Government and power in Turkmenistan
Who leads Turkmenistan, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary presidential republic.
Who leads Turkmenistan?
- Head of state: Serdar Berdimuhamedov (President of Turkmenistan)
- Head of government: Serdar Berdimuhamedov (President of Turkmenistan)
- Foreign minister: Rashid Meredov (Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan)
Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.
Governance scores
The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.
- Voice and accountability
- Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.
- Political stability and absence of violence
- Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.
- Government effectiveness
- Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.
- Regulatory quality
- Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.
- Rule of law
- Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.
- Control of corruption
- Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.
How does Turkmenistan score on voice and accountability?
Voice and accountability: 20.8 out of 100 in 2025, 189th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 74.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 24.3.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Turkmenistan score on political stability?
Political stability and absence of violence: 69.7 out of 100 in 2025, 84th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 73.5). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 62.9.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Turkmenistan score on government effectiveness?
Government effectiveness: 28.7 out of 100 in 2025, 173rd highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 69.4). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 36.3.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Turkmenistan score on regulatory quality?
Regulatory quality: 23.1 out of 100 in 2025, 189th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 66.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 25.2.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Turkmenistan score on the rule of law?
Rule of law: 35.3 out of 100 in 2025, 176th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 70.8). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 35.4.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Turkmenistan score on control of corruption?
Control of corruption: 21.7 out of 100 in 2025, 175th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 60.7). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 18.5.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many women are in Turkmenistan's parliament?
Women held 25.6% of seats in the national parliament (single or lower chamber) in 2025, 94th highest of 184 countries with data. Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union, via the World Bank.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many of Turkmenistan's ministers are women?
Women held 0.0% of ministerial posts in 2025, 187th highest of 190.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow big are the armed forces of Turkmenistan?
Armed forces personnel numbered 57,000 in 2020.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow good are Turkmenistan's official statistics?
The World Bank's Statistical Performance Indicator, which scores how well a country's official statistics system works, was 29.7 out of 100 in 2024, 186th highest of 187.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many births are registered in Turkmenistan?
99.9% of births of children under 5 were registered with a civil authority (2019).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many people in Turkmenistan use the internet?
18.0% of people used the internet in 2016.
Source: World Bank · saved copyOfficial bodies that hold power in Turkmenistan
Government
- Government of Turkmenistan (State news portal)Presidential decrees, government session reports and official news.
Parliament
- Mejlis (Assembly) of TurkmenistanLaws adopted, session news and the list of deputies.
Elections
- Central Commission for Elections and ReferendumsElection and referendum results, candidate registration and commission decisions.
Laws and the official gazette
- Ministry of Justice of TurkmenistanTexts of Turkmen laws and normative legal acts and information on their registration.
Government below the national level
- Regions (welayat, 5) and the capital Ashgabat (plus the new city of Arkadag): Hakim appointed by and accountable to the President; regional people's council (halk maslahaty) elected
- Districts (etrap) and cities: Hakim appointed by the President; district or city people's council elected
- Villages and small towns (gengeshlik): Gengesh (local council) elected by residents; it elects its chair, the archyn
How local power works in Turkmenistan
Places in Turkmenistan
Sources
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.