Did You Know- Turkmenistan Edition

  Turkmenistan is the country that we are focusing on this week for the 5-5-5 Challenge. It is a country with a rich history and a very interesting culture. Did you know: Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia and borders the Caspian Sea, Iran and Kazakhstan. The literacy rate in Turkmenistan is at 98.8% (about the same as the United States of America). The three main languages spoken in Turkmenistan are Turkmen, Russian and Uzbek. The area was historically ruled by multiple Persian empires, and was conquered by Alexander the Great, Muslim crusaders, the Mongols, Turkic warriors, and eventually the Russians. Turkmenistan is a fairly new country. It gained independence from Russia in 1991 (making it 22 years old). The country held its first multi-candidate Presidential election in 2007. About 16% of the population has access to the internet Broadcast media is government controlled and censored. There are 7 state-owned TV and 4 state-owned radio networks. *Information from CIA factbook