Turkmenistan's population stood at 6.43 million in the 2022 census conducted by the State Committee of Turkmenistan on Statistics. Ethnic Turkmens comprise 85 percent of the population according to official 2022 data. Uzbeks form the largest minority at 5 percent, concentrated primarily in Turkmenabat and Dasoguz near the Uzbekistan border. Russians numbered 165,000 in the 2022 census, down from 334,000 in 1989. Kazakhs make up 2 percent of the population. Azeris and Armenians each constitute roughly 1 percent. The Balochi minority inhabits the southwestern Balkan Region. Turkmen is the sole official state language since 1990. Russian retains significant use in business and inter-ethnic communication, though government policy since 1993 has progressively reduced its official status.
Turkmen tribal structure remains the primary social organizing principle. Five major tribal confederations divide the population: Teke, Yomud, Ersary, Chowdur, and Saryk. The Teke tribe dominates politically and numerically, centered around Ashgabat and the surrounding Ahal Region. President Saparmurat Niyazov belonged to the Teke tribe, as does current President Serdar Berdimuhamedow. The Yomud tribe inhabits the western regions along the Caspian coast and northwest toward the Uzbekistan border. Ersary Turkmens predominate in the eastern province centered on Turkmenabat, along the Amu Darya River. The Chowdur tribe traditionally occupies territory around Dasoguz in the north. Saryk Turkmens live in the Mary Region in the southeast. These tribal affiliations determine marriage patterns, residential clustering, political allegiances, and access to government positions.
Islam arrived in the region during the Arab conquest of Transoxiana between 705 and 715 CE. The Abbasid general Qutayba ibn Muslim led campaigns that brought Islamic rule to the Merv oasis by 716. Merv became a major center of Islamic scholarship during the 9th and 10th centuries under Samanid and later Seljuk rule. The Great Seljuk Empire, founded by Tughril Beg in 1037, established its capital at Merv under Sultan Sanjar, who ruled from 1118 to 1157. The Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum, completed around 1157, still stands at the Ancient Merv site. Sufism penetrated deeply among the Turkmen tribes through the teaching lines of the Yasawi and Naqshbandi orders. Khoja Yusup Hamadani, a 12th-century Sufi saint, established a following in Merv; his mausoleum remains a pilgrimage destination. The Soviet period from 1924 to 1991 saw systematic suppression of Islamic practice including closure of mosques, prohibition of the hajj, and arrest of religious leaders.
State-controlled Islam has characterized the post-independence period since 1991. The government created the Gengesh Council for Religious Affairs in 1994, which vets all imams and controls mosque construction. President Niyazov published the Ruhnama in 2001, a spiritual and historical text that became mandatory reading in schools and mosques until 2008. The text blended Turkmen nationalism with Islamic references and tribal genealogy. The Turkmen Sahra Mosque opened in Ashgabat in 2013 with capacity for 10,000 worshippers. Its central dome reaches 55 meters in height. Four minarets surrounding the structure each stand 91 meters tall. The Gypjak Mosque near Ashgabat, completed in 2004, features a golden dome and serves as the burial site of Saparmurat Niyazov and his family. The government restricts religious practice not sanctioned through official Sunni channels. Unregistered religious activity, including non-Sunni Muslim practice, Protestant Christian gatherings, and Jehovah's Witness meetings, faces criminal penalties under Articles 205 and 206 of the Criminal Code.
The Parthian Empire controlled southern Turkmenistan from approximately 247 BCE to 224 CE. Nisa, located 18 kilometers west of modern Ashgabat, served as one of the first Parthian capitals. Archaeological excavations begun in 1930 by Soviet archaeologist Mikhail Masson revealed substantial remains including the Old Nisa fortress complex. Excavations uncovered ivory rhytons, Greek statuary fragments, and storage archives with over 2,000 ostraca documents dating from the 1st century BCE. The site received UNESCO World Heritage designation in 2007. The inscriptions found at Nisa include some of the earliest evidence of written Parthian language. The Round Hall structure at Nisa measures 17 meters in diameter with walls over 2 meters thick.