Editing Demographics of Turkmenistan (section)

==Demographic trends==
{{See also|Turkmenistan#Migration}}
{{Historical populations
| percentages = pagr
|footnote = 
|title       = Census population and growth rate
|1926|1000914
|1939|1251883
|1959|1516375
|1970|2158880
|1979|2764848
|1989|3522717
|1995|4434354
|2022|7057841
}}
[[File:Turkmenistan provinces by total population.png|thumb|Turkmenistan population by region]]
[[File:Turkmenistan Provinces by Population Density.png|thumb|Population density of Turkmenistan by regions.]]
The 17 January 1939 census showed a population of 1,251,883, of which 741.5 thousand Turkmen, 232.9 thousand Russians, 107.4 thousand Uzbeks, 61.4 thousand Kazakhs, 19.5 thousand Tatars, 8,300 Iranians, 5,400 [[Baloch people|Baloch]], and 75.5 thousand other nationalities.<ref name=turkmenistan>{{cite book|title=Туркменистан|language=ru|first=П.|last=Скосырев|date=1948|publisher=Молодая гвардия|place=Moscow|series=Наша Родина|editor-last=Михайлова|editor-first=Н.Н.|chapter=Туркменистан в цифрах}}</ref> The population of Turkmenistan increased from 1.5 million in the 1959 census to 4.5 million in the 1995 census.<ref name=census>''Population census of Turkmenistan 1995'', Vol. 1, State Statistical Committee of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, 1996.</ref> The population continued growing to over 5 million in 2001–2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/iase/ias05.php?tim=0&cou=146&terr=290&ind=60&Submit=OK |title=Demoscope Weekly - Annex. Information-analytical system. 4 step |website=Demoscope.ru |access-date=2016-02-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192207/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/iase/ias05.php?tim=0&cou=146&terr=290&ind=60&Submit=OK |archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> According to opposition media, Turkmenistan's population in 2019 was no more than 3.3 million.<ref name=emigrate /> As of July 2021, anonymous official sources informed opposition news media that the population of Turkmenistan had fallen to between 2.7 and 2.8 million.<ref name=azatlyk2021>{{cite news| url=https://rus.azathabar.com/a/turkmenistan-in-state-of-depopulation-with-under-three-million-people/31338392.html |title=Источники: Туркменистан в состоянии депопуляции. В стране осталось 2,7 миллиона населения |date=2 July 2021 |language=ru |publisher=[[RFE/RL]]}}</ref>

According to some sources, deteriorating economic conditions have led to massive emigration of Turkmenistanis to other countries in search of work, possibly as many as 1,879,413 between 2008 and 2018, inclusive.  Primary destinations are Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.<ref name=emigrate>{{cite web|url=https://rus.azathabar.com/a/29969698.html|language=ru|title=Источник: За 10 лет из Туркменистана выехало почти 1,9 миллиона человек|date=29 May 2019|publisher=RFE/RL}}</ref> Between 2013 and 2019, the number of emigrants to Russia from Turkmenistan doubled.<ref name=russemigrate>{{cite web|url=https://www.hronikatm.com/2019/07/share-your-stories/|title=Эмиграция. Ваши истории на «Хронике Туркменистана»|work=Хроника Туркменистана|date=20 July 2019|language=ru}}</ref> As one consequence, in 2018 Turkmen authorities began barring some citizens, particularly those younger than 40 years of age, from leaving the country in an apparent effort to stem emigration.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|url=https://p.dw.com/p/30pBk|title=Почему власти Туркмении создают препятствия своим трудовым мигрантам|language=ru|first=Виталий|last=Волков|date=5 July 2018|publisher=Deutsche Welle}}</ref><ref name=iwpr>{{cite web|url=https://iwpr.net/global-voices/rising-emigration-turkmenistan|title=Rising Emigration from Turkmenistan|date=8 October 2012|publisher=Institute for War & Peace Reporting}}</ref><ref name=rferl1>{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/escape-from-turkmenistan-almost-2-million-have-fled-but-the-president-won-t-hear-of-it/29987972.html|title=Escape From Turkmenistan: Almost 2 Million Have Fled, But The President Looks The Other Way|date=8 June 2019|first=Farangis|last=Najibullah|publisher=RFE/RL}}</ref><ref name=rferl2>{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-clips-wings-of-citizens-fleeing-economic-woes/29170508.html|title=Turkmenistan Clips Wings of Citizens Fleeing Economic Woes|date=16 April 2018|first=Pete|last=Baumgartner|publisher=RFE/RL}}</ref><ref name=economist>{{cite news|title=Turkmenezuela-Turkmenistan finds a novel solution to mass emigration-It is simply stopping people from leaving|date=5 July 2018|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/07/05/turkmenistan-finds-a-novel-solution-to-mass-emigration}}</ref>

A once-in-a-decade national census was conducted 17–27 December 2022. Opposition media reported that many people claimed not to have been interviewed by census workers, or that census workers merely telephoned respondents, and did not visit them to count residents.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 January 2023 |title=Тайная перепись. Как в Туркменистане прошло важнейшее статистическое исследование |language=ru |publisher=[[Turkmen.News]] |url=https://turkmen.news/tajnaya-perepis-kak-v-turkmenistane-proshlo-vazhnejshee-statisticheskoe-issledovanie/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114014723/https://turkmen.news/tajnaya-perepis-kak-v-turkmenistane-proshlo-vazhnejshee-statisticheskoe-issledovanie/ |archive-date=14 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Turkmenistan: Deaths of despair {{!}} Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-deaths-of-despair |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185726/https://eurasianet.org/turkmenistan-deaths-of-despair |archive-date=9 July 2021 |access-date=9 July 2021 |website=eurasianet.org |language=en}}</ref> According to the results of the 2022 census, the results of which were published in July 2023, the population of Turkmenistan was 7,057,841.<ref>{{citation| url=https://tdh.gov.tm/ru/post/36778/rasshirennoe-zasedanie-kabineta-ministrov-turkmenistana-17 | title=Расширенное заседание Кабинета Министров Туркменистана |date= 14 July 2023 | language=ru |publisher = Туркменистан сегодня}}</ref><ref>{{citation| url=https://turkmenportal.com/tm/blog/64479/ilat-yazuwy--2022-turkmenistanyn-ilaty-7-million-57-mun-841-adama-den-boldy | title=«Ilat ýazuwy — 2022»: Türkmenistanyň ilaty 7 million 57 müň 841 adama deň boldy |language=tk |date=14 July 2023 |publisher=Turkmenportal}}</ref> However, offshore media disputed that figure, with one source claiming it came out of "thin air".<ref name=rferl2022>{{citation | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-census-fake-numbers-population-decline/32516559.html |title='Out Of Thin Air': Turkmen Unconvinced By New Census Results Amid Severe Population Decline |date=24 July 2023 |publisher=[[RFE/RL]] }}</ref> Official population estimates are likely too high, given known emigration trends.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moya Flynn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLeAxHLmgR8C&pg=PA15 |title=Migrant Resettlement in the Russian Federation: Reconstructing 'homes' and 'homelands' |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84331-117-1 |page=15 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203123138/https://books.google.com/books?id=YLeAxHLmgR8C&pg=PA15 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>