Much of the city was destroyed by the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake, but has since been extensively rebuilt under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov's "White City" urban renewal project, resulting in monumental projects sheathed in costly white marble.

Ashgabat, the world's strangest and flashy 'city of the dead'

The metro area population of Ashgabat in 2023 was 902,000, a 2.15% increase from 2022. The metro area population of Ashgabat in 2022 was 883,000, a 2.08% increase from 2021. The metro area population of Ashgabat in 2021 was 865,000, a 2.25% increase from 2020.

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan lies in an oasis at the northern foot of the Kopet-Dag mountain range on the edge of the Karakum Desert in Central Asia. Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan and the country's largest city, with over 600,000 residents.