World Factbook
Turkmenistan
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
469,930 sq km
water
18,170 sq km
total
488,100 sq km
Climate
subtropical desert
Terrain
flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
Land use
other
10.7% (2023 est.)
forest
5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
84.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 3.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 80.8% (2023 est.)
Location
Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
note: Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Elevation
lowest point
Vpadina Akchanaya (Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya, the lake has dropped as low as -110 m) -81 m
highest point
Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
mean elevation
230 m
Irrigated land
16,459 sq km (2012)
Map references
Asia
Land boundaries
total
4,158 km
border countries
Afghanistan 804 km; Iran 1,148 km; Kazakhstan 413 km; Uzbekistan 1,793 km
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
earthquakes; mudslides; droughts; dust storms; floods
Geography - note
landlocked; the western and central low-lying desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Area - comparative
slightly more than three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California
Geographic coordinates
40 00 N, 60 00 E
Population distribution
the most densely populated areas are the southern, eastern, and northeastern oases; approximately 50% of the population lives in and around the capital of Ashgabat
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Caspian Sea (shared with Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kazakhstan) - 374,000 sq km
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage
(Aral Sea basin) Amu Darya (534,739 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Amu Darya (shared with Tajikistan [s], Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth