Kazakhstan vs Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
| Metric | Kazakhstan | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Astana | Tashkent |
| Population | 20,843,754 | 37,053,428 |
| Area (km²) | 2,724,900 | 448,978 |
| Population density (/km²) | 8 | 83 |
| GDP per capita (USD) | $14,700 | $4,000 |
| Region | Central Asia | Central Asia |
| Currency | KZT | UZS |
| Languages | Kazakh, Russian | Uzbek |
| Main religions | Islam, Christianity | Islam |
| Time zone | UTC+5 | UTC+5 |
Green highlights the higher value (or higher GDP per capita). Figures are approximate.
At a glance
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are both located in Asia (both in Central Asia). Uzbekistan has the larger population — about 1.8× the population of Kazakhstan, while Kazakhstan covers more land area.
For full geographic detail, see the Kazakhstan map and the Uzbekistan map.
Size against population
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the two heavyweights of Central Asia, but in different ways. Kazakhstan is about six times larger in area, mostly steppe and semi-desert, while Uzbekistan, though much smaller, has more people and is the region's most populous country. Uzbekistan is also one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world, along with Liechtenstein: every one of its neighbours is itself landlocked.
A long shared frontier
The two share a border of more than 2,000 km, running from the Ustyurt Plateau across the remains of the Aral Sea and along the edge of the Kyzylkum Desert to the outskirts of Tashkent, which lies very close to the Kazakh border. In 2022 they signed an agreement completing the demarcation of the boundary. The shrinking of the Aral Sea, caused mainly by Soviet-era diversion of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers for cotton irrigation, is a shared environmental disaster; Kazakhstan's Kok-Aral dam has partly restored the smaller northern lobe.
Herders and oasis cities
Historically the Kazakhs were mainly nomadic herders, while the territory of modern Uzbekistan contained the great oasis cities of the Silk Road, including Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Both peoples are predominantly Muslim and speak related Turkic languages, though Kazakh and Uzbek belong to different branches of the family. Uzbekistan adopted a Latin alphabet in the 1990s; Kazakhstan is still moving from Cyrillic to Latin. Russian remains more widely used in Kazakhstan, which also has a large ethnic Russian minority.
Economies
Kazakhstan is richer per person, thanks largely to oil, gas, uranium and metals. Uzbekistan has natural gas and gold but a larger agricultural sector, and since 2016 it has carried out market reforms, eased currency controls and opened up to tourists. Kazakhstan's capital is Astana and its largest city is Almaty; Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital, is Central Asia's largest city.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is bigger, Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan?
- Kazakhstan is about six times larger in area, but Uzbekistan has the larger population.
- What does doubly landlocked mean for Uzbekistan?
- It means Uzbekistan is surrounded only by other landlocked countries, so reaching the ocean requires crossing at least two borders. Liechtenstein is the only other such country.