Demographics of Turkmenistan

The Demographics of Turkmenistan is about the demographic features of the population of Turkmenistan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The ethnic majority in Turkmenistan call themselves Turkmen.

Population of Turkmenistan (in millions) from 1950 to 2009.

"Turkmenistani" redirects here. For other uses, see Turkmen (disambiguation).

Demographics of Turkmenistan
Population pyramid of Turkmenistan in 2020
Population	7,057,841 [1] (2022 est.)
Growth rate	0.99% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	17.51 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	71.83 years
• male	68.8 years
• female	75 years
Fertility rate	2.03 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	37.62 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	-1.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	25.44%
65 and over	5.38%
Sex ratio
Total	0.98 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.03 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.59 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Turkmenistani
Language
Official	Turkmen

Demographic trends

See also: Turkmenistan § Migration

The 17 January 1939 census showed a population of 1,251,883, of which 741.5 thousand Turkmen, 232.9 thousand Russians, 107.4 thousand Uzbeks, 61.4 thousand Kazakhs, 19.5 thousand Tatars, 8,300 Iranians, 5,400 Baloch, and 75.5 thousand other nationalities.^[2] The population of Turkmenistan increased from 1.5 million in the 1959 census to 4.5 million in the 1995 census.^[3] The population continued growing to over 5 million in 2001–2006.^[4] According to opposition media, Turkmenistan's population in 2019 was no more than 3.3 million.^[5] As of July 2021, anonymous official sources informed opposition news media that the population of Turkmenistan had fallen to between 2.7 and 2.8 million.^[6]

According to some sources, deteriorating economic conditions have led to massive emigration of Turkmenistanis to other countries in search of work, possibly as many as 1,879,413 between 2008 and 2018, inclusive. Primary destinations are Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.^[5] Between 2013 and 2019, the number of emigrants to Russia from Turkmenistan doubled.^[7] As one consequence, in 2018 Turkmen authorities began barring some citizens, particularly those younger than 40 years of age, from leaving the country in an apparent effort to stem emigration.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

A once-in-a-decade national census was conducted December 17–27, 2022. Opposition media reported that many people claimed not to have been interviewed by census workers, or that census workers merely telephoned respondents, and did not visit them to count residents.^[13][14] According to the results of the 2022 census, the results of which were published in July 2023, the population of Turkmenistan was 7,057,841.^[15][16] However, offshore media disputed that figure, with one source claiming it came out of "thin air".^[17] Official population estimates are likely too high, given known emigration trends.^[18] Population growth has been offset by emigration in search of permanent employment.^{[citation needed]}

Vital statistics

UN estimates

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR1	CDR1	NC1	TFR1	IMR1
1950-1955	55 000	21 000	35 000	43.2	16.2	27.0	6.00	150.0
1955-1960	64 000	23 000	41 000	43.3	15.5	27.8	6.02	140.1
1960-1965	78 000	24 000	53 000	44.6	13.9	30.7	6.75	130.3
1965-1970	77 000	24 000	54 000	38.0	11.7	26.3	6.34	120.4
1970-1975	87 000	24 000	63 000	37.1	10.3	26.8	6.19	110.6
1975-1980	95 000	26 000	69 000	35.3	9.6	25.8	5.32	100.7
1980-1985	107 000	27 000	81 000	35.2	8.7	26.5	4.79	90.9
1985-1990	123 000	28 000	95 000	35.7	8.2	27.4	4.55	81.0
1990-1995	128 000	34 000	94 000	32.9	8.6	24.3	4.03	75.5
1995-2000	106 000	34 000	73 000	25.0	7.8	17.2	3.03	61.3
2000-2005	108 000	36 000	72 000	23.3	7.7	15.6	2.76	51.7
2005-2010	108 000	38 000	70 000	22.1	7.8	14.3	2.50	50.5
2010-2015				21.5	7.8	13.7	2.34
2015-2020				20.0	7.8	12.2	2.22
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

^[19]

