Turkmenistan Map

Turkmenistan lies between the Caspian Sea and the Amu Darya River, with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the north, Afghanistan to the south-east and Iran to the south. It has no access to the open ocean, but it does have a long Caspian shoreline facing Azerbaijan and Russia across the water. The population is about 7.6 million (UN World Population Prospects, 2025 estimate); the government's own December 2022 census counted 7.06 million, a figure some independent observers doubt. Since 1995 the country has followed a policy of "permanent neutrality", which the UN General Assembly formally recognised that year, and it remains one of the most closed states in the world to visitors and foreign media.

The Karakum and its oases

Roughly 70 percent of Turkmenistan is covered by the Karakum ("black sand") Desert, one of the largest sand deserts in the world. Life is concentrated around its edges: along the foot of the Kopet Dag mountains in the south, in the Murghab oasis around Mary, along the Amu Darya in the east and in the Daşoguz oasis in the north. These places are tied together by the Karakum Canal, a Soviet project begun in the 1950s that carries Amu Darya water more than 1,100 km westward across the desert. It made large-scale cotton farming possible, and it is also one of the reasons the Aral Sea shrank.

The Kopet Dag forms the border with Iran and shelters Ashgabat. The country's highest point, Aýrybaba (about 3,140 m), is far to the east in the Köýtendag range on the Uzbek border, a limestone area known for caves and dinosaur footprints. On the Caspian coast the huge, shallow Garabogazköl lagoon evaporates seawater so fast that it is one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth.

Climate and when to visit

The climate is extreme continental desert. Summer temperatures in the Karakum often pass 45°C, and Repetek in the east has recorded about 50°C. Winters are short but can bring frost and snow, especially in the north. Spring (April-May) and autumn (late September-October) are by far the best seasons for travel. Most visitors need a tourist visa arranged through a licensed agency with a set itinerary, or a short transit visa.

Ashgabat and the main cities

• Ashgabat - The capital, with about 1.03 million people in the 2022 census. Flattened by the 1948 earthquake, it was rebuilt after independence with hundreds of white-marble buildings; in 2013 Guinness World Records listed it as the city with the highest density of white-marble buildings.
• Türkmenabat - The main city of the east, on the Amu Darya, where the railway from Uzbekistan's Bukhara crosses into Turkmenistan.
• Mary - An oasis city on the Murghab River, near the ruins of ancient Merv and close to the Galkynysh gas field.
• Daşoguz - The northern regional centre, close to the medieval minarets and mausoleums of Kunya-Urgench.
• Türkmenbaşy - The Caspian port and refinery town, with ferries to Baku, near the state-built Awaza resort.

The country is divided into five provinces (welaýatlar): Ahal, Balkan, Daşoguz, Lebap and Mary. Ashgabat is administered separately as a city with provincial status, and a new administrative city, Arkadag, opened near the capital in 2023.

Gas, pipelines and neutrality

Turkmenistan holds some of the largest proven natural gas reserves in the world, usually ranked fourth after Russia, Iran and Qatar, and the Galkynysh field near Mary is one of the largest gas fields ever found. Since 2009 most exports have gone east through the Central Asia-China pipeline, which crosses Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The long-planned TAPI pipeline to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India has made slow progress. Westward exports across the Caspian have been discussed for decades but not built.

Politically the country has been run by a strong presidency since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Saparmurat Niyazov ("Turkmenbashi") ruled until his death in 2006, followed by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. In 2022 his son Serdar Berdimuhamedow became president, while the father remains influential as chairman of the People's Council. Turkmenistan stays outside military blocs and the Eurasian Economic Union and is an associate member of the CIS.

Ancient sites

Turkmenistan has five UNESCO World Heritage sites. Merv, once one of the largest cities of the medieval Islamic world, preserves the mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar among its walled ruins. Nisa, near Ashgabat, was an early capital of the Parthian Empire. Kunya-Urgench was the capital of medieval Khorezm, and its Kutlug-Timur minaret is the tallest in Central Asia. The country also shares two sites added in 2023: the Zarafshan-Karakum Silk Road corridor and the Cold Winter Deserts of Turan.

Interesting Facts

• The Darvaza gas crater in the central Karakum, nicknamed the "Gates of Hell", has been burning since the Soviet era (the exact start date is uncertain). In 2025 officials said they had cut its flames sharply by drilling wells to draw gas away, but it is still alight.
• The Akhal-Teke horse, prized for its endurance and metallic sheen, appears on the state emblem, and the country celebrates a national horse day each April.
• Five carpet designs (göls), each linked to one of the main Turkmen tribes, run down the red stripe of the national flag.
• Turkmen switched from Cyrillic to a Latin alphabet in 1993.