time difference:UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions

5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat) and 1 independent city*: Ahal Welayaty (Anew), Ashgabat*, Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Independence

27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National Holiday

Independence Day, 27 October (1991)

Constitution

adopted 26 September 2008

Legal system

transitioning to civil law system and influenced by Islamic law tradition; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state:President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government:President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 14 February 2007)
Cabinet:Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president
(For more information visit the World Leaders website)
Elections:president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 11 February 2007 (next to be held in February 2012)
Election results:Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW elected president; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW 89.2%, Amanyaz ATAJYKOW 3.2%, other candidates 7.6%

Legislative branch

unicameral parliament known as the National Assembly (Mejlis) (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections:last held on 14 December 2008 (next to be held in December 2013)
Election results:100% of elected officials are members of either the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or its pseudo-civil society parent organization, the Revival Movement, and are preapproved by the president
note: in 26 September 2008, a new constitution of Turkmenistan abolished a second, 2,507-member legislative body known as the People's Council and expanded the number of deputies in the National Assembly from 65 to 125; the powers formerly held by the People's Council were divided up between the president and the National Assembly

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Political Parties and Leaders

Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist abroad; the three most prominent opposition groups-in-exile are the National Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan (NDMT), the Republican Party of Turkmenistan, and the Watan (Fatherland) Party; the NDMT was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 attack on President NYYAZOW's motorcade

Political pressure groups and leaders

none

International organization participation

ADB, CIS (associate); note - has not ratified the 1993 CIS charter although it participates in the meetings, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US

Chief of mission:Ambassador Meret Bairamovich ORAZOW
Chancery:2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone:[1] (202) 588-1500
FAX:[1] (202) 588-0697

Diplomatic representation from the US

Chief of mission:Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sylvia Reed CURRAN
Embassy:No. 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 744000
Mailing address:7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070
Telephone:[993] (12) 35-00-45
FAX:[993] (12) 39-26-14

Flag description

green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five tribal guls (designs used in producing carpets) stacked above two crossed olive branches; five white stars and a white crescent moon appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe; the green color and crescent moon represent Islam, the five stars symbolize the regions or welayats of Turkmenistan

Video

View Larger Map

Government - Government - Turkmenistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry Of Education
Newspapers -  Eurasia Insight Turkmenistan NewsCentralAsia Turkmenistan News.Net
                              Radio Free Europe Turkmenistan Transitions Online: Turkmenistan
                              Turkmenistan.ru GĂĽndogar
Tourism -         Ministry Of Tourism

Google News

This RSS feed URL is deprecatedThis RSS feed URL is deprecated, please update. New URLs can be found in the footers at https://news.google.com/news Student In Turkey 'Tricked Back' To Turkmenistan And Imprisoned - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Student In Turkey 'Tricked Back' To Turkmenistan And Imprisoned RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Just six months ago, Omriuzak Omarkulyev was a successful university student in Turkey. Now he is in a Turkmen prison serving a long sentence. A citizen of Turkmenistan, Omarkulyev had founded a "community of Turkmen students" in Turkey while he was ... Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia completes his diplomatic mission in Turkmenistan - AKIpress (press release) AKIpress (press release) Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia completes his diplomatic mission in Turkmenistan AKIpress (press release) AKIPRESS.COM - Ambassador of Slovenia to Turkmenistan (based in Moscow) Primož Šeligo, was received by the Turkmen Foreign Ministry on the occasion of completion of his diplomatic mission in Turkmenistan. During the meeting, the Ambassador ... and more » Turkmenistan to build Ashgabat-Turkmenabat highway - Trend News Agency Trend News Agency Turkmenistan to build Ashgabat-Turkmenabat highway Trend News Agency Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 18. By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend: Turkmenawtoban OJSC will build a high-speed highway between the Turkmen cities of Ashgabat and Turkmenabat, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported June 18. In accordance with ... Turkmenistan's mommy issues - EurasiaNet EurasiaNet Turkmenistan's mommy issues EurasiaNet A headline in Turkmenistan's state media declaring the bouncing health of the nation's economy did more than just announce figures. It encapsulated the government's entire gravity-denying policy-making ethos. “The results from January to May are ... Spinning Its Wheels: With Turkmenistan In A Skid, Berdymukhammedov Pedals On - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Spinning Its Wheels: With Turkmenistan In A Skid, Berdymukhammedov Pedals On RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Turkmenistan's president proudly led 3,246 bicyclists as they pedaled to a Guinness world record on June 1, a few days before World Bicycle Day, which was established by the UN General Assembly on Ashgabat's initiative. But even as President Gurbanguly ... RFE/RL Correspondent Roughed Up -- Again -- In Turkmenistan - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty RFE/RL Correspondent Roughed Up -- Again -- In Turkmenistan RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty That incident came two days after Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hajiyev said at a hearing of the UN Human Rights Council on Turkmenistan in Geneva on May 7 that "the fact that Radio Liberty correspondents work freely in the country" proves that there is ... Turkmenistan's president effects radical switch-around of top security officials - EurasiaNet EurasiaNet Turkmenistan's president effects radical switch-around of top security officials EurasiaNet The head of the Interior Ministry, Isgender Mulikov, might be the only person in Turkmenistan's security bloc deemed to be doing his job correctly. Not only did he hold onto his post, but he was also promoted from General-Major to General-Lieutenant ... Germany, Switzerland buy oil products from Turkmenistan - Trend News Agency Trend News Agency Germany, Switzerland buy oil products from Turkmenistan Trend News Agency Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 18. By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend: Twenty-eight deals were registered at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan last week, the state-run exchange said in a message June 18. Entrepreneurs from ... Foreign companies struggle in cash-strapped Turkmenistan - Reuters Reuters Foreign companies struggle in cash-strapped Turkmenistan Reuters Turkmenistan, with the world's fourth-largest gas reserves, is still awarding contracts to foreign and domestic firms, but some projects have stalled and the International Monetary Fund says it should cut spending or devalue its currency, the manat TMT=. Hunger And Eviction: Money Woes Send Turkmen Students Abroad Scrambling - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Hunger And Eviction: Money Woes Send Turkmen Students Abroad Scrambling RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty "In the Republic of Turkmenistan, VISA continues to process and provide services to all partner banks as usual, we have not suspended the provision of services to banks in Turkmenistan and are working closely with banks with partners, trade and service ...