Population of Turkmenistan: number, growth and other indicators
This article contains information from various open sources, including data from the World Bank, as well as facts from modern textbooks included in the programs of Turkmen universities. In December 2022, Turkmenistan will host the first digital census of the population and housing stock, which should more accurately reflect the demographic indicators of the country.
General information
The population of Turkmenistan, according to the World Bank, in 2020 was more than 6 million people. Considering that the same indicator 20 years ago was at the level of 4.5 million, and in 1926 – 998 thousand, it is possible to trace the rapid dynamics of natural population growth, which, by the way, is one of the highest in the world.
The first population census in Turkmenistan was held in 1995. Thus, the country became the first in the post-Soviet space to organize a general population census. The next census in 2009 revealed an annual population growth of 1.5%.
If we connect simple arithmetic and take 1.5% of sustainable growth as a basis, then by 2030 we will have a population of up to 6.7 million people, and by 2050 – up to 10 million.
The real population growth is calculated in ppm – per 1000 people of the population. Based on this indicator, the net growth is 15.4 ppm, making Turkmenistan one of the leaders in this ratio in the CIS.
Gender statistics
Turkmenistan is a country where the female population prevails. A little more than half of the total number, which is 50.2%, are women, but in recent decades the dominance of women in the gender chart has been gradually decreasing.
According to statistics, in 1990 the male population was 49.7%, literally in 9 years the indicator increased to 49.9%, which indicates that the gender balance of the population tends to equilibrium.
Family composition
According to the 1995 census in Turkmenistan, 47% of the population was represented by families, the number of members of which reached 4-6 people, 31% of the population formed large families with 7 or more people.
According to the latest research, which is given in Turkmen university textbooks, the stratum of families consisting of 2-3 people is increasing in large cities of Turkmenistan, which corresponds to modern world trends. At the same time, in rural areas, families mainly consist of 6 people, and in the city – of 4.
Population by nationality
Turkmenistan is a multinational state in which Turkmens are the titular and most numerous nation. And if in 1995 Turkmens made up 88% of the population, Uzbeks – 9.2%, Russians – 6.7%, and Kazakhs – 2%, then in 2010-2020 the number of Turkmens crossed the threshold of 90%.
At the same time, Turkmenistan continues to be a multinational country where there are various ethnic minorities. The country also regularly accepts persons of other nationalities into its citizenship. Another such action took place in September of this year, when 1,530 people were admitted to the citizenship of Turkmenistan and 315 foreign citizens received a residence permit in the country.
ORIENT
Photo: from the editorial archive
