Kyrgyzstan

Location	Central Asia, west of China, south of Kazakhstan
Geographic coordinates	41 00 N, 75 00 E
Map references	Asia
Area	total: 199,951 sq km land: 191,801 sq km water: 8,150 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than South Dakota
Land boundaries	total: 3,051 km border countries: China 858 km, Kazakhstan 1,224 km, Tajikistan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,099 km
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)
Climate	dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan Mountains; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone
Terrain	peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Kara-Daryya (Karadar'ya) 132 m highest point: Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m
Natural resources	abundant hydropower; significant deposits of gold and rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc
Land use	arable land: 6.55% permanent crops: 0.28% other: 93.17% note: Kyrgyzstan has the world's largest natural-growth walnut forest (2005)
Irrigated land	10,196 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	46.5 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 10.08 cu km/yr (3%/3%/94%) per capita: 1,916 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	NA
Environment - current issues	water pollution; many people get their water directly from contaminated streams and wells; as a result, water-borne diseases are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation practices
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	landlocked; entirely mountainous, dominated by the Tien Shan range; 94% of the country is 1,000 m above sea level with an average elevation of 2,750 m; many tall peaks, glaciers, and high-altitude lakes