Kyrgyzstan Map

A country of mountains

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked republic of about 200,000 square kilometers and about 7.3 million people (UN World Population Prospects, 2025 estimate). It borders Kazakhstan to the north, China to the east and southeast, Tajikistan to the southwest and Uzbekistan to the west. Over 90 percent of the country is mountainous, which is why it is sometimes called the "Switzerland of Central Asia". The Tian Shan covers most of it. Its highest summit, Jengish Chokusu (Victory Peak, 7,439 meters), and Khan Tengri (about 7,010 meters) stand on or near the Chinese border. In the south, the Alay Valley separates the Alay Range from the Trans-Alay Range of the Pamirs, where Lenin Peak (7,134 meters) marks the Tajik border. The only extensive lowlands are the Chüy Valley around Bishkek in the north and the edges of the Fergana Valley in the southwest. Glacier-fed rivers such as the Naryn, a headwater of the Syr Darya, feed the Toktogul Reservoir, the country's largest source of hydropower.

Issyk-Kul and the high pastures

Issyk-Kul, in the northeast, lies at about 1,607 meters and is about 180 kilometers long, one of the largest mountain lakes in the world. Its slightly salty water does not freeze in winter. Resorts line the north shore around Cholpon-Ata, which also has a field of Bronze Age petroglyphs, while Karakol at the eastern end is the base for treks into the Terskey Ala-Too. Higher up, herders still move their animals and yurts to summer pastures called jailoo, such as those around Song-Kul lake at about 3,000 meters. Mountain roads and passes are usually clear only from June to September, which is the main trekking season; winters are long and cold, and Bishkek is hot in July and August.

The Fergana Valley and its borders

Soviet planners drew the borders of the Fergana Valley in the 1920s and 1930s in a way that left Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan tightly interlocked, with Uzbek enclaves such as Sokh and Shakhimardan and the Tajik enclave of Vorukh inside Kyrgyz territory. Disputes over land and water led to deadly clashes on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in 2021 and 2022. Kyrgyzstan settled its border with Uzbekistan in 2023, and on 13 March 2025 the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed a treaty fixing their entire shared border. Later that month the three countries agreed on the point where their borders meet. The valley is also the most densely populated part of the country; in June 2010, violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in Osh and Jalal-Abad killed hundreds of people.

Regions and Major Cities

Kyrgyzstan is divided into seven regions (Batken, Chüy, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad, Naryn, Osh and Talas) plus the cities of Bishkek and Osh.

• Bishkek - About 1.32 million at the start of 2025 (National Statistical Committee), founded as the Kokand fortress of Pishpek in 1825 and called Frunze from 1926 to 1991
• Osh - About 470,000 at the start of 2025 (National Statistical Committee), the southern capital, which claims an age of 3,000 years; its sacred mountain, Sulaiman-Too, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Jalal-Abad - About 118,000 (2022 census), a spa town and the gateway to the walnut forests of Arslanbob
• Karakol - About 77,000 (2022 census), at the eastern end of Issyk-Kul, with a wooden Orthodox cathedral and a Dungan mosque
• Tokmok - About 73,000 (2022 census), in the Chüy Valley near the Burana Tower, the remains of the medieval city of Balasagun

Economy and links

Gold is the largest export, most of it from the Kumtor mine, which the state took over in 2021-2022. Remittances from migrants working in Russia and Kazakhstan are equivalent to a large share of GDP, and GDP per capita was about US$3,100 in 2025 (World Bank). Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. Trade with China crosses the Torugart and Irkeshtam passes, and construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway began in December 2024.

History and culture

The Kyrgyz were nomadic herders in the Tian Shan for centuries. The region came under the Kokand Khanate and then, in the 1860s and 1870s, the Russian Empire. It became the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic in 1936 and declared independence on 31 August 1991. Popular uprisings removed presidents in 2005, 2010 and 2020, and a 2021 referendum restored a strong presidential system. Kyrgyz is the state language and Russian is official; most people are Sunni Muslims. The Manas epic, which in its longest recorded version runs to about 500,000 lines, is central to national identity, and the felt carpets called shyrdak and the white felt kalpak hat are national symbols. Kok-boru, a team horseback game played with a goat carcass, is the national sport, and the country hosted the first three World Nomad Games, in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Nooruz, the spring new year on 21 March, is the biggest festival.