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Turkmenistan

OFFICIAL NAME: Turkmenistan

DATE OF FORMATION: 1991

POPULATION: 4.9 million

DENSITY: 26 people per square mile

LANGUAGES: Turkmen, Uzbek, Russian, Kazakh, Tatar

RELIGIONS: Sunni Muslim 87%, Orthodox Christian 11%, Other 2%

ETHNIC MIX: Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9%, Russian 7%, Other 4%, Kazakh 2%, Tatar 1%

GOVERNMENT: No multiparty elections

CURRENCY: Manat

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Once the poorest of the former Soviet republics, Turkmenistan has adjusted better than most to independence, exploiting the market value of its abundant natural gas supplies. A largely Sunni Muslim country, Turkmenistan is part of the former Turkestan, the last expanse of central Asia incorporated into czarist Russia. Much of life is still based on tribal relationships. Turkmenistan is isolated – telephones are relatively rare and other communications limited.