Turkmen Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Turkmenistan lies in Central Asia between the Caspian Sea and Afghanistan, and much of it is covered by the Karakum Desert. The ancient Silk Road city of Merv is one of its treasures. Turkmen is the national language. Turkmen people in Birmingham include students and professionals.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 65 Birmingham residents described their ethnic group as Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen or Uzbek. The census counts the five Central Asian nationalities together, and Turkmen residents are a small share of that figure.

Working for Birmingham

Turkmen residents study and work in fields such as engineering, energy, business and medicine. Turkmenistan has some of the world's largest natural gas reserves, and Turkmen engineers and students bring an interest in energy and infrastructure to their work and studies in Britain.

Much of the work that keeps Birmingham moving happens out of sight: the night shift on a hospital ward, the early start on a building site, the plumber who fixes a boiler on a winter evening, the teaching assistant who helps a child learn to read. People from every community in the city do these jobs, and Turkmen residents are part of that everyday effort to make Birmingham a better place to live.

Culture and community life

Turkmen carpets, with their deep red colours and intricate patterns, are among the most famous in the world, and the Akhal-Teke, the country's golden horse, is a national symbol. Navruz is celebrated in spring, and dishes such as plov and dograma are shared with family and friends.

In a city where scores of languages are spoken, the Turkmen community adds another voice to the conversation. Its members, old and new, are helping to make Birmingham the confident, outward-looking city it wants to be.