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| Location: |
Central Asia, north of Afghanistan
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| Geographic coordinates: |
41 00 N, 64 00 E
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| Map references: |
Commonwealth of Independent States
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| Area: |
total:
447,400 sq km
land:
425,400 sq km
water:
22,000 sq km
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| Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than California
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| Land boundaries: |
total:
6,221 km
border countries:
Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km
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| Coastline: |
0 km; note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline
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| Maritime claims: |
none (doubly landlocked)
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| Climate: |
mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
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| Terrain: |
mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Sirdaryo (Syr Darya), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west
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| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point:
Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m
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| Natural resources: |
natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum
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| Land use: |
arable land:
9%
permanent crops:
1%
permanent pastures:
46%
forests and woodland:
3%
other:
41% (1993 est.)
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| Irrigated land: |
40,000 sq km (1993 est.)
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| Environment - current issues: |
drying up of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; 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 agricultural chemicals, including DDT
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| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
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| Geography - note: |
along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world
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