Newspapers in Turkmenistan
All media in Turkmenistan are owned by the state. The country's only
Russian-language newspaper, Nejtralnyj Turkmenistan ('Neutral Turkmenistan'),
has an edition of about 47,000 copies. The equivalent in Turkmen is called
Turkmenistan (36,000 ex.). Other magazines largely contain material from
Turkmenistan, such as Vatan ('Motherland', 31,000 copies). Alongside them are
profiled newspapers such as Adalat (for lawyers), Saglyk (for medical staff) and
Mugallymlar (for teachers).
The Turkmenistani State Milli Teleradiokompaniyasi (TMT) broadcasts radio in
Russian and Turkmen since 1927 and television since 1959 (four channels). The
official news agency is called TurkmenPress. About a percent of the population
has access to the Internet and the national operator blocks access to several
foreign internet services.
Culture
Turkmenistan has been inhabited by many
different peoples and therefore has plenty of influences
from other cultures in music, literature and other art
forms. Carpeting is the oldest and most famous art in
the country.
Archaeologists have found carpet remains that are
considered to be over 2,500 years old. Many beautiful
old carpet patterns have been preserved throughout
history to our time. The so-called Buchara rugs,
formerly sold in the city of Buchara in Uzbekistan, are
usually made by Turkmen.
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Countryaah:
Latest population statistics of Turkmenistan, including religious profiles and major languages spoken as well as population growth rates in next three decades.
The oldest sago tax is common to the Iranian and
Turkish peoples of the region and was transmitted orally
in ancient times. Most famous is the verse story Görogly
dessany (The son of the blind) from the 16th century.
The great name in Turkmen literature is the poet
Magtymguli Pyragy (1770-1840), who was banned in the
Soviet era (c. 1920-1991). The same was true of Oguz
Turkmen's national post Gorkut-ata. The foremost name
among modern Turkmen writers is Berdy Kerbabayev
(1894-1974), whose most important novel Nebit Day (1957)
is about Soviet oil workers on the Caspian Sea.
Labor market
Almost half of the formal workforce in
Turkmenistan is employed in industry, while an equal
share is found in the service sector. Almost a tenth of
the employees work in agriculture. There is no union
freedom in the country.
Some Turkmen support themselves in the informal
sector of the economy, especially in agriculture.
Unemployment is believed to be quite high. Nevertheless,
many foreign nationals are working in Turkmenistan, as
there is a shortage of vocationally educated domestic
labor.
The right to organize is not respected and so is the
right to strike and the right to freedom of assembly.
The country's trade union organization is called the
National Center for Turkmenistan Trade Unions and covers
virtually all trade unions. It still functions to a
great extent according to the Soviet model, that is, as
a loyal tool for the regime.
The wage situation is low, although it has improved
somewhat in recent years. According to international
human rights organizations, forced labor exists,
although prohibited by law. Child labor is also reported
to occur, especially in the cotton fields.
FACTS - LABOR MARKET
Unemployment
3.9 percent (2019)
youth unemployment
7.5 percent (2019)
2014
November
A regional company is formed for gas pipeline construction
The four state gas companies in Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India
form a joint company to build, own and administer the planned Tapi gas pipeline
from Turkmenistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.
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