Travelling Club - Turkmenistan

Fact Sheet: Turkmenistan

• Location: Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
• Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 60 00 E
• Area: total: 488,100 sq km
• Climate: subtropical desert
• Terrain: flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
• Natural hazards: NA
• Population: 5,042,920 (July 2006 est.)
• Ethnic groups: Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
• Religions: Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
• Languages: Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
• Government type: republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
• Capital: name: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
• Currency code: Turkmen manat (TMM)
• Exchange rates: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 Turkmen manats to the dollar; the official rate has consistently been 5,200 manat to the dollar
• Internet country code: .tm
• Airports: 29 (2006)