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Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a
landlocked country A landlocked country is a country that has no territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie solely on endorheic basins. Currently, there are 44 landlocked countries, two of them doubly landlocked (Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan), and t ...
in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
lying in the
Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...
and Pamir mountain ranges.
Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
is the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
and
largest city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metrop ...
. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
to the
north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
,
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
to the
west West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
,
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
to the
south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
, and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
to the east and southeast. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's over 7 million people, followed by significant minorities of
Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...
and
Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
. Kyrgyzstan's history spans a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the
Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...
along with other commercial routes. Inhabited by a succession of tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under larger domination, for example the Turkic
nomads Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In the twentieth century, ...
, who trace their ancestry to many Turkic states. It was first established as the
Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate The Kyrgyz Khaganate () was a Turkic peoples, Turkic empire that existed between the early 6th century, 6th and 13th centuries. It ruled over the Yenisei Kyrgyz people, who had been located in southern Siberia since the 6th century. By the 9th ce ...
. Later, in the 13th century, Kyrgyzstan was conquered by the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...
and under several
Mongol dynasties Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of Mon ...
; it regained independence, but was later invaded by the
Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...
. After the fall of Dzhungars, Kyrgyz and Kipchaks were an integral part of
Kokand Khanate The Khanate of Kokand was a Central Asian polity in the Fergana Valley centred on the city of Kokand between 1709 and 1876. It was ruled by the Ming tribe of Uzbeks. Its territory is today divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and ...
. In 1876, Kyrgyzstan became part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, and in 1936, the
Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR), also known as the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kyrgyz SSR), KySSR or Kirgiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirgiz SSR), was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1 ...
was formed to become a constituent republic of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Following
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
's democratic reforms in the USSR, in 1990 pro-independence candidate
Askar Akayev Askar Akayevich Akayev (, ; born 10 November 1944) is a Kyrgyz former politician who served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until being overthrown in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution. Education and early career Akayev was born in Kyzyl-B ...
was elected president. On 31 August 1991, Kyrgyzstan declared independence from the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and a democratic government was established. Kyrgyzstan attained sovereignty as a nation state after the
breakup of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
in 1991. After independence, Kyrgyzstan was officially a
unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigr ...
presidential republic A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system (sometimes also congressional system) is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled " president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and l ...
. Following the
Tulip Revolution The Tulip Revolution, also known as the First Kyrgyz Revolution, led to Kyrgyzstan's then-President of Kyrgyzstan, President Askar Akayev's fall from power. The revolution began after Kyrgyz parliamentary elections, 2005, parliamentary elections ...
it became a
unitary parliamentary republic A unitary parliamentary republic is a type of unitary state with a republican form of government in which political authority is entrusted to the parliament by multiple constituencies throughout a country. In this system, voters elect members ...
; however, it gradually developed an executive president and was governed as a
semi-presidential republic A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliament ...
before reverting to a presidential system in 2021. Throughout its existence, the country has continued to endure ethnic conflicts, revolts, economic troubles, transitional governments and political conflict. Kyrgyzstan is a member of the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...
, the
Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single ...
, the
Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...
, the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian politics, political, economy, economic, international security and Defence (military), defence organization of ten member states. It was established in 2001 by the China, People's Republic ...
, the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...
, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...
, the
Organization of Turkic States The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an intergovernmental organization comprising all but one of the internationally recognized Turkic languages, Tur ...
, the
Türksoy The International Organization of Turkic Culture or TÜRKSOY is an international cultural organization of countries with Turkic populations, speaking languages belonging to the Turkic language family. The General Secretary of Türksoy is Sult ...
community, and the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. It is a
developing country A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...
ranked 117th in the
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
, and is the second poorest country in Central Asia after neighbouring Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan’s
transition economy A transition economy or transitional economy is an economy which is changing from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. Transition economies undergo a set of structural transformations intended to develop market-based institutions. T ...
relies mainly on re-exporting Chinese goods and gold production. The country balances its international trade commitments as a World Trade Organization (WTO) member since 1998 with regional integration through the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which it joined in 2015.


Etymology

''Kyrgyz'' is derived from the Turkic word for "We are forty", believed to refer to the forty clans of Manas, a legendary hero who united forty regional clans. The
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
''suffix
-stan -stan ( Persian: ستان )(Sanskrit: ''sthān'' or ''sthānam)'' is a Persian suffix that has the meaning of "a place abounding in" or "place where anything abounds" as a suffix. It is widely used by Iranian languages (mainly Persian) and ...
'' means "place of". The 40-ray sun on the
flag of Kyrgyzstan The State Flag of the Kyrgyz Republic consists of a red field charged with a yellow sun that contains a depiction of a ''tündük'', the opening in the center of the roof of a ''yurt'' (traditional nomadic tent). Adopted in 1992, just over seven ...
is a reference to those same forty tribes and the graphical element in the sun's center depicts the wooden crown, called tunduk, of a
yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...
—a portable dwelling traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The country's official name is ''Kyrgyz Republic'', used in international arenas and foreign relations. In the English-speaking world, the spelling ''Kyrgyzstan'' is commonly used, while its former name ''Kirghizia'' is rarely used.


