Turkmenistan

American  

[turk-me-nuh-stan, -stahn] / ˌtɜrk mɛ nəˈstæn, -ˈstɑn /

noun

1. a republic in central in Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, Iran, and Afghanistan. 188,417 sq. mi. (488,000 sq. km). Ashkhabad.

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Turkmenistan British  

/ ˌtɜːkmɛnɪˈstɑːn /

noun

1. a republic in central Asia: the area has been occupied by a succession of empires; a Turkmen state was established in the 15th century but suffered almost continual civil strife and was gradually conquered by Russia; in 1918 it became a Soviet republic and gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991: deserts including the Kara Kum cover most of the region; agricultural communities are concentrated around oases; there are rich mineral deposits. Official language: Turkmen. Religion: believers are mainly Muslim. Currency: manat. Capital: Ashkhabad. Pop: 5 113 040 (2013 est). Area: 488 100 sq km (186 400 sq miles)

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Turkmenistan Cultural  

1. Republic in west-central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, by Uzbekistan to the north and northwest, by Afghanistan and Iran to the south, and by the Caspian Sea to the west. Its capital and largest city is Ashkhabad.

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This former member of the Soviet Union declared its independence in 1991.

Example Sentences

Trainers clad in ornate uniforms and traditional white fur headgear led golden-bedecked stallions round a stage arena at an annual horse beauty pageant in the ultra-closed Central Asian state of Turkmenistan.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

They had departed from Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

IS-K, the group which admitted the attack, is an offshoot of IS which seeks to establish a Muslim caliphate across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

Iran last week banned all goods and agricultural exports, triggering economic pressure on secretive Turkmenistan and the wider Central Asian region, where Tehran had a growing economic footprint in recent years.

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026

Turkmenistan ranked second among the former Soviet     republics in cotton production, mainly in the irrigated western region,     where the huge Karakumskiy Canal taps the Amu Darya.

From The 1992 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency