Country · Asia
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia. About 5.9 million people live there, in an area of 488 100 square kilometres. Its capital city is Ashgabat.
Picture credit: John Pavelka (CC BY 2.0) · Allan Mustard (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Bjørn Christian Tørrissen (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Juris Paiders (CC BY 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Turkmenistan?
Turkmenistan lies in Central Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 4 453 km from the equator.
Turkmenistan is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 4 countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
How big is Turkmenistan?
Turkmenistan covers 488 100 square kilometres.
That is about 12 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 52nd largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 12 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Turkmenistan?
About 5.9 million people live in Turkmenistan.
That is the 112th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Russian and Turkmen.
They pay with the Turkmenistan manat (m).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 61 years.
The land of Turkmenistan
The land of Turkmenistan sits on average 230 metres above sea level.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 4 neighbours to get here.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Turkmenistan different?
A dish the country is known for: Palaw.
Websites from here often end in .tm.
Turkmenistan and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Turkmenistan.
It takes up about 0.37 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 14th of 46 by size, and 34th by population.
Turkmenistan and its neighbours
Kazakhstan, its largest neighbour, is about 5.6 times bigger.
Kazakhstan has more people: 18.3 million against 5.9 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Turkmenistan: Beluga sturgeon. The highest mountain in the country is Ayribaba, at 3 138 metres. The longest river in the country is the Amu Darya. The largest lake in the country is Caspian Sea.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Turkmenistan compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 19 times as big as Turkmenistan: 9 372 610 km² against 488 100 km².
- Turkmenistan is about 2 times as big as the United Kingdom: 488 100 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Turkmenistan?
The capital of Turkmenistan is Ashgabat. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Turkmenistan?
About 5.9 million people live in Turkmenistan, which makes it the 112th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Turkmenistan?
Turkmenistan borders Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan — 4 neighbours in total.
How big is Turkmenistan?
Turkmenistan covers 488 100 square kilometres, making it the 52nd largest country in the world. That is about 12 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Turkmenistan?
The highest mountain in Turkmenistan is Ayribaba, 3 138 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Turkmenistan?
The longest river in Turkmenistan is the Amu Darya. The whole river measures about 2 400 kilometres, and part of that course runs through the country.
What is the largest lake in Turkmenistan?
The largest lake in Turkmenistan is Caspian Sea. The whole lake covers about 371 000 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Turkmenistan in?
Turkmenistan is in Asia, in the part called Central Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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