History


Early history

The Kyrgyz state reached its greatest expansion after defeating the
Uyghur Khaganate The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; , Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that existed for about a century between the mid 8th and 9th centuries. It ...
in 840 AD. From the tenth century, the Kyrgyz migrated as far as the
Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...
range and maintained their dominance over this territory for about 200 years. There is a storytelling tradition of the ''
Epic of Manas The ''Epic of Manas'' is a lengthy and traditional epic poem of the Kyrgyz people of East and Central Asia. Versions of the poem which date to the 19th century contain historical events of the 8th century, though Kyrgyz tradition holds it to be ...
'', which involves a warrior who unified all of the scattered tribes into a single nation in the 9th century. The trilogy, an element of the
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
, expresses the memory of the
nomadic people Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pas ...
s. In the 12th century, the Kyrgyz dominion had shrunk to the
Altay Altai or Altay may refer to: Places *Altai Mountains, in Central and East Asia, a region shared by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia In China *Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China *Altay City (阿勒 ...
Range and
Sayan Mountains The Sayan Mountains (, ; ) are a mountain range in southern Siberia spanning southeastern Russia (Buryatia, Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Tuva and Khakassia) and northern Mongolia. Before the rapid expansion of the Tsardom of Russia, the mou ...
as a result of the Mongol expansion. With the rise of the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...
in the thirteenth century, the Kyrgyz migrated south. The Kyrgyz peacefully became a part of the Mongol Empire in 1207.
Issyk Kul Lake Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl (, ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleve ...
was a stopover on the
Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...
, a land route for traders, merchants, and other travelers from the Far East to Europe. Kyrgyz tribes were overrun in the 17th century by the Mongols, in the mid-18th century by the
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
-led
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
of China, and in the early 19th century by the Uzbek
Khanate of Kokand The Khanate of Kokand was a Central Asian polity in the Fergana Valley centred on the city of Kokand between 1709 and 1876. It was ruled by the Ming tribe of Uzbeks. Its territory is today divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, a ...
. In 1842, the Kyrgyz tribes broke away from Kokand and united into the , led by Ormon Khan. Following Ormon's death in 1854, the khanate disintegrated.


Russian conquest

In the late nineteenth century, the eastern part of what is today Kyrgyzstan, mainly the
Issyk-Kul Region Issyk-Kul (, ) is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kazakhstan to the north, Chüy Region to the west, Naryn Region to the southwest, and Xinjiang, China to the southeast. It takes ...
, was ceded to the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
by
Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...
through the
Treaty of Tarbagatai The Treaty of Tarbagatai () or Treaty of Chuguchak () of was a border protocol between Qing dynasty, Qing China and the Russian Empire that defined most of the western extent of their border in central Asia, between Outer Mongolia and the Khanate ...
. The territory, then known in Russian as "Kirghizia", was formally incorporated into the Empire in 1876. The Russian takeover was met with numerous revolts, and many of the Kyrgyz opted to relocate to the
Pamir Mountains The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. In addition, the suppression of the 1916 rebellion against Russian rule in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz later to migrate to China. Since many ethnic groups in the region were, and still are, split between neighboring states at a time when borders were more porous and less regulated, it was common to move back and forth over the mountains, depending on where life was perceived as better; this might mean better rains for pasture or better government during oppression.


