Country · Asia
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz Republic
Kyrgyzstan is a country in Central Asia. About 6.3 million people live there, in an area of 199 951 square kilometres. Its capital city is Bishkek.
Picture credit: Vilya Shoni (CC BY-SA 4.0) · ThomasG (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Bgag (CC0) · Aitenir (CC0) · Director-nsk (CC BY 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Kyrgyzstan?
Kyrgyzstan lies in Central Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 4 564 km from the equator.
Kyrgyzstan is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 4 countries: China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
How big is Kyrgyzstan?
Kyrgyzstan covers 199 951 square kilometres.
That is about 4.8 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 85th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 31.6 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Kyrgyzstan?
About 6.3 million people live in Kyrgyzstan.
That is the 110th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Kyrgyz and Russian.
They pay with the Kyrgyzstani som (с).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 63 years.
The land of Kyrgyzstan
The land of Kyrgyzstan sits on average 2 988 metres above sea level — high enough that much of it counts as mountain country.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 4 neighbours to get here.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Kyrgyzstan different?
Dishes the country is known for: Beshbarmak, Laghman and Kuurdak.
Websites from here often end in .kg.
Kyrgyzstan and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Kyrgyzstan.
It takes up about 0.15 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 23rd of 46 by size, and 33rd by population.
Kyrgyzstan and its neighbours
China, its largest neighbour, is about 48.5 times bigger.
China has more people: 1.4 billion against 6.3 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Kyrgyzstan: Snow leopard. The highest mountain in the country is Jengish Chokusu, at 7 439 metres. The longest river in the country is the Naryn. The largest lake in the country is Issyk-Kul.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Kyrgyzstan compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 47 times as big as Kyrgyzstan: 9 372 610 km² against 199 951 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 1.2 times as big as Kyrgyzstan: 242 900 km² against 199 951 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Kyrgyzstan?
The capital of Kyrgyzstan is Bishkek. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Kyrgyzstan?
About 6.3 million people live in Kyrgyzstan, which makes it the 110th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Kyrgyzstan?
Kyrgyzstan borders China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — 4 neighbours in total.
How big is Kyrgyzstan?
Kyrgyzstan covers 199 951 square kilometres, making it the 85th largest country in the world. That is about 4.8 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Kyrgyzstan?
The highest mountain in Kyrgyzstan is Jengish Chokusu, 7 439 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Kyrgyzstan?
The longest river in Kyrgyzstan is the Naryn. Of its 807 kilometres, about 616 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan?
The largest lake in Kyrgyzstan is Issyk-Kul. It covers about 6 236 km².
Which continent is Kyrgyzstan in?
Kyrgyzstan is in Asia, in the part called Central Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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