In 1993 Turkmenistan had a population of 4,254,000 people, making it the 5th most sparsely populated former Soviet republic. Of that number, Turkmen comprised about 73 %, Russians nearly 10 %, Uzbeks 9 %, Kazaks 2 %, and other ethnic groups the remaining 5 %. According to the last Soviet census ,the total Turkmen population in the Soviet Union was 2,728,965. Of this number, 2,536,606 lived in Turkmenistan and the remainder in the other republics. Outside of the CIS, around 1.6 million Turkmen live in Iran, Afghanistan, and China.

Population density increased in the republic from one person per square kilometer in 1957 to 9.2 persons per square kilometer in 1995. Density varies drastically between desert areas and oases, where it often exceeds 100 persons per square kilometer. Within Turkmenistan, the population is 50.6 % female and 49.4 % male. In 1995 the around annual growth rate was 2.0 %, and the fertility rate was 3.7 births per woman.The population was demographically quite young, with 40 % aged 14 or younger and only four % aged over 64.

The Turkmens are a Muslim people who speak a language belonging to the southwestern, or Oguz, branch of the Turkic linguistic group. Turkmens make up some three-fourths of the republic's population, up from about two-thirds in 1970, owing largely to a comparatively high birth rate. There are smaller numbers of Russians, Uzbeks, Kazaks, and Tatars.