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Uzbekistan vs. Afghanistan

Geography

UzbekistanAfghanistan
LocationCentral Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of KazakhstanSouthern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Geographic coordinates41 00 N, 64 00 E33 00 N, 65 00 E
Map referencesAsiaAsia
Areatotal: 447,400 sq km

land: 425,400 sq km

water: 22,000 sq km
total: 652,230 sq km

land: 652,230 sq km

water: 0 sq km
Area - comparativeabout four times the size of Virginia; slightly larger than Californiaalmost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundariestotal: 6,893 km

border countries (5): Afghanistan 144 km, Kazakhstan 2330 km, Kyrgyzstan 1314 km, Tajikistan 1312 km, Turkmenistan 1793 km
total: 5,987 km

border countries (6): China 91 km, Iran 921 km, Pakistan 2670 km, Tajikistan 1357 km, Turkmenistan 804 km, Uzbekistan 144 km
Coastline0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claimsnone (doubly landlocked)none (landlocked)
Climatemostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in eastarid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrainmostly 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 westmostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Elevation extremeshighest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m

lowest point: Sariqamish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Noshak 7,492 m

lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m

mean elevation: 1,884 m
Natural resourcesnatural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenumnatural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land
Land useagricultural 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.)
agricultural land: 58.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.8% (2018)

permanent crops: 0.3% (2018)

permanent pasture: 46% (2018)

forest: 1.85% (2018 est.)

other: 40.1% (2018)
Irrigated land42,150 sq km (2012)32,080 sq km (2012)
Natural hazardsearthquakes; floods; landslides or mudslides; avalanches; droughtsdamaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Environment - current issuesshrinkage 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 DDTlimited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution in overcrowded urban areas
Environment - international agreementsparty 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
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - notealong with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the worldlandlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)
Total renewable water resources48.87 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)65.33 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionmost 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 populatedpopulations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

Source: CIA Factbook