Balkan Region

Balkan Region (Turkmen: Balkan welaýaty, Балкан велаяты) is one of the five approximately equal regions of Turkmenistan. It is that in the far west of the country. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two regions of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south) and the Caspian Sea (west). Its capital is Balkanabat, formerly known as Nebit Dag. The territory of the region is identical to the territory of the former region of Krasnovodsk Oblast, a Soviet-era Oblast of the Turkmen S.S.R.. This oblast was liquidated and restored many times in the mid to late 19 hundreds and in 1988 it was abolished for good. However, the administrative boundaries of the region were restored in 1991 when Balkan Region was established.

Balkan
Region
Balkan region in Turkmenistan
Country	Turkmenistan
Capital	Balkanabat
Area
• Total	139,270 km2 (53,770 sq mi)
Population  (2005)
• Total	553,500
• Density	4.0/km2 (10/sq mi)

Balkan comes from “Bal akan” meaning “where the honey flows”, possibly relating to the locally rich petroleum sources. It covers 139,270 square kilometers and houses 553,500 people (a 2005 estimate). A large minority of these are nomadic herding families.[1] Its population density of 3.3 persons per square kilometer is the lowest in Turkmenistan.

Other cities include: Bereket, Türkmenbaşy, Gumdag, Serdar, Hazar, Etrek, Esenguly.

The Balkan Region has significant energy reserves, which account for 94% of Turkmenistan's natural gas production and 12% of its petroleum production. It also generates 18% of the country's electric power. Due to the very low water supply, agriculture is negligible, and only 4.5% of Turkmenistan's arable lands are within the province.

Off its Caspian shores the Balkan Region includes the island of Ogurja Ada, the most important island in Turkmenistan and one of the largest in the Caspian Sea.