Registered births and deaths

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)
1950	1,211,000	46,335	12,411	33,924	38.3	10.2	28.0
1951	1,234,000	46,417	12,707	33,710	37.6	10.3	27.3
1952	1,260,000	49,306	14,775	34,531	39.1	11.7	27.4
1953	1,290,000	48,482	15,567	32,915	37.6	12.1	25.5
1954	1,321,000	51,162	14,650	36,512	38.7	11.1	27.6
1955	1,356,000	55,171	14,075	41,096	40.7	10.4	30.3
1956	1,390,000	53,528	11,783	41,745	38.5	8.5	30.0
1957	1,434,000	55,955	10,940	45,015	39.0	7.6	31.4
1958	1,487,000	59,235	10,987	48,248	39.8	7.4	32.4
1959	1,539,000	60,430	10,594	49,836	39.3	6.9	32.4
1960	1,593,000	67,676	10,433	57,243	42.5	6.5	35.9
1961	1,653,000	67,790	10,841	56,949	41.0	6.6	34.5
1962	1,713,000	68,725	11,772	56,953	40.1	6.9	33.2
1963	1,773,000	70,005	11,098	58,907	39.5	6.3	33.2
1964	1,833,000	69,777	11,623	58,154	38.1	6.3	31.8
1965	1,890,000	70,258	13,152	57,106	37.2	7.0	30.2
1966	1,943,000	73,109	13,036	60,073	37.6	6.7	30.9
1967	2,001,000	71,062	14,043	57,019	35.5	7.0	28.5
1968	2,061,000	73,470	14,223	59,247	35.6	6.9	28.7
1969	2,124,000	72,892	14,754	58,138	34.3	6.9	27.4
1970	2,188,000	77,080	14,370	62,710	35.2	6.6	28.6
1971	2,251,000	78,357	15,031	63,326	34.8	6.7	28.1
1972	2,315,000	78,841	16,680	62,161	34.0	7.2	26.8
1973	2,380,000	82,111	17,336	64,775	34.5	7.3	27.2
1974	2,449,000	84,607	17,766	66,841	34.5	7.2	27.3
1975	2,520,000	87,369	19,876	67,493	34.7	7.9	26.8
1976	2,588,000	90,765	20,040	70,725	35.1	7.7	27.4
1977	2,655,000	91,826	20,801	71,025	34.6	7.8	26.8
1978	2,724,000	93,798	21,847	71,951	34.4	8.0	26.4
1979	2,792,000	97,511	21,583	75,928	34.9	7.7	27.2
1980	2,861,000	98,069	23,863	74,206	34.3	8.3	25.9
1981	2,931,000	100,627	24,883	75,744	34.3	8.5	25.8
1982	3,003,000	104,340	23,984	80,356	34.7	8.0	26.8
1983	3,076,000	108,171	26,015	82,156	35.2	8.5	26.7
1984	3,151,000	111,083	25,760	85,323	35.3	8.2	27.1
1985	3,229,000	116,285	26,080	90,205	36.0	8.1	27.9
1986	3,310,000	122,337	27,865	94,472	37.0	8.4	28.5
1987	3,393,000	126,787	26,802	99,985	37.4	7.9	29.5
1988	3,479,000	125,887	27,317	98,570	36.2	7.9	28.3
1989	3,571,000	124,992	27,609	97,383	35.0	7.7	27.3
1990	3,668,000	125,343	25,755	99,588	34.2	7.0	27.2
1991	3,772,000	126,248	27,403	98,845	33.5	7.3	26.2
1992	3,883,000	131,034	27,509	103,525	33.7	7.1	26.7
1993	3,993,000	130,708	31,171	99,537	32.7	7.8	24.9
1994	4,096,000	129,700	32,067	97,633	31.7	7.8	23.8
1995		130,200
1996		125,400
1997		126,200
1998		121,900
1999		120,100
2000		119,665
2001		115,400
2002		111,039
2003		111,900
2004		115,119
2005		116,209
2006		116,542
2007		103,700
2008		114,900
2009		129,900
2010		144,600

^[20][21]

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[22]

Life expectancy in Turkmenistan since 1950

Life expectancy in Turkmenistan since 1960 by gender

Year	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR
2000	24.6	2.89 (2.66)	20.5	2.46 (2.29)	28.2	3.30 (3.00)

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	51.3	1985–1990	62.8
1955–1960	53.4	1990–1995	62.7
1960–1965	55.5	1995–2000	63.2
1965–1970	57.6	2000–2005	64.2
1970–1975	59.2	2005–2010	65.8
1975–1980	60.2	2010–2015	67.3
1980–1985	61.8

Source: UN World Population Prospects^[23]

Ethnic groups

The table shows the ethnic composition of Turkmenistan's population (in percent) between 1926 and 1995.^[3] There has been a sharp decline in the Slavic ethnic groups (Russians and Ukrainians) and also Kazakhs and Tatars since independence (as captured in the 1979 and 1995 censuses). Uzbeks are now the second largest ethnic group in Turkmenistan, with Russians relegated to the third place. According to data announced in Ashgabat in February 2001, 91% of the population are Turkmen, 3% are Uzbeks, and 2% are Russians. Between 1989 and 2001 the number of Turkmen in Turkmenistan doubled (from 2.5 to 4.9 million), while the number of Russians dropped by two-thirds (from 334,000 to slightly over 100,000).^[24]

