Turkmenistan Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Armed Forces of Turkmenistan: Land Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces; Federal Border Guard Service; Ministry of Internal Affairs: Internal Troops, national police (2022)

Military expenditures

1.9% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $1.54 billion)

1.8% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $1.45 billion)

1.8% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $1.32 billion)

1.8% of GDP (2016 est.) (approximately $1.3 billion)

1.5% of GDP (2015 est.) (approximately $1.1 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; estimated 30,000 active duty troops (25,000 National Army; 1,000 Navy; 4,000 Air and Air Defense Forces) (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the inventory for Turkmenistan's military is comprised largely of older Russian and Soviet-era weapons systems; since 2010, however, it has attempted to diversify and purchased equipment from more than a dozen countries, with Turkey as the top supplier (2022)

Military service age and obligation

18-30 years of age for compulsory male military service; 24-month conscript service obligation (30 months for the Navy); 20 years of age for voluntary service (including females); males may enroll in military schools from age 15 (2022)

Military - note

as of 2022, Turkmenistan continued to pursue a nationalist and isolationist security policy and has declined to participate in post-Soviet military groupings such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization military alliance (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); however, in September 2020, it participated in a Russian-led multinational military exercise held in southern Russia’s Astrakhan region alongside Russian, Chinese, Pakistani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Mongolian, Syrian, Iranian, Egyptian, Belarusian, Turkish, Armenian, and Azerbaijani contingents

as of 2022, Turkmenistan continued efforts to improve its naval capabilities on the Caspian Sea, including expanding ship building capabilities and adding larger vessels to the Navy’s inventory; in 2018, it opened its first naval shipyard and in August 2021, the Navy commissioned its largest warship, a corvette that was jointly constructed with Turkey

NOTE: The information regarding Turkmenistan on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Turkmenistan 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Turkmenistan 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.