Soviet Kyrgyzstan

Soviet power was initially established in the region in 1919, and the
Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast The Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast, abbreviated as Kara-Kirghiz AO or KAO in the former region of Soviet Central Asia, was created on 14 October 1924 within the Russian SFSR from the predominantly Kyrgyz part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet ...
was created within the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
(SFSR). The phrase Kara-Kirghiz was used until the mid-1920s by the Russians to distinguish them from the
Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...
, who were also referred to as Kirghiz. On 5 December 1936, the
Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR), also known as the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kyrgyz SSR), KySSR or Kirgiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirgiz SSR), was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1 ...
was established as a constituent
Union Republic In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a constituent federated political entity with a system of government called a Soviet republic, which was officially defined in the 1977 constitution as "a ...
of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. After the
Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
, the period of the
New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...
(NEP), began, which lasted roughly to 1928. The
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
made an effort to establish a standardized tax system, with higher taxes for nomads to discourage the wandering livelihood and they divided the Central Asia region into five nation-states. Kyrgyzstan developed considerably in cultural, educational, and social life, literacy was greatly improved. Economic and social development also was notable. Under
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
a great focus was put on Kyrgyz
national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...
. The Soviet state was fighting tribalism: its social organization based on patrilineal kinship contradicted the concept of the modern nation state. In a region that did not previously know national institutions or consciousness, the process of nation-building was, from the indigenous perspective, a difficult and ambivalent one. By the end of the 1920s, the Soviet Union developed a series of
five-year plans Five-year plan may refer to: Nation plans * Five-year plans of the Soviet Union, a series of nationwide centralized economic plans in the Soviet Union * Five-Year Plans of Argentina, under Peron (1946–1955) * Five-Year Plans of Bhutan, a series ...
, centered around
industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...
and the
collectivization of agriculture Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...
, including the creation of huge "
kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...
"
collective farming Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...
systems, needed to feed the new workers in the industries. Because of the plan's reliance on rapidity, major economic and cultural changes had to occur, which led to conflicts. In Kyrgyzstan, Russian settlers acquired the best pasture land, creating much hardship for most of its original inhabitants, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and
Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
nomads, who were also forced to settle down on soil that hadn't enough agricultural potential. The changes caused unrest, and between 1928 and 1932, nomads and peasants made it clear through methods like passive resistance that they did not agree with these policies, in the Kirgiziya area also guerrilla opposition occurred. The region suffered relatively more deaths from collectivization than any other. The early years of
glasnost ''Glasnost'' ( ; , ) is a concept relating to openness and transparency. It has several general and specific meanings, including a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information and the inadmissi ...
, in the late 1980s, had little effect on the political climate in Kyrgyzstan. However, the Republic's press was permitted to adopt a more liberal stance and to establish a new publication, ''Literaturny Kirghizstan'', by the Union of Writers. Unofficial political groups were forbidden, but several groups that emerged in 1989 to deal with the acute housing crisis were permitted to function. According to the last Soviet census in 1989, ethnic Kyrgyz made up only 22% of the residents of the northern city of Frunze (now Bishkek), while more than 60% were Russians, Ukrainians, and people from other
Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...
nations. Nearly 10% of the capital's population were Jewish (a rather unique fact, for almost any place in the Soviet Union, except the
Jewish Autonomous Oblast The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO) is a federal subject of Russia in the far east of the country, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast in Russia and Heilongjiang province in China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan. ...
). In June 1990, ethnic tensions between
Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...
and Kyrgyz surfaced in the
Osh Region Osh is a Regions of Kyrgyzstan, region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded (clockwise) by Jalal-Abad Region, Naryn Region, China (Xinjiang), Tajikistan (Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction ...
(southern Kyrgyzstan), where Uzbeks form a minority of the population. The tensions between Kyrgyzs and Uzbeks in Osis led to 186 deaths. Attempts to appropriate Uzbek
collective farms Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...
for housing development triggered the Osh Riots. A state of emergency and curfew were introduced and
Askar Akayev Askar Akayevich Akayev (, ; born 10 November 1944) is a Kyrgyz former politician who served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until being overthrown in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution. Education and early career Akayev was born in Kyzyl-B ...
, the youngest of five sons born into a family of collective farm workers (in northern Kyrgyzstan), was elected president in October of that same year. By then, the Kyrgyzstan Democratic Movement (KDM) had developed into a significant political force with support in Parliament. On 15 December 1990, the Supreme Soviet voted to change the republic's name to the ''Republic of Kyrgyzstan''. The following January, Akayev introduced new government structures and appointed a new cabinet composed mainly of younger, reform-oriented politicians. In February 1991, the name of the capital, Frunze, was changed back to its pre-revolutionary name of Bishkek. Despite these political moves toward independence, economic realities seemed to work against secession from the Soviet Union. In a referendum on the preservation of the Soviet Union in March 1991, 88.7% of the voters approved the proposal to retain the Soviet Union as a "renewed federation". Nevertheless, secessionist forces pushed Kyrgyzstan's independence through in August of that same year. On 19 August 1991, when the
State Emergency Committee State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
assumed power in Moscow, there was an attempt to depose Akayev in Kyrgyzstan. After the coup collapsed the following week, Akayev and Vice President German Kuznetsov announced their resignations from the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
(CPSU), and the entire bureau and secretariat resigned. This was followed by the Supreme Soviet vote declaring independence from the Soviet Union on 31 August 1991 as the ''Republic of Kyrgyzstan''. According to a 2013
Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...
poll, 62% of
Kyrgyz people The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz; or ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. They primarily reside in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China. A Kyrgyz diaspora is also found in Russia, Tajik ...
say that the collapse of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
harmed their country, while only 16% said that the collapse benefitted it.


Independence

In October 1991, Akayev ran unopposed and was elected president of the new independent republic by direct ballot, receiving 95 percent of the votes cast. Together with representatives of seven other Republics that same month, he signed the Treaty of the Economic Community. The new leaders of three out of four Soviet Union's founding republics, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, on 8 December 1991 signed the
Belavezha Accords The Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (officially), or unofficially the Minsk Agreement and best known as the Belovezha Accords, is the agreement declaring that the Soviet Union (USSR) had effectively ceased t ...
, denouncing the Union Treaty of 1922, declaring that the Union would cease to exist and proclaimed the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...
(CIS) in its place. On 21 December 1991, Kyrgyzstan, agreed with the other four Central Asian Republics,
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
,
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
,
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
, and
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
to the Alma-Ata Protocols, formally entering the Commonwealth with
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
,
Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
, and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. Finally, Kyrgyzstan gained full independence on 25 December 1991. The following day, on 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. In 1992, Kyrgyzstan joined the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
and the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
(OSCE). On 5 May 1993, the official name changed from the ''Republic of Kyrgyzstan'' to the ''Kyrgyz Republic'' following the adoption of a new
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
. As of today, Kyrgyzstan celebrates its Independence Day annually on August 31, the anniversary of its declaration of independence in 1991.


