Turkmenistan
/ˌtɜːkmenɪˈstɑːn/- a republic in central Asia, lying between the Caspian Sea and Afghanistan; pop. 4,884,900 (est. 2009); languages, Turkoman (official), Russian; capital, Ashgabat.土库曼斯坦（中亚共和国, 位于里海和阿富汗之间; 1992年估计人口3,861,000; 语言土库曼语［官方语言］, 俄语; 首都阿什哈巴德）。亦称Turkmenia /ˌtɜːkˈmiːnɪə/。
Turkmenistan is dominated by the Karakum Desert, which occupies about 90 per cent of the country. Previously part of Turkestan, from 1924 it formed a separate constituent republic of the USSR; Turkmenistan became an independent republic within the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991.