Turkmenistan - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Turkmenistan. 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. Mother's mean age at first birth is 24.2 years (2019) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 5 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Geographical data of Turkmenistan
Location Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Geographic coordinates 40 00 N, 60 00 E
Map references Asia
Tarrain 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 Resources petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Natural Hazards earthquakes; mudslides; droughts; dust storms; floods
Irrigated Land 16,459 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km) Amu Darya (shared with Tajikistan [s], Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km

note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 4,158 km
Border Countries Afghanistan 804 km; Iran 1,148 km; Kazakhstan 413 km; Uzbekistan 1,793 km
Coastline 0 km (landlocked)
Climate subtropical desert
Area
Total Area
Land Area 469,930 sq km
Water Area 18,170 sq km
comparative Area slightly more than three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California
Maritime Claims
Elevations
Highest point Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
Lowest point Vpadina Akchanaya (Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya, the lake has dropped as low as -110 m) -81 m
Mean elevation 230 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 84.3% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 3.4% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.1% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 80.8% (2022 est.)
Forest 8.8% (2022 est.)
Other 7% (2022 est.)
Population Distribution

The most densely populated areas are the southern, eastern, and northeastern oases; approximately 50% of the population lives in and around the capital of Ashgabat

People and Society

In Turkmenistan, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.92% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 16.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 4 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate 2.02 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.99 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Est married women (ages 15-49) 64.3% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures
Net Migration rate -1.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Turkmenistani | Turkmenistani(s)
Languages
Religions Muslim 93%, Christian 6.4%, Buddhist <1%, folk religion <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified <1% (2020 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 24.5% (male 711,784/female 692,967)
15-64 years 68.6% (male 1,956,740/female 1,984,333)
65 years and over 6.9% (2024 est.) (male 174,346/female 223,981)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 45.8 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 35.6 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 10.1 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio 9.9 (2024 est.)
Median Age
Total 31.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 30.7 years
Female 31.7 years
Urbanization
Urban population 54% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 2.23% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 902,000 ASHGABAT (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 35.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 43.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 72.4 years (2024 est.)
Male 69.4 years
Female 75.5 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 99.8% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.65 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 1.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 4.8% (2025 est.)
Male 9.4% (2025 est.)
Female 0.5% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 0.2% (2019)
Women married by age 18 6.1% (2019)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Turkmenistan

Want to know more about Turkmenistan? Check all different factbooks for Turkmenistan below.

Turkmenistan is found in Central Asia