Population of Turkmenistan according to ethnic group 1926–2012

Ethnic group	census 19261		census 19392		census 19593		census 19704		census 19795		census 19896		census 19957		census 20128
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Turkmens	719,792	71.9	741,488	59.2	923,724	60.9	1,416,700	65.6	1,891,695	68.4	2,536,606	72.0	3,403,639	76.7	4,066,959	85.6
Uzbeks	104,971	10.5	107,451	8.6	125,231	8.3	179,498	8.3	233,730	8.5	317,333	9.0	408,259	9.2	275,565	5.8
Russians	75,357	7.5	232,924	18.6	262,701	17.3	313,079	14.5	349,170	12.6	333,892	9.5	297,319	6.7	242,307	5.1
Kazakhs	9,471	0.9	61,397	4.9	69,522	4.6	68,519	3.2	79,539	2.9	87,802	2.5	88,752	2.0	19,004	0.4
Azerbaijanis	4,229	0.4	7,442	0.6	12,868	0.8	16,775	0.8	23,548	0.9	33,365	0.9	36,586	0.8	49,852	1.2
Balochi	9,974	1.0	5,396	0.4	7,626	0.5	12,374	0.6	18,584	0.7	28,280	0.8	36,428	0.8
Tatars	4,769	0.5	19,517	1.6	29,946	2.0	36,457	1.7	40,432	1.5	39,277	1.1	35,501	0.8
Armenians	13,859	1.4	15,996	1.3	19,696	1.3	23,054	1.1	26,605	1.0	31,829	0.9	33,638	0.8
Ukrainians	6,877	0.7	21,778	1.7	20,955	1.4	35,398	1.6	37,118	1.3	35,578	1.0	23,064	0.5
Others	51,615	5.2	38,494	3.1	44,106	2.9	57,026	2.6	64,327	2.3	78,755	2.2	71,168	1.7	142,285	3.1
Total	1,000,914		1,251,883		1,516,375		2,158,880		2,764,848		3,522,717		4,434,354		4,751,120
1 Source: . 2 Source: Archived 21 December 2012 at archive.today. 3 Source: . 4 Source: . 5 Source: . 6 Source: . 7 Source: 8 Source:

Azerbaijanis in Turkmenistan

Main article: Azerbaijanis in Turkmenistan

Population density of Turkmenistan by regions.

The significant presence of Azerbaijanis in Turkmenistan dates from the early twentieth century. A massive influx of Azerbaijanis migrated to Turkmenistan due to the devastating 1902 Shamakhi earthquake.

Beyler of Shamakhi settled mainly in Krasnovodsk and Ashgabad (now known as Turkmenbashi and Ashgabat respectively). The Beyler's wealth spurred a big "investment boom" in Turkestan (Turkmenistan). Beyler began to build new buildings by using modernized technological equipment. In a short time, a large number of hotels, houses, teahouses, caravanserais, mosques, madrasas, schools, and theaters were built.

Turkmenistan population by region

Azerbaijanis were also involved in the fight against the Bolsheviks. Azerbaijanis were found among the Basmachi fighters led by Enver Pasha, and some helped finance the movement. For decades, the fight against the colonial policy of Bolsheviks failed. Most of the members of Basmachi movement were killed in the battles of the independence of Turkestan, the other part were exiled to labor camps of Gulag.

During the 70 years of Soviet rule, Azerbaijani Bays and warriors were declared as a national enemy and their names were erased from history books. Today they have been rehabilitated.

At the period of the collapse of the USSR, 36,000 Azerbaijanis lived in Turkmenistan, now their population has reached over 52,000.

While living in Turkmenistan, Azerbaijanis have contributed to the culture and art of the country. Musical instruments such as Gaval, Nagara, Tar, Saz and Kamancheh have gained popularity in Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijani dishes like dovga, syabzi-frying, and sweet rice have become favorite dishes of Turkmenistanis. Today, the Azerbaijani community of Turkmenistan has its own mosques, musicians, and dancers.

