Turkmenistan Boasts World-Beating Baby Boom

Turkmenistan has claimed its population had increased by 43 per cent over nine years; the claims were dismissed by western diplomats as part of a propaganda campaign.

The government claims that the population has risen from 4.5 million at the last census in 1995 to 6.4 million June 2004, an official at the state institute for statistics and information attributed this increase to:

"Stability, increased prosperity and reduced child mortality and emigration." 

However observers charge that ministers, who face draconian punishments for failure, only tell the President, Niyazov, what he wants to hear on themes ranging from the economy to HIV. A Western diplomat commented:

"These statistics aren't real, such a growth rate is impossible; the method of calculation is completely incomprehensible. The government wants to show growth in every sector so statistics are politicised. Unfortunately it seems some in government don't know the real situation, particularly regarding health and education." 

Turkmenistan gets a less than rosy assessment from the UN children's fund (UNICEF) who say that for every 1,000 live births, 98 children are likely to have died by the age of five in Turkmenistan, a rate nearly five times Russia's. 

The US state department recently estimated Turkmenistan's population at approximately 5 million people. 

Agence France Presse reported in Push Journal 30/Jun/04