Turkmenistan: Demographic crisis hidden by the authorities

On 8 June 2019 Radio Free Europe reported that an unpublished study on the population of Turkmenistan in the period 2008-2018 shows that the Central Asian country is in the midst of a demographic crisis. The statistics apparently reveal "an acute decline of population, with nearly 2 million people having left the country in 10 years" (not including Turkmen migrant workers abroad). Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "If the population figures are accurate, they indicate that Turkmenistan is suffering the consequences for not offering its citizens enough economic opportunities and personal freedoms. Instead of taking action to solve such issues, President Berdymukhamedov has simply ordered a new census to be made, hoping this will produce a different outcome. Such an approach by the government is typical: There is no openness to alternative explanations and approaches and everything must go as the authorities plan. Christians know what this means by experience."