Reclusive Turkmenistan may be about to become a big problem, warn analysts. Five major concerns are: 1) its explosive demographic growth which is placing huge burdens on the economy with massive young unemployment - a major indicator of danger of extremist violence; 2) it's suffering from falling natural gas prices, its most important export; 3) a major escalation of Islamist radicalism recently; 4) a serious security threat from the south which its forces are unable to counter; and 5) its non-aligned status means it cannot count on Russia or others for help to defend it. The country has been ruled by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov since 1994 but he stepped down in December after two years as president following mass protests against his rule.
Reclusive Turkmenistan may be about to become a big problem, warn analysts. Five major concerns are: 1) its explosive demographic growth which is placing huge burdens on the economy with massive young unemployment - a major indicator of danger of extremist violence; 2) it's suffering from falling natural gas prices, its most important export; 3) a major escalation of Islamist radicalism recently; 4) a serious security threat from the south which its forces are unable to counter; and 5) its non-aligned status means it cannot count on Russia or others for help to defend it. There are fears Turkmenistan could become Central Asia's "Kuwait", collapsing under Islamist insurgency.