Some famous Azerbaijanis from Turkmenistan are: the chief of Baku City Executive Power Hajibala Abutalibov, Elnur Huseynov who represented Azerbaijan twice in the Eurovision Song Contest and the winner of The Voice of Turkey, singer Natavan Habibi, a well-known geologist Shamil Azizbayov, film director Ajdar Ibrahimov, national heroes of Azerbaijan Fakhraddin Musayev and Tahir Bagirov, the first woman in the oil industry, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1959 to 1983. Tahira Tahirova also was born in Turkmenistan.^[25]

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Population pyramid 2016

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook as of September 2018, unless otherwise indicated.^[26]

Languages

• Turkmen (official) 72%
• Russian 12%
• Uzbek 9%
• Azeri 1%
• Other 7%

Religion

• Islam 93%
• Eastern Orthodox 6%
• Unknown 1%

Ethnic groups

• Turkmen 85%
• Uzbek 5.8%
• Russian 5.1%
• Azerbaijanis 1.2%
• Other 1%

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 25.79% (male 699,612/female 680,583)
• 15-24 years: 18.39% (male 495,025/female 488,930)
• 25-54 years: 43.18% (male 1,147,044/female 1,163,762)
• 55-64 years: 7.9% (male 199,363/female 223,443)
• 65 years and over: 4.74% (male 110,505/female 143,010) (2017 est.)

Median age

• total: 27.9 years
• male: 27.5 years
• 28.4 years (2017 est.)

Sex ratio

• at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
• 15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
• 25-54 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
• 55-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate

• 2.03 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Population growth rate

• 1.12% (2017 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

• total population: 70.4 years
• male: 67.4 years
• female: 73.6 years (2017 est.)

Nationality

• noun: Turkmen(s)
• adjective: Turkmen

Literacy

• definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 98.8%
• male: 99.3%
• female: 98.3% (1999 est.)

See also

• Demography of Central Asia
• Religion in Turkmenistan

References

1. "«Ilat ýazuwy — 2022»: Türkmenistanyň ilaty 7 million 57 müň 841 adama deň boldy | Jemgyýet". 30 June 2023.
2. Скосырев, П. (1948). "Туркменистан в цифрах". In Михайлова, Н.Н. (ed.). Туркменистан. Наша Родина (in Russian). Moscow: Молодая гвардия.
3. Population census of Turkmenistan 1995, Vol. 1, State Statistical Committee of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, 1996.
4. "Demoscope Weekly - Annex. Information-analytical system. 4 step". Demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
5. "Источник: За 10 лет из Туркменистана выехало почти 1,9 миллиона человек" (in Russian). RFE/RL. 29 May 2019.
6. "Источники: Туркменистан в состоянии депопуляции. В стране осталось 2,7 миллиона населения" (in Russian). RFE/RL. 2 July 2021.
7. "Эмиграция. Ваши истории на «Хронике Туркменистана»". Хроника Туркменистана (in Russian). 20 July 2019.
8. Волков, Виталий (5 July 2018). "Почему власти Туркмении создают препятствия своим трудовым мигрантам" (in Russian). Deutsche Welle.
9. "Rising Emigration from Turkmenistan". Institute for War & Peace Reporting. 8 October 2012.
10. Najibullah, Farangis (8 June 2019). "Escape From Turkmenistan: Almost 2 Million Have Fled, But The President Looks The Other Way". RFE/RL.
11. Baumgartner, Pete (16 April 2018). "Turkmenistan Clips Wings of Citizens Fleeing Economic Woes". RFE/RL.
12. "Turkmenezuela-Turkmenistan finds a novel solution to mass emigration-It is simply stopping people from leaving". The Economist. 5 July 2018.
13. "Тайная перепись. Как в Туркменистане прошло важнейшее статистическое исследование" (in Russian). Turkmen.News. 10 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
14. "Turkmenistan: Deaths of despair | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
15. Расширенное заседание Кабинета Министров Туркменистана (in Russian), Туркменистан сегодня, 14 July 2023
16. «Ilat ýazuwy — 2022»: Türkmenistanyň ilaty 7 million 57 müň 841 adama deň boldy (in Turkmen), Turkmenportal, 14 July 2023
17. 'Out Of Thin Air': Turkmen Unconvinced By New Census Results Amid Severe Population Decline, RFE/RL, 24 July 2023
18. Moya Flynn (2004). Migrant Resettlement in the Russian Federation: Reconstructing 'homes' and 'homelands'. Anthem Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-84331-117-1. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
19. "The 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects". Esa.un.org. Archived from the original on 6 May 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
20. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
21. Естественное движение населения республик СССР, 1935 [Natural population growth of the Republics of the USSR, 1935] (in Russian). Demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
22. "Turkmenistan : 2000 Demographic and Health Survey" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
23. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 15 July 2017.
24. Ethnic composition of Turkmenistan in 2001, Demoscope Weekly, No. 37-38, 8–21 October 2001.
25. Guseynov, Farhadbey; Nazarov, Bahruz (6 April 2017). "Turkmenistan azerbaijanis". Oil and Industry: 62,63. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
26. "Central Asia :: TURKMENISTAN". CIA The World Factbook. 25 July 2023.