21st century


2000–2009

In February and March 2005, parliamentary elections were held, which the opposition and international observers criticized for alleged irregularities. Widespread protests erupted, leading to the ousting of President Askar Akayev, who fled the country and resigned in April 2005. This series of events became known as the
Tulip Revolution The Tulip Revolution, also known as the First Kyrgyz Revolution, led to Kyrgyzstan's then-President of Kyrgyzstan, President Askar Akayev's fall from power. The revolution began after Kyrgyz parliamentary elections, 2005, parliamentary elections ...
. Subsequently,
Kurmanbek Bakiyev Kurmanbek Sali uulu Bakiyev (born 1 August 1949) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the second president of Kyrgyzstan from 2005 until his removal from office as a result of the Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010, forcing Bakiyev to flee the coun ...
, a former prime minister and opposition leader, assumed the presidency after winning the July 2005 presidential election with a significant majority.Marat E. ''The Tulip Revolution: Kyrgyzstan one year after.'' The Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC After assuming office, President Bakiyev faced challenges, including political unrest and demands for constitutional reforms. In 2006 and 2007, large-scale protests occurred, with citizens calling for a reduction in presidential powers and increased governmental transparency. In response, Bakiyev implemented constitutional amendments and appointed opposition figures to key positions. Despite these measures, tensions persisted throughout his tenure. Throughout the decade, Kyrgyzstan grappled with economic difficulties, including energy shortages and rising utility prices. In 2009, the government announced significant increases in electricity and heating tariffs, leading to public discontent. Additionally, the country faced challenges related to corruption and organized crime, which impacted its social and economic development. In 2009, Bakiyev announced the eviction of the U.S. military from the
Manas Air Base Transit Center at Manas (formerly Manas Air Base and unofficially Ganci Air Base) is a former U.S. military installation at Manas International Airport, near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It was primarily operated by the U.S. Ai ...
, a strategic transit center supporting operations in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. The Manas Air Base, hosting approximately 1,000 U.S. military personnel since 2001, served as a crucial staging post for coalition forces in Afghanistan.


2010–2019

In April 2010, widespread protests erupted against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's administration, driven by public discontent over corruption and rising energy prices. These demonstrations culminated in Bakiyev's ousting and the establishment of a provisional government led by
Roza Otunbayeva Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva (born 23 August 1950) is a Kyrgyzstani politician and diplomat who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011, becoming the first female Central Asian head of state. She was sworn in on 3 ...
. Subsequently, in June 2010, violent ethnic clashes occurred in the southern cities of
Osh Osh is a city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh or OSH may also refer to: * Osh (food), in Tajik and Uzbek cuisines * Osh (singer) (born 1995), English singer and rapper * OSH, the IATA code for Wittman Regional Airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States ...
and
Jalal-Abad Jalal-Abad (; ) is the administrative and economic centre of Jalal-Abad Region in southwestern Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its resident population was 123,239 in 2021. It is situated at the north-eastern end of the Fergana valley along the Kög ...
between Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities, resulting in over 400 deaths and displacing thousands. Following these events, a referendum was held in June 2010 to adopt a new constitution aimed at reducing presidential powers and enhancing parliamentary authority. The referendum passed with approximately 90% approval and a 70% voter turnout, despite challenges posed by recent unrest. This constitution introduced a single six-year term for the president without the possibility of re-election and limited any single political party to 65 of the 120 parliamentary seats to prevent power concentration. Under the new constitutional framework, Kyrgyzstan held its first parliamentary elections in October 2010, which were noted for their peaceful conduct and absence of major voting irregularities. In 2011,
Almazbek Atambayev Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev (born 17 September 1956) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the fourth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2011 to 2017. He previously served as the 11th prime minister of Kyrgyzstan from 2010 to 2011, and from ...
was elected president, serving until 2017. His tenure focused on stabilizing the country and implementing democratic reforms, including the introduction of biometric registration to enhance electoral transparency. In 2017,
Sooronbay Jeenbekov Sooronbay Sharip uulu Jeenbekov (born 16 November 1958) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the fifth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 until his resignation in 2020, following a week of protests. Prior to that he served as the Prime Minist ...
succeeded Atambayev as president, continuing efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and address ongoing challenges such as corruption and economic development. Significant reforms were undertaken during this period, including the abolition of military courts in December 2016 to streamline the judicial system and enhance civilian oversight. Additionally, the Ministry of Defense was restructured into the State Committee for Defense Affairs, with operational control of the armed forces transferred to the
General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
to improve military efficiency and accountability. In 2016, Kyrgyzstan commemorated the centennial of the 1916 uprising against Tsarist Russia, known as
Urkun The Central Asian revolt of 1916, also known as the Semirechye Revolt and as Urkun in Kyrgyzstan, was an anti-Russian uprising by the indigenous inhabitants of Russian Turkestan sparked by the conscription of Muslims into the Russian military ...
, by unveiling a monument at the Ata-Beyit memorial complex.


