Students barred from leaving country ahead of census

Parents and eyewitnesses say Turkmen students set to study abroad are being barred from leaving the country at Ashgabat International Airport. It is not clear how many students have been affected by the action, which began in September, but one eyewitness said that students were being removed by migration officials from foreign-bound flights “en masse”, reports RFE/RL.

Some Turkmen think authorities are reluctant to let citizens leave the country ahead of a December census that comes amid an unprecedented population decline in Turkmenistan of millions of people. The authoritarian government in Ashgabat hasn’t publicly announced any ‘ban’ or explained why students are not allowed to fly abroad. But eyewitnesses say migration officials said they’re only stopping students who study – or have enrolled – in universities whose diplomas are not recognised in Turkmenistan.

The latest ban comes ahead of a planned census in December. At least two preliminary government surveys in recent years have reportedly indicated a severe demographic crisis in Turkmenistan. In 2020, the government put the country’s population at 6.2 million. But a poll in 2021 found that the number of people living in Turkmenistan was some 2.8 million, three officials close to the survey told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity at the time.
Full report on the RFE/RL site