Turkmenistan Passport

【 Country Name 】 Turkmenistan (Туркменистан).

[Area] 491200 square kilometers.

【 Population 】 7.05 million (as of December 2022). The main ethnic groups include Turkmen (94.7%), Uzbek (2%), and Russian (1.8%). In addition, there are over 120 ethnic groups such as Kazakhs, Armenians, Tatars, and Azerbaijanis (1.5%). The vast majority of residents believe in Islam (Sunni), while Russian residents believe in Eastern Orthodoxy.

【 Capital 】 Ashgabat. Population of 1.03 million (as of December 2022). The average temperature in January is 2.1 ℃, and the average temperature in July is 37.6 ℃.

【 Head of State 】 Serdar Gurbangulyevich Berdimuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan, was elected on March 15, 2022, with a term of 7 years.

[Important Festival] New Year: January 1st; Constitution Day and National Flag Day: May 18th; Independence Day: September 27th; Neutral Day: December 12th. In addition, traditional Islamic festivals such as Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha, and Naurus are also celebrated.

The official language is Turkmen, and Russian is the lingua franca.

【 Currency 】 Manat (1 US dollar is equivalent to 3.5 manats).

【 Overview 】 Located in the southwest of Central Asia, it is a landlocked country. It borders Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the north and northeast, Azerbaijan and Russia to the west along the Caspian Sea, Iran to the south, and Afghanistan to the southeast. About 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert. The average temperature in November is 4.4 ℃, and the average temperature in July is 39 ℃; The annual precipitation increases from 80 millimeters in the northeastern region to 300 millimeters in the southern foothills, and the annual precipitation in the Kopet Mountains can reach 400 millimeters.

In history, Persians, Macedonians, Turks, Arabs, and Mongolian Tatars have established states here. In the 15th century, the Turkmen ethnic group was basically formed. In the late 1860s and mid-1980s, some territories were incorporated into Russia (Outer Caspian Oblast). In 1917, the Turkmen people participated in the February Revolution and the October Socialist Revolution, and in December of the same year, the Soviet regime was established. On October 27, 1924, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was established and joined the Soviet Union. On October 27, 1991, it declared independence and changed its name to Turkmenistan. Joined the Commonwealth of Independent States on December 21 of the same year. Joined the United Nations on March 2, 1992. On December 12, 1995, the 50th United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing Turkey as a permanently neutral country. In June 2015, the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly once again passed a resolution supporting Turkey's permanent neutral status.

After independence, safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, developing the economy, and maintaining social stability will always be the basic national policy of Turkey; Actively explore development paths that are suitable for the national conditions of the country; Advocate the spirit of national rejuvenation, attach importance to ethnic unity and harmony; Adhere to a positive, neutral, peaceful and friendly foreign policy, and strive to develop constructive cooperative relations with other countries; Advocate for freedom of religious belief and prohibit religious interference in the political life of the country.

The political situation in Turkmenistan remains stable. In 2022, Turkey successfully held non routine presidential elections, achieving a smooth transition of power; The local government further clarifies its governance direction, improves the level of housing security for residents, attaches importance to agricultural development, ensures food security, and further consolidates public support; Continue to rectify the official system and severely punish officials who have committed dereliction of duty; Continuously strengthen public opinion supervision and maintain social stability.

On May 18, 1992, the first constitution was passed, which stipulated that the country is a democratic, legal, and secular state, implementing a presidential republic system of separation of powers. The President is the head of state and the highest executive head, elected directly by the people. The People's Committee is the highest representative organ of state power. The legislative and judicial powers belong to the National Assembly and the courts respectively. In December 1995, Turkey amended its constitution to include its permanent neutral status in the constitution. In December 1999, the constitution was revised and supplemented with provisions related to the functions of the People's Commissariat and Parliament, clearly stipulating that Niyazov would serve as the first president with no time limit on his term of office. In 2003, Turkey passed its second constitution, which established the People's Committee as a permanent representative body of the highest power, with the position of chairman, and stipulated that the age of presidential election should not exceed 70 years old. On December 26, 2006, the constitution was amended again to stipulate that presidential candidates must be between the ages of 40 and 70. If the president is unable to exercise his powers due to unforeseen circumstances, a deputy prime minister will be appointed to temporarily act as acting president in accordance with a resolution of the National Security Council. In September 2008, Turkey passed its third constitution, abolishing the People's Commissariat (reinstated in October 2017) and transferring its powers to the President and Parliament. In September 2016, Turkey amended its constitution, abolished the age limit for presidential candidates, and extended the presidential term from 5 years to 7 years. In September 2020, Turkey amended its constitution and decided to reorganize its parliament from a unicameral system to a bicameral system, stipulating that before the president is unable to perform his duties due to unforeseen circumstances and a new president has been elected, the chairman of the People's Council (the upper house of the new parliament) shall act on behalf of the president to exercise his powers. In January 2023, Turkey will revise its constitution again, restore a unicameral parliament, and establish an independent People's Committee as the highest body of people's power.

The main functions of the Turkish parliament are to pass, amend, and interpret the constitution and laws, supervise the implementation of laws, determine the timing of presidential and parliamentary elections, pass the Cabinet's work agenda, approve the national budget, etc.

Prior to 2020, a unicameral system was mainly implemented, known as the National Assembly, which is the legislative body of the country. In 2020, the constitution was amended to reorganize the parliament from a unicameral system to a bicameral system, known as the National Council, which exercises legislative power. The upper house is the People's Committee, and the lower house is the National Assembly.

At present, the Turkish parliament implements a unicameral system, known as the National Assembly (Mejlis, Меджлис), and establishes an independent People's Committee (Halk Maslahaty, ХалкМаслахаты), chaired by former Turkish President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. On March 26, 2023, Turkey successfully held its seventh parliamentary election. On April 6th, the 7th Turkish parliament held its first plenary session, and Dunyagozel Gulmanova (ДуньягозельГулманова) was elected as the new speaker.

The government, also known as the Cabinet, is the executive body of state power, directly led by the President.

Except for the city of Arkadag and the capital city of Ashgabat, the country is divided into five states: Ahar, Barkhan, Dashoguz, Lebap, and Mare.

The petroleum and natural gas industries are the pillar industries of the economy. Agriculture mainly grows cotton and wheat. In 2023, the gross domestic product will grow by 6.3% year-on-year.

【 Resources 】 Earth is rich in energy resources, with prospective reserves of 12 billion tons of oil and 50 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, ranking fourth in the world in terms of natural gas reserves.