2020–present

In October 2020, widespread protests erupted in response to disputed parliamentary election results, leading to the annulment of the elections and the resignation of President
Sooronbay Jeenbekov Sooronbay Sharip uulu Jeenbekov (born 16 November 1958) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the fifth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 until his resignation in 2020, following a week of protests. Prior to that he served as the Prime Minist ...
. Amid the unrest,
Sadyr Japarov Sadyr Nurgojo uulu Japarov (born 6 December 1968) is a Kyrgyzstani politician, diplomat, and oligarch who has been serving as the sixth president of Kyrgyzstan since 28 January 2021. He previously served as the 22nd prime minister in the 2020 ...
, a nationalist politician previously imprisoned, was released and subsequently appointed as interim president and prime minister. His rapid ascent to power was facilitated by parliamentary approval under contentious circumstances. In January 2021, Japarov was elected president in a landslide victory. Following his election, President Japarov initiated a series of constitutional reforms aimed at shifting the country's governance structure from a parliamentary to a presidential system. A referendum held in January 2021 approved these changes, granting the president expanded powers, including the authority to appoint judges and diminishing the role of parliament. Critics labeled the new constitution the "Khanstitution," expressing concerns over the potential for authoritarian rule. The period also witnessed increased pressure on independent media and civil society organizations. In 2024, the Kyrgyz government implemented measures to intimidate and silence journalists and critics. The
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ordered the closure of a leading investigative media outlet, sentencing two journalists to prison terms and placing two others on probation for their reporting. Additionally, a " foreign representatives" law came into effect in April 2024, imposing strict government oversight on NGOs receiving foreign funding. Kyrgyzstan's longstanding border disputes with neighboring
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
escalated into violent clashes, notably around the town of
Batken Batken (also called Batkent) is a town in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, on the southern fringe of the Fergana Valley. It is the administrative seat of Batken Region. Since 2000, it is a city of regional significance, i.e. not part of a district. Howeve ...
in 2021 and 2022, culminating in a six-day conflict in September 2022. In March 2025, Presidents Japarov and
Emomali Rahmon Emomali Rahmon ( ; born 5 October 1952), born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmanov, is a Tajik politician who has served as the President of Tajikistan since 1994, having previously led the country as Chairman of the Supreme Assembly (Tajikistan), Su ...
of Tajikistan signed an agreement to demarcate their shared border, aiming to resolve the territorial conflicts and reopen transportation links that had been closed since the 2022 clashes. In December 2024, President Japarov dismissed Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov, who had served since 2021, citing a transfer to another position. First Deputy Prime Minister Adylbek Kasymaliyev was appointed as acting prime minister.


Geography

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, bordering
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
and
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
. It lies between latitudes 39° and 44° N, and longitudes 69° and 81° E. It is farther from the sea than any other individual country, and all its rivers flow into closed drainage systems which do not reach the sea. The mountainous region of the
Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...
covers over 80% of the country (Kyrgyzstan is occasionally referred to as "the Switzerland of Central Asia", as a result), with the remainder made up of valleys and basins.
Issyk-Kul Lake Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl (, ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the List of lakes by depth, eighth-deepest lake in t ...
, or Ysyk-Köl in Kyrgyz, in the north-eastern Tian Shan is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second largest mountain lake in the world after
Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
. The lowest point is in Kara-Daryya (Karadar'ya) at 132 meters and the highest peaks are in the Kakshaal-Too range, forming the Chinese border. Peak
Jengish Chokusu Jengish Chokusu or Victory Peak is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain system in Central Asia at . It lies on the China–Kyrgyzstan border between the Ak-Suu District in the Issyk-Kul Region of far Eastern Kyrgyzstan and Wensu Count ...
, at , is the highest point and is considered by geologists to be the northernmost peak over in the world. Heavy snowfall in winter leads to spring floods which often cause serious damage downstream. The runoff from the mountains is also used for
hydro-electricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also mo ...
. Kyrgyzstan has significant deposits of metals including
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
and
rare-earth metals The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or rare earths, and sometimes the lanthanides or lanthanoids (although scandium and yttrium, which do not belong to this series, are usually included as rare earths), are a set of ...
. Due to the country's predominantly mountainous terrain, less than 8% of the land is cultivated, and this is concentrated in the northern lowlands and the fringes of the
Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...
.
Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
in the north is the capital and largest city, with 1,321,900 inhabitants (). The second city is the ancient town of
Osh Osh is a city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh or OSH may also refer to: * Osh (food), in Tajik and Uzbek cuisines * Osh (singer) (born 1995), English singer and rapper * OSH, the IATA code for Wittman Regional Airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States ...
, located in the Fergana Valley near the border with Uzbekistan. The principal river is the
Kara Darya The Kara Darya (; ; ) is a major river in southern Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan. It is one of the two source rivers of the Syr Darya (the second largest river of Central Asia), the other source being the Naryn. The Kara Darya is formed by t ...
, which flows west through the Fergana Valley into Uzbekistan. Across the border in Uzbekistan it meets another major Kyrgyz river, the
Naryn Naryn ( ; ) is the regional administrative center of Naryn Region in central Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its estimated population was 41,178 as of January 2021. The town was established as a fortress on the caravan route in 1868. It is situated ...
. The confluence forms the
Syr Darya The Syr Darya ( ),; ; ; ; ; /. historically known as the Jaxartes ( , ), is a river in Central Asia. The name, which is Persian language, Persian, literally means ''Syr Sea'' or ''Syr River''. It originates in the Tian Shan, Tian Shan Mountain ...
, which originally flowed into the
Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...
. , it no longer reaches the sea, as its water is withdrawn upstream to irrigate cotton fields in
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
,
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
, and southern
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. The
Chu River The Chu is a river in northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan. Of its total length of ,Чу (река)
also briefly flows through Kyrgyzstan before entering Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan contains seven terrestrial ecosystems:
Tian Shan montane conifer forests The Tian Shan montane conifer forests ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0521) covers the "forest belt" of the Tian Shan mountains - generally the north-facing slopes that get enough moisture, and are warm enough, for trees to grow. This conifer belt is found ...
, Alai-Western Tian Shan steppe, Gissaro-Alai open woodlands, Tian Shan foothill arid steppe,
Pamir alpine desert and tundra The Pamir alpine desert and tundra ecoregion (WWF ID: PA1014) covers the high plateau of the Pamir Mountains, at the central meeting of the great mountain ranges of Central Asia: Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Kunlun, and Tian Shan. It is a reg ...
,
Tian Shan montane steppe and meadows The Tian Shan montane steppe and meadows ecoregion (WWF ID: PA1019) covers a 2,000 km long stretch of grasslands of the isolated Tian Shan mountains of Central Asia. It is characterized by high-altitude flat and rolling grasslands. Location and ...
, and
Central Asian northern desert The Central Asian northern desert is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The annual precipitation ranges from , the winters are cold at and the summers hot a ...
. It had a 2019
Forest Landscape Integrity Index The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 47 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
mean score of 8.86/10, ranking it 13th globally out of 172 countries.


