What are the Key Facts of Kyrgyzstan?

Where is Kyrgyzstan?

Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian country that shares its 4,573 km (2,842 mi) long border with 4 other countries. The landlocked country shares its borders with Uzbekistan (1,314 km or 816 mi) to the west and southwest, Kazakhstan (1,212 km or 753 mi) to the north, China (1,063 km or 661 mi) to the east, and Tajikistan (984 km or 611 mi) to the southwest.

What is the Geography of Kyrgyzstan?

The total area of Kyrgyzstan is 199,951 sq. km (77,202 sq. mi), out of which 191,801 sq. km (74,055 sq. mi) is land area and 8,150 sq. km (3,147 sq. mi) is water area. Being a landlocked country, the country has no coastline.

Interestingly, Kyrgyzstan is known as the “the Switzerland of Central Asia”. Its terrain mostly includes mountainous region (Tien Shan mountain range’s peaks) along with their valleys and basins. The massive rugged mountain ranges in this area are Tien Shan, Kirghiz, and Alai. These massive mountain ranges come with large areas of glaciers. A few flat, lower valleys are also there. However, around 35% of the land has more than 3,000 m (9,842 ft) elevation from the sea level.

While Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) is the highest elevation point at 7,439 m (24,406 ft), Kara-Daryya (Karadar’ya) is the lowest elevation point at 132 m (433 ft). The highest elevation of the country is located along the Chinese border. The cultivable area (only 8% of the available land) is mainly concentrated in the Fergana Valley’s fringe as well as the northern lowlands.

Moreover, the average elevation of Kyrgyzstan is 2,988 m (9,803 ft). A large number of rivers (including the major ones such as Al-Say, Naryn, and Kara Daryya) flow from the mountainous region’s upper reaches to closed drainage systems (that don’t reach the sea). The largest lake in the country is Issyk-Kul Lake (called Ysyk-Köl in Kyrgyz), which is located in the north-eastern Tian Shan. It is also the world’s 2nd largest mountain lake after Titicaca.

Kyrgyzstan, a predominantly mountainous country, has a continental climate. It is characterized by frosty, cold winters and sunny, warm summers. While the low altitudes are sometimes scorching hot, the mountainous regions are comparatively cooler. Generally, Kyrgyzstan gets lots of sunlight and in some areas, it can go up to 2,900 hours of sunlight per year. In the western parts of Kyrgyzstan, the level of rainfall is moderate. Its center-eastern parts are arid. At lower elevations, deserts are also present. Sometimes, sandstorms blow in the country, thanks to the vast deserts located in the neighboring countries.

Consequently, the warmest average temperature is witnessed in Osh and Ysyk-Köl (cities located in the southern parts) in the month of January. It revolves around −4 °C (25 °F). However, the mountain valleys get the lowest temperature. In July, the average temperature in the Fergana Valley revolves around 27 °C (80.6 °F). While Ysyk-Köl’s west bank receives less than 100 mm (3.9 in) of rainfall, the mountains above the Fergana Valley receive around 2,000 mm (78.7 in) rainfall per year.

What is the Economy of Kyrgyzstan?

The economy of the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the poorest among the nations of Central Asia. The nominal GDP of the country grew by 3.5% in 2018 to reach US$8.09 billion. Also, the decline in food prices led to inflation decreasing to just 0.5% by 2018-end from 3.7% in December 2017.

Additionally, higher import tax collections led to a rise in tax revenue from 23.9% in 2017 to 25.4% in 2018. The fiscal deficit also fell from 4.6% of GDP in 2017 to 1.6% of GDP in 2018. It is the result of strong tax collections, on the one hand, and under-execution of the investment program, on the other.

However, Kyrgyzstan’s economy is still predominantly dependent upon agriculture. 48% of the labor force is involved in the agricultural sector. Yet, agriculture’s contribution to the GDP is below 15%. Service and industrial sectors contribute 54% and 31% of the GDP respectively.

Further, the major export items of the country are tobacco, cotton, wool, and meat. The economy is heavily dependent upon natural reserves (uranium, mercury, gold, and natural gas) as well as industrial exports. Other estimates show that over 7% of the labor force was unemployed and the poverty rate was 25.6% in 2017.

What is the Transportation System of Kyrgyzstan?

Kyrgyzstan’s transportation system is mainly dependent upon roadways. 34,000 km (21,127 mi) of roadways is present in the country. 600 km (373 mi) of waterways are also present. Balykchy is the major lake port, which is located on the Lake Ysyk-Kol. Railway network is 424 km (263 mi) long and all of it is broad gauge. 28 airports are available in Kyrgyzstan, of which 18 airports have paved runways and 10 have unpaved runways.

What International Organizations is Kyrgyzstan part of?

WTO, ADB, IMF, CICA, CIS, CSTO, ILO, EAEC, EAEU, EAPC, UN, EBRD, ECO, FAO, UNCTAD, GCTU, UNESCO, IAEA, UNIDO, IBRD, UNAMID, ICAO, UNISFA, ICRM, UNMIL, IDA, IDB, UNWTO, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO, UNMISS, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, EITI (compliant country), ISO (correspondent), ICC (NGOs), WFTU (NGOs), NAM (observer)