Turkmenistan

Languages:

Turkmenistan, a Central Asian nation, has Turkmen as its official language, which is spoken by the majority of the population. Turkmen belongs to the Turkic language family and is written using the Latin alphabet. Russian is also widely spoken, particularly among the older generation and in urban areas, and serves as a lingua franca for the various ethnic communities. The country's linguistic landscape is further enriched by the presence of other minority languages, such as Uzbek and Kazakh.

Religion:

Religion in Turkmenistan is predominantly Muslim, with approximately 93.0% of the population adhering to Islam, mainly the Sunni tradition. The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and the country is known for its secularism and moderate practice of Islam. Other significant religious communities include Eastern Orthodox Christians (6.0%) and smaller communities of other Christian denominations, Jews, and Buddhists.

Ethnic Groups:

Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003 est.)