Turkmenistan declares itself to be a secular democracy and a presidential republic. It is in effect a one-party state ruled by a President who held all power from independence in 1991 until his death in December 2006. In February 2007, Turkmens vote in the first Presidential election in 15 years. It is expected that the Acting President will be elected. Citizens swear a national oath of allegiance to the President rather than just to the country. All candidates in the 2004 parliamentary elections were members of the Democratic Party, since it is the only recognised political party in the centralised state. The state has two parliamentary bodies: the 2,500-member Council, which is partly elected and partly appointed and has supreme legislative authority, and the 50-seat Assembly, which is entirely elected. The President is chair of the Council and leader of the Assembly and therefore is the sole legislative and executive authority.

Women and ethnic minority representatives serve in both houses. Ethnic minorities occupy several high level government positions. The judiciary is not independent but controlled by the President. There is no public disclosure of demographic, economic or financial data, and access to government information is not provided in law or in practice. Requests for information are denied.

Equal rights and freedoms for all, independent of nationality, origin, language and gender, are provided in law, but discrimination is noted against several groups.

Any opposition to the government is viewed as treasonous. Amnesty International reports that many political detainees are imprisoned, and security officials are reported to use torture and excessive force against detainees. Detainees are reported to be held in psychiatric hospitals as punishment, and prisoners are forced to work under hazardous and unhealthy conditions. Reports cite corruption in government.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed in law but not respected in practice. Most print media are government-financed, and foreign newspapers are banned, though use of satellite dishes is widespread. Journalists are reported to be harassed and intimidated into self-censorship and are not allowed any contact with foreigners. Censorship of newspapers is commonplace, with prepublication review and approval required by the President's press secretary. The Union of Writers expels members who criticise government policy and removes their works from libraries. Internet access is available but prohibitively expensive.

Trafficking is not prohibited in law, and Turkmenistan is a source, transit and destination country for women trafficked for sexual exploitation and labour.

The government controls the establishment of mosques and limits access to Islamic education. In March 2004 the President announced that no more mosques would be built in the country. Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to 2 years in prison.

Education and health care are reported to be in tatters. Compulsory education has been reduced and now applies to ages 7 to 15. A 2003 UNDP report concluded that school attendance was 81% and that most children completed secondary school. The practice of using children to harvest cotton is no longer allowed in a number of agricultural areas, but schools are disrupted because the teachers themselves have to pick cotton.

A 2000 presidential decree reduced the number of teachers and increased class size. Facilities have deteriorated, and funding for textbooks and supplies has decreased. Increasing amounts of classroom time must be given to learning from books written by the former President, reducing the school time available for other academic subjects.

By limiting the courses taught in non-Turkmen languages, government has limited educational opportunities. There are no Turkmen-language curricula or textbooks in many subject areas at most grade levels. The UN Committee on the rights of the child raised concern over the deterioration of the educational system.

Extracurricular religious education is allowed only with the President's permission. The Turkmen State University Theological Faculty has been dissolved and absorbed into the history faculty. Only 1 institution of Islamic education remains open, and its curriculum is controlled by the government. Few official statistics are available.

A 4-year programme begins at age 3.

Primary education begins at age 7 and lasts 3 years.

Secondary education begins at age 10 and lasts 7 years.

4,530 Turkmen students study abroad, mainly in the Russian Federation (1,385), Turkey (1,293), Kazakhstan (719), Kyrgyzstan (418) and Tajikistan (303).

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited in law, but the law is contradicted by regulations. Discrimination in education and in other state services is reported. Many physically disabled people are categorised as mentally disabled and housed with the mentally ill. Subsidies and pensions are provided for persons with disabilities, but they are inadequate to maintain a decent standard of living. Students with disabilities are unable to obtain education, and teachers require specialised training.

Disabled students do not fit the unofficial student university profile and are not admitted to universities. Children with disabilities are often placed in boarding schools to be provided with educational and vocational training opportunities if their condition allows them to work; but neither is provided.

The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. The government cooperates with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organisations in assisting refugees and asylum-seekers. In 2005 the President decreed that 10,000 Tajik refugees of Turkmen origin would be given citizenship.

Equal rights and freedoms for all citizens are guaranteed in law, but the President has made statements promoting ethnic purity. Some 77% of the population is Turkmen, 9% Uzbek and 7% Russian. Small groups of Kazakhs, Armenians and Azeris make up the balance. Turkmen themselves are divided into 5 main groups. Turkmen is the official language, but Russian prevails in commerce and daily use.

The government has intensified its campaign to conduct business solely in Turkmen. Ministry employees must pass tests in Turkmen, and those who fail are fired. Turkmen is now a mandatory subject in school, but not necessarily the language of instruction. Teachers and staff are being replaced with ethnic Turkmen teachers and administrators. Applicants for government jobs are asked to provide information on their ethnicity going back 3 generations.

Significant restrictions on academic freedom are in place. Criticism of government policy or of the President is not tolerated, and research into areas considered politically sensitive is not approved. Since 1998 no master's degrees or doctorates have been granted. Government permission is required to study abroad and to gain domestic recognition of foreign degrees. UNICEF reports that university enrolment has decreased from 40,000 in the 1990s to 3,000 in 2004. A variety of rhetorical and poetic works by the former President, Saparmurat Niyazov, have become compulsory study materials in schools and universities.

Women have equal rights in the judicial system and under family and property law. They are under-represented in upper levels of government and in economic enterprises. Women are concentrated in health care and education. Discrimination against women exists and is unrecognised. Social and economic discrimination is commonplace.

Sexual harassment is not illegal, and reports cite instances of sexual harassment in the workforce. Domestic violence is illegal, but the legislation is not effectively enforced.

The minimum age for employment is 16, and for heavy industry it is 18. Youth aged 16 and 17 are prohibited from working more than 6 hours a day. A child of 15 may work 4 to 6 hours a day with parental and trade union permission. Forced or compulsory labour by children is banned. The Young People's Right to Work (Guarantees) Act of 2005 prohibited the work of school age children in cotton fields. The President decreed that no children would participate in the cotton harvest. Local officials continued using children, but in dramatically decreased numbers. Legislation protecting children is not implemented.

Workers have the right to form or join trade unions, but reports indicate unions are not independent of government. The Centre for Professional Unions of Turkmenistan is led by a Presidential appointee. Collective bargaining is not practised. Strikes are extremely rare. Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited, but instances of it are reported. The minimum monthly wage of 1 million to 1.5 million TMM (US $40 to $60 at the unofficial rate) does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The standard legal work week is 40 hours.