The Republic of Turkmenistan, also known as Turkmenia (Russian: Туркмения) is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR).
Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is bordered byAfghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, Uzbekistan to the east and northeast, Kazakhstan to the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.
Turkmenistan’s GDP growth rate of 6.1% in 2009 ranks 16th in the world, but these figures are subject to wide margins of error. It possesses the world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources. Although it is wealthy in natural resources in certain areas, most of the country is covered by the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert.
Until recently the Turkmen government was a single-party system; this system was considered not to meet even the most basic standards of democracy. Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life; Saparmurat Niyazov (called “Türkmenbaşy” — “leader of the Turkmens”) until his sudden death on December 21, 2006. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was elected the new president on February 11, 2007.
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