Climate

The climate varies regionally. The low-lying
Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...
in the southwest is
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
and extremely hot in
summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...
, with temperatures reaching . The northern
foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...
s are
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
and the
Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...
varies from dry
continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...
to
polar climate The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers but with varying winters. Every month a polar climate has an average temperature of less than . Regions with a polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth's area. Most of ...
, depending on elevation. In the coldest areas, winter temperatures drop below freezing for approximately 40 days, and even some
desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
areas experience constant snowfall during this period. In the lowlands the temperature ranges from around in January to in July.


Glaciers and climate change


Enclaves and exclaves

There is one
exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
, the tiny village of
Barak Barak ( or ; ; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, the prophet and fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israe ...
(population 627), in the
Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...
. The village is surrounded by Uzbek territory. It is located on the road from
Osh Osh is a city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh or OSH may also refer to: * Osh (food), in Tajik and Uzbek cuisines * Osh (singer) (born 1995), English singer and rapper * OSH, the IATA code for Wittman Regional Airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States ...
(Kyrgyzstan) to Khodjaabad (Uzbekistan) about north-west from the Kyrgyz–Uzbek border in the direction of
Andijan Andijan ( ), also spelt Andijon () and formerly romanized as Andizhan ( ), is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is a district-level city with an area of . Andijan is the most ...
. Barak is administratively part of
Kara-Suu District Kara-Suu () is a district of Osh Region in south-western Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its resident population was 448,608 in 2021. The administrative seat lies at the city Kara-Suu. Population The district has a sizeable Uzbek minority (38.5% in ...
in Kyrgyzstan's
Osh Region Osh is a Regions of Kyrgyzstan, region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded (clockwise) by Jalal-Abad Region, Naryn Region, China (Xinjiang), Tajikistan (Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction ...
. There are four Uzbek
enclaves An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is some ...
within Kyrgyzstan. Two of them are the towns of
Sokh Sokh District (, , ) is a district of Uzbekistan's Fergana Region. It consists of two exclaves of Uzbekistan, surrounded by Kyrgyzstan. Despite being part of Uzbekistan, its population is almost entirely ethnic Tajiks, and the southern part of the ...
, with an area of and a population of 42,800 in 1993, although some estimates go as high as 70,000 (99% are
Tajiks Tajiks (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...
, the remainder
Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...
); and
Shakhimardan Shohimardon (also ''Shakhimardan'', , ) is a village and a subdivision (rural community) of Fergana District, Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. It is an exclave of Uzbekistan, surrounded by Kyrgyzstan, in a valley in the Pamir-Alay mountains. ...
(also known as Shahimardan, Shohimardon, or Shah-i-Mardan), with an area of and a population of 5,100 in 1993; 91% are Uzbeks, and the remaining 9% are Kyrgyz; the other two are the tiny territories of Chong-Kara (roughly long by wide) and Jangy-ayyl (a dot of land barely across). Chong-Kara is on the Sokh river, between the Uzbek border and the Sokh enclave. Jangy-ayyl is about east of
Batken Batken (also called Batkent) is a town in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, on the southern fringe of the Fergana Valley. It is the administrative seat of Batken Region. Since 2000, it is a city of regional significance, i.e. not part of a district. Howeve ...
, in a northward projection of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border near
Khalmion Jenish () previously known as Khalmion () is a village in Kadamjay District, Batken Region in south-west Kyrgyzstan, sitting practically on the border with Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat ...
. There are also two enclaves belonging to
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border:
Vorukh Vorukh ( Russian and Tajik: Ворух; ) is a jamoat in northern Tajikistan that forms part of the city of Isfara in Sughd Region. , the jamoat had a total population of 45.000.Lolazor. Vorukh has an area between , and a population estimated between 23,000 and 29,000, 95% Tajiks and 5% Kyrgyz. It is distributed among 17 villages and is located around south of
Isfara Isfara (; ) is a city in Sughd Region in northern Tajikistan, situated on the border with Kyrgyzstan. The city was the seat of the former Isfara District. There are currently territorial disputes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan over the area ...
on the right bank of the river
Karavshin The Isfara is a river of the Syr Darya basin in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In its upper course, it is called ''Ak-Suu'', in its middle course ''Karavshin''. It rises in the Batken Region of Kyrgyzstan. It is fed by the glaciers on the ...
. Lolazor (Western Qalacha or Kayragach) is a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station of Kairagach.


