Kyrgyzstan vs. Uzbekistan
Geography
| Kyrgyzstan | Uzbekistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Asia, west of China, south of Kazakhstan | Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan |
| Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 75 00 E | 41 00 N, 64 00 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 199,951 sq km land: 191,801 sq km water: 8,150 sq km | total: 447,400 sq km land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Dakota | about four times the size of Virginia; slightly larger than California |
| Land boundaries | total: 4,573 km border countries (4): China 1063 km, Kazakhstan 1212 km, Tajikistan 984 km, Uzbekistan 1314 km | total: 6,893 km border countries (5): Afghanistan 144 km, Kazakhstan 2330 km, Kyrgyzstan 1314 km, Tajikistan 1312 km, Turkmenistan 1793 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (doubly landlocked) |
| Climate | dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan Mountains; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone | mostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
| Terrain | peaks of the Tien Shan mountain range and associated valleys and basins encompass the entire country | mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m lowest point: Kara-Daryya (Karadar'ya) 132 m mean elevation: 2,988 m | highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m lowest point: Sariqamish Kuli -12 m |
| Natural resources | abundant hydropower; gold, rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
| Land use | agricultural land: 55.4% (2018 est.) arable land: 6.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 48.3% (2018 est.) forest: 5.1% (2018 est.) other: 39.5% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 62.6% (2018 est.) arable land: 10.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 51.7% (2018 est.) forest: 7.7% (2018 est.) other: 29.7% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 10,233 sq km (2012) | 42,150 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | major flooding during snow melt; prone to earthquakes | earthquakes; floods; landslides or mudslides; avalanches; droughts |
| Environment - current issues | water pollution; many people get their water directly from contaminated streams and wells; as a result, water-borne diseases are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation practices; air pollution due to rapid increase of traffic | shrinkage of the Aral Sea has resulted in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification and respiratory health problems; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | landlocked; entirely mountainous, dominated by the Tien Shan range; 94% of the country is 1,000 m above sea level with an average elevation of 2,750 m; many tall peaks, glaciers, and high-altitude lakes | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world |
| Total renewable water resources | 23.618 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 48.87 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the vast majority of Kyrgyzstanis live in rural areas; densest population settlement is to the north in and around the capital, Bishkek, followed by Osh in the west; the least densely populated area is the east, southeast in the Tien Shan mountains | most of the population is concentrated in the fertile Fergana Valley in the easternmost arm of the country; the south has significant clusters of people, while the central and western deserts are sparsely populated |
Source: CIA Factbook
