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How many countries are in Central Asia?

There are 5 countries in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Broader definitions sometimes add Afghanistan and Mongolia.

Central Asia's five countries are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, often called the "five stans" (-stan is Persian for "land of"). All five were Soviet republics and became independent in 1991. Together they have about 83.6 million people spread across 4,005,029 km².

The five countries compared

Kazakhstan accounts for about 68% of the region's land and is the world's largest landlocked country. Uzbekistan has the most people and holds the historic Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. It is also one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are high mountain countries in the Tian Shan and Pamirs, while Turkmenistan is mostly the Karakum Desert.

Wider definitions

The five-country definition used by the UN is the most common, but some broader ones, such as UNESCO's history of Central Asia, also include Afghanistan, Mongolia, Xinjiang in western China and parts of Iran, Pakistan and southern Russia. In UN statistics Afghanistan is counted in South Asia and Mongolia in East Asia.

See the region on the Central Asia map.

Population: UN World Population Prospects 2024 (2025 estimates). Area: total area including inland water, standard UN / national reference figures.