Politics


Political system

The 1993 constitution defines the form of government as a democratic
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
republic. The executive branch includes a president and prime minister. The parliament currently is unicameral. The judicial branch comprises a supreme court, local courts and a chief prosecutor. In March 2002, in the southern district of Aksy, five people protesting the
arbitrary arrest Arbitrary arrest and detention is the arrest and detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law or order. ...
of an opposition politician were shot dead by police, sparking nationwide
protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
. President
Askar Akayev Askar Akayevich Akayev (, ; born 10 November 1944) is a Kyrgyz former politician who served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until being overthrown in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution. Education and early career Akayev was born in Kyzyl-B ...
initiated a constitutional reform process which initially included the participation of a broad range of government, civil and social representatives in an open dialogue, leading to a February 2003 referendum marred by voting irregularities. The amendments to the constitution approved by the referendum resulted in stronger control by the president and weakened the
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and the Constitutional Court. Parliamentary elections for a new, 75-seat unicameral legislature were held on 27 February and 13 March 2005, but were widely viewed as corrupt. The subsequent protests led to a bloodless coup on 24 March 2005, after which Akayev fled the country with his family and was replaced by acting president
Kurmanbek Bakiyev Kurmanbek Sali uulu Bakiyev (born 1 August 1949) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the second president of Kyrgyzstan from 2005 until his removal from office as a result of the Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010, forcing Bakiyev to flee the coun ...
. On 10 July 2005, acting president Bakiyev won the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
in a landslide, with 88.9% of the vote, and was inaugurated on 14 August. However, initial public support for the new administration substantially declined in subsequent months as a result of its apparent inability to solve the corruption problems that had plagued the country since its independence from the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, along with the murders of several members of parliament. Large-scale protests against president Bakiyev took place in Bishkek in April and November 2006, with opposition leaders accusing the president of failing to live up to his election promises to reform the country's constitution and transfer many of his presidential powers to parliament. Kyrgyzstan is also a member of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...
(OSCE), a league of 57 participating states committed to peace, transparency, and the protection of human rights in Eurasia. As an OSCE participating state, Kyrgyzstan's international commitments are subject to monitoring under the mandate of the
U.S. Helsinki Commission The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. government agency created by Congress in 1975 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and ...
. In December 2008, the state-owned broadcast KTRK announced that it would require prior submission of
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
programmes, which KTRK are required to retransmit according to a 2005 agreement. KTRK had stopped retransmitting RFE/RL programming in October 2008, a week after it failed to broadcast an RFE/RL programme called ''Inconvenient Questions'' which covered the October elections, claiming to have lost the missing material. President Bakiyev had criticised this programme in September 2008, while KTRK told RFE/RL that its programming was too negative.
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...
, which ranks Kyrgyzstan 111th out of 173 countries on its
Press Freedom Index The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is an annual ranking of Country, countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002 based upon the non-governmental organization's own assessment of the countries' Freedom of the ...
, strongly criticised the decision. On 3 February 2009, President Bakiyev announced the imminent closure of the
Manas Air Base Transit Center at Manas (formerly Manas Air Base and unofficially Ganci Air Base) is a former U.S. military installation at Manas International Airport, near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It was primarily operated by the U.S. Ai ...
, the only US military base remaining in Central Asia. The closure was approved by Parliament on 19 February 2009 by a vote of 78–1 for the government-backed bill. However, after much behind-the-scenes negotiation between Kyrgyz, Russian and American diplomats, the decision was reversed in June 2009. The Americans were allowed to remain under a new contract, whereby rent would increase from $17.4 million to $60 million annually. The US military fully withdrew from Manas Air Base in 2014. Kyrgyzstan is among the fifty countries in the world with the highest perceived level of corruption: the 2016
Corruption Perception Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as assessed by experts and business executives. The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entr ...
for Kyrgyzstan is 28 on a scale of 0 (most corrupt) to 100 (least corrupt). In 2010, another revolution erupted in the country (see:
April uprising The April Uprising () was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The rebellion was suppressed by irregular Ottoman bashi-bazouk units that engaged in indiscriminate slaughter of both rebels ...
). President Bakiyev, together with his relatives, including his son
Maksim Maxim (more accurately spelled Maksim assuming that "X" is not a consonant, but the conjunction of "K" and "S" sounds; “Maksym”, or "Maxym") is an epicene (or gender-neutral) first name of Roman origin mainly given to males. It is adopted in ...
and brother Janish—were forced to flee to Kazakhstan and then sought asylum in Belarus.
Roza Otunbayeva Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva (born 23 August 1950) is a Kyrgyzstani politician and diplomat who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011, becoming the first female Central Asian head of state. She was sworn in on 3 ...
, who was appointed interim president, announced that she did not intend to run for the Presidential elections in 2011. The election was held in November and won by Prime Minister
Almazbek Atambayev Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev (born 17 September 1956) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the fourth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2011 to 2017. He previously served as the 11th prime minister of Kyrgyzstan from 2010 to 2011, and from ...
, leader of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
, and Atambayev was sworn in as president on 1 December 2011. Omurbek Babanov was appointed prime minister on the same day and was confirmed on 23 December 2011. In 2015, Kyrgyzstan became a full-fledged member of the
Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single ...
(EES) after it formally abolished customs controls along its border with Kazakhstan, other members are the former Soviet republics Russia, Kazakhstan,
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
, and
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
. In October 2017,
Sooronbay Jeenbekov Sooronbay Sharip uulu Jeenbekov (born 16 November 1958) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the fifth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 until his resignation in 2020, following a week of protests. Prior to that he served as the Prime Minist ...
, a former prime minister backed by incumbent Almazbek Atambayev, was elected as the new President of Kyrgyzstan. In foreign policy he saw the
Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
as the country's "main strategic partner" and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
as an "important strategic and trade partner", but he intended to seek more collaborative bilateral ties with European partners. On 7 August 2019, the Special Forces of Kyrgyzstan launched an operation against the residence of former President Almazbek Atambayev, supposedly based on charges of corruption made against him. In a meeting of the
Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, President Jeenbekov accused Atambayev of violating the constitution. In October 2020, President Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigned after protests caused by irregularities in parliamentary
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
on 4 October 2020. In January 2021,
Sadyr Japarov Sadyr Nurgojo uulu Japarov (born 6 December 1968) is a Kyrgyzstani politician, diplomat, and oligarch who has been serving as the sixth president of Kyrgyzstan since 28 January 2021. He previously served as the 22nd prime minister in the 2020 ...
was elected as the new president after winning the presidential
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
by a landslide. In April 2021, the majority of voters approved in the constitutional
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
a new constitution that will give new powers to the president, significantly strengthening the power of the presidency.


