Turkmenistan Country Profile

General Information

Capital: Ashgabat

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

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

Currency: Manat

Cryptocurrency: There’s no concrete information regarding virtual currencies’ legal status in Turkmenistan. Cryptocurrency is limited to purchase in foreign currency, which is hard to get a hold of due to Government limiting access to foreign currency.

GMT: (+) 5

About Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia and is bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran, as well as the Caspian Sea to the west. Turkmenistan has a population of 5.35 million, the 119^th most populous country in the world, with around 50% of this population living in or around the capital Ashgabat owing to the vast Karakum Desert that covers over 70% of the nation; 746,000 live within the capital itself. The official language is Turkmen, but Russian and Uzbek are also commonly spoken amongst their respective ethnic minority groups. The majority religion is Sunni Islam, with a minority of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

In terms of commercial risk, Turkmenistan is seen as a fairly high-risk country owing to a high risk political and economic situation. In security terms Turkmenistan is relatively stable, particularly in relation to its Central Asian neighbours. Turkmenistan is a United Nations-recognised permanently neutral state and as such much of the security apparatus is focused on border and internal security. Thus, there is a high level of security along the border with Afghanistan, where Islamist groups are present. There is no recent history of terrorism in Turkmenistan, however, attacks in the future cannot be ruled out.

Turkmenistan is a corrupt nation and is ranked in Transparency International’s 2016 Corruption Index at 154 of 176 countries. There is widespread corruption in every public institution and across the entire economy. A law ‘On Combatting Corruption’ introduced a range of corruption offenses, but it is inadequately enforced and investigations are politically motivated.

Turkmenistan is largely a mono-economy, as mineral products form over 90% of the export economy. The current GDP stands at US$41.67 billion and growth is forecast around the 5-6% mark annually until 2020. The official currency is the Turkmenistan Manat.

The Turkmenistan Constitution defines the state as a democratic presidential republic, although in reality the state is highly authoritarian. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow is the current head of government and wielder of executive power: the cabinet is appointed by the President. Presidential elections are held every seven years with the last elections held in February 2017: Berdimuhamedow was re-elected with 97.7% of the vote. The National Assembly makes up the Turkmen legislative branch, with members elected by absolute majority vote, although all member parties currently support President Berdimuhamedow.

Turkmenistan is rich in gas reserves although the majority of the population being impoverished. It produces roughly 70 billion cubic metres of natural gas each year and about two thirds of its exports go to Russia. Turkmenistan also has a reputation as an island of stability in restive Central Asia.