Turkmenistan provided its citizens with free energy and water, but subsidies ended in 2017 due to a drop in energy prices and Russia’s decision not to buy natural gas. Turkmenistan has a natural gas crater on fire since 1971, 70% desert, and banned private satellite dishes in 2015.
The former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan may not top the list of most popular places to live, but its citizens have certainly benefited from its plentiful supply of energy. From 1993 to 2017, every citizen of Turkmenistan received 1,765 cubic feet (50 cubic meters) of natural gas and 35 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month, as well as 66 gallons (250 liters) of water each day. To put that into perspective, the average American household uses between 80 and 100 gallons (303 and 379 liters) of water per day and 897 kilowatts of electricity and 5,000 cubic feet (141 cubic meters) of natural gas per month. In other words, most Turkmen households have paid only a fraction of their actual energy costs. However, all of this is coming to an end under the leadership of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who ended subsidies in 2017 following a sharp drop in energy prices and Russia’s decision not to buy any more natural gas from Turkmenistan.
A virtual visit to Turkmenistan:
Turkmenistan contains a large natural gas crater that has been on fire since it was set on fire by geologists in 1971; it is nicknamed the “Gate of Hell”.
About 70 percent of Turkmenistan is desert, but the country’s capital, Ashgabat, boasts the world’s largest indoor swimming pool.
Private satellite dishes were banned in Turkmenistan in 2015, allegedly in a bid to prevent access to international news.
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