Administrative divisions

Kyrgyzstan is divided into seven
regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
(). The regions are subdivided into 44
districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
(, ;). The districts are further subdivided into rural districts at the lowest level of administration, which include all rural settlements (''aýyl ökmötü'') and villages without an associated municipal government. The cities of
Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
and
Osh Osh is a city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh or OSH may also refer to: * Osh (food), in Tajik and Uzbek cuisines * Osh (singer) (born 1995), English singer and rapper * OSH, the IATA code for Wittman Regional Airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States ...
have status "state importance" and do not belong to any region. Each region is headed by an akim (regional governor) appointed by the president. District akims are appointed by regional akims. The regions, and independent cities, are as follows, with subdivisions: # City of Bishkek ## Lenin District ## Oktyabr District ## Birinchi May District ## Sverdlov District # Batken Region ## Batken District ## Kadamjay District ## Leylek District # Chüy Region ## Alamüdün District ## Chüy District ## Jayyl District ## Kemin District ## Moskva District, Kyrgyzstan, Moskva District ## Panfilov District, Kyrgyzstan, Panfilov District ## Sokuluk District ## Ysyk-Ata District # Jalal-Abad Region ## Aksy District ## Ala-Buka District ## Bazar-Korgon District ## Chatkal District ## Nooken District ## Suzak District ## Toguz-Toro District ## Toktogul District # Naryn Region ## Ak-Talaa District ## At-Bashy District ## Jumgal District ## Kochkor District ## Naryn District #
Osh Region Osh is a Regions of Kyrgyzstan, region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded (clockwise) by Jalal-Abad Region, Naryn Region, China (Xinjiang), Tajikistan (Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction ...
## Alay District ## Aravan District ## Chong-Alay District ## Kara-Kulja District ##
Kara-Suu District Kara-Suu () is a district of Osh Region in south-western Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its resident population was 448,608 in 2021. The administrative seat lies at the city Kara-Suu. Population The district has a sizeable Uzbek minority (38.5% in ...
## Nookat District ## Özgön District # Talas Region ## Bakay-Ata District ## Kara-Buura District ## Manas District ## Talas District, Kyrgyzstan, Talas District #
Issyk-Kul Region Issyk-Kul (, ) is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kazakhstan to the north, Chüy Region to the west, Naryn Region to the southwest, and Xinjiang, China to the southeast. It takes ...
## Ak-Suu District ## Issyk-Kul District ## Jeti-Ögüz District ## Tong District ## Tüp District # Osh, City of Osh


Military

The armed forces of Kyrgyzstan were formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union and consist of the Kyrgyz Army, Land Forces, Kyrgyz Air Force, Air Forces, Internal Troops of Kyrgyzstan, internal troops, National Guard (Kyrgyzstan), National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service of Kyrgyzstan, border guard. The military works with the US Armed Forces, which leased a facility named the Transit Center at Manas at Manas International Airport near Bishkek until June 2014. In recent years, the armed forces have begun developing better relations with Russia including signing modernization deals worth $1.1bn and participating in more exercises with Russian troops. The Agency of National Security works with the military and serves similar purposes to its Soviet predecessor, the KGB. It oversees an elite counterterrorism special forces unit known as "Alfa", the same name used by other former Soviet countries, including Russia and
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
. The police are commanded by the Ministry of the Interior Affairs, along with the border guard.


Human rights

Kyrgyzstan is classified as a "hybrid regime" in the Democracy Index, ranking 107th out of 167 for 2020. Kyrgyzstan was also ranked "not free" in the 2021 Freedom in the World report with a score of 28/100. In 2020, it was ranked "partly free" with a score of 39/100. After the installment of a more democratic government, many human rights violations still take place. In a move that alarmed human-rights groups, dozens of prominent Uzbek religious and community leaders were arrested by security forces following the 2010 South Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes, 2010 South Kyrgyzstan riots, including journalist and human-rights activist Azimzhan Askarov. A law banning women under the age of 23 from traveling abroad without a parent or guardian, with the purpose of "increased morality and preservation of the gene pool" passed in the Kyrgyz parliament in June 2013. American diplomats expressed concern in October 2014 when Kyrgyzstan lawmakers passed a law that imposes jail terms on LGBT rights in Kyrgyzstan, gay-rights activists and others, including journalists, who create "a positive attitude toward non-traditional sexual relations." Kyrgyzstani activist and journalist Azimzhan Askarov was sentenced to life in prison in 2010. On 24 January 2017, a Kyrgyz court has reinstated a sentence of life imprisonment for Askarov. In February 2024, the independent investigative media organization Kloop was ordered shut down by the Kyrgyz courts. This move drew criticism within the country and abroad.


Economy

Kyrgyzstan was among the less economically developed republics of the former
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