The Demographics of Turkmenistan is about the demographic features of the population of Turkmenistan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The ethnic majority in Turkmenistan call themselves Turkmen. Demographic trends The 17 January 1939 census showed a population of 1,251,883, of which 741.5 thousand Turkmen, 232.9 thousand Russians, 107.4 thousand Uzbeks, 61.4 thousand Kazakhs, 19.5 thousand Tatars, 8,300 Iranians, 5,400 Baloch, and 75.5 thousand other nationalities. The population of Turkmenistan increased from 1.5 million in the 1959 census to 4.5 million in the 1995 census. The population continued growing to over 5 million in 2001–2006. According to opposition media, Turkmenistan's population in 2019 was no more than 3.3 million. As of July 2021, anonymous official sources informed opposition news media that the population of Turkmenistan had fallen to between 2.7 and 2.8 million. According to some sources, deteriorating economic conditions have led to massive emigration of Turkmenistanis to other countries in search of work, possibly as many as 1,879,413 between 2008 and 2018, inclusive. Primary destinations are Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Between 2013 and 2019, the number of emigrants to Russia from Turkmenistan doubled. As one consequence, in 2018 Turkmen authorities began barring some citizens, particularly those younger than 40 years of age, from leaving the country in an apparent effort to stem emigration. Vital statistics UN estimates Registered births and deaths Fertility and Births Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR): Life expectancy Source: UN World Population Prospects Ethnic groups The table shows the ethnic composition of Turkmenistan's population (in percent) between 1926 and 1995. There has been a sharp decline in the Slavic ethnic groups (Russians and Ukrainians) and also Kazakhs and Tatars since independence (as captured in the 1979 and 1995 censuses). Uzbeks are now the second largest ethnic group in Turkmenistan, with Russians relegated to the third place. According to data announced in Ashgabat in February 2001, 91% of the population are Turkmen, 3% are Uzbeks, and 2% are Russians. Between 1989 and 2001 the number of Turkmen in Turkmenistan doubled (from 2.5 to 4.9 million), while the number of Russians dropped by two-thirds (from 334,000 to slightly over 100,000). Azerbaijanis in Turkmenistan The significant presence of Azerbaijanis in Turkmenistan dates from the early twentieth century. A massive influx of Azerbaijanis migrated to Turkmenistan due to the devastating