Balkan Province

Balkan Province (Turkmen: Balkan welaýaty, frae the Persian بلخان Balkhān) is ane o the Welayat (provinces) o Turkmenistan. It is in the far wast o the kintra, borderin Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, an Iran. Its caipital is Balkanabat, umwhile kent as Nebit Dag. It haes an aurie o 139,270 square kilometres an a population o approximately 553,500 fowk (2005 est.).^[1] Its population density o 3.3 persons per square kilometre is the lawest in Turkmenistan.

Ither ceeties include: Türkmenbaşy, Gumdag, Serdar, Hazar, Gyzyletrek, Esenguly.

Balkan Province haes significant energy reserves, which accoont for 94% o Turkmenistan's natural gas production an 12% o its petroleum production. It an aa generates 18% o the kintra's electric pouer. Due tae the vera law water supply, agricultur is negligible, an anerlie 4.5% of Turkmenistan's arable lands are athin the province.

Aff its Caspian shores the Balkan Province includes the island o Ogurja Ada, the maist important island in Turkmenistan an ane o the lairgest in the Caspian Sea.

Destricts

Balkan Province is admeenistratively dividit intae 6 destricts (etraplar; singular: etrap) an 7 ceeties (il).^[2]^[3] Name chynges syne 1995 are shown in parentheses:

Destricts
- Bereket Destrict (umwhlie Gazanjyk)
- Esenguly Destrict
- Etrek Destrict (umwhile Gyzyletrek)
- Magtymguly Destrict (umwhile Garrygala)
- Serdar Destrict (umwhile Gyzylarbat)
- Türkmenbaşy Destrict

Ceeties
- Balkanabat
- Bereket (Gazanjyk)
- Garabogaz (formerly Bekdaş)
- Gumdag
- Hazar (umwhile Çeleken)
- Serdar Ceety (umwhile Kyzyl-Arvat, Gyzylarbat) – grantit etrap status on 3 Februar 2008^[4]
- Türkmenbaşy Ceety (umwhile Krasnovodsk)