Central Asia

1. Afghanistan - It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and the east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.

2. Kyrgyzstan – It is a  Landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.

3. Tajikistan -  Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. 

4. Turkmenistan - Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, Uzbekistan to the east and northeast, Kazakhstan to the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.

5. Uzbekistan -  It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south.

Countries in Central Asia:

Aral Sea – was once the forth largest lake in the world with an area of 68 000 square kilometers, the Aral Sea has been steadily shrinking since the 1960’s.

Major Bodies of Water

Amu Darya River -  also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. During ancient times, the river was regarded as the boundary between Ariana (Iran) and Tūrān.

Lake Balkhash  is one of the largest lakes in Asia and 13th largest continental lake in the world. It is located in southeastern Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, and belongs to an closed basin shared by Kazakhstan and China, with a small part in Kyrgyzstan. 

1. Karakum – the sandy desert of the Garagum occupies over 70% of Turkmenistan. Its surface consists of wind sculpted dunes and depressions.

Major Landforms

2. Tien Shan mountains – It mainly straddles border between China and Krygyzstan and bisects the ancient territory of Turkistan. The highest peak in Tien Shan is Victory Peak which is 7439 meters.

3. Pamir – lie mainly in Tajikistan. Their highest point at 7495 meter is Communism Peak because it was the highest peak in the former Soviet Union. They have been known as the “Roof of the World.”

In Kazakhstan. It is a home to 3% of the world’s oil, 4% of the world’s coal and 15% of its uranium. It has the world’s largest reserves of zinc, lead and chromite, and it is in the top ten for supplies of copper, iron, gold and manganese. 

Turkmenistan is also rich in energy, with almost 4.5% of the world’s natural gas. It also has 500 million barrels of oil. 

 Uzbekistan has significant natural gas reserves, about 0.8% of the world’s total 

Natural Resources

Islam is the religion most common in the Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan, Xinjiang and the peripheral western regions, such as Bashkiria.

Buddhism was a prominent religion in Central Asia prior to the arrival of Islam, and the transmission of Buddhism along the Silk Road eventually brought the religion to China. Amongst the Turkic peoples, Tengrianism was the popular religion before arrival of Islam.

 Shamanism is also popular.

Religion:

50% of the population can speak Kazakh. 88% of the population can speak Russian. 2% of the population can speak English. Turkmen, is mainly spoken in Turkmenistan, and as

a minority language in Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey.Arts: Central Asia also has an indigenous form of  oral

poetry that is over 1000 years old. It is principally practiced in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. An example of this is Manas Kyrgyzstan's epic poem.

 Painting, sculpture and graphics - have developed in Central Asia.

Languages:

  The main contribution to the regional economy comes from agriculture. Increasing of difficulties related with water deficiency, desertification of the land and climate changing lead to considerable complications in the agricultural sector making it ineffective.

Environmental Problems: