Turkmenistan achieved independence from the former USSR in October 1991. This landlocked country located in Central Asia is slightly larger than California. It borders Iran and Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the north and the Caspian Sea to the West. The name comes from the Persian meaning Land of the Turkmen. Turkmenistan consists of 5 provinces and one independent city: the capital Ashgabat.
The primary language is Turkmen although Russian and Uzbek are also used. The population of over 5 million is 89 percent Muslim. Eastern Orthodox adherents make up less than 10 percent of the population.
Most of the country is covered by the flat to rolling sand of the Karakum Desert (black sands). Turkmenistan is the world's tenth-largest producer of cotton. They also have the world's fifth-largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil resources. The city of Mary as it is called today was once a major stop on the Silk Road.
The president serves as both the head of state and head of government in this presidential republic. Turkmenistan has a one party system (Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT) and opposition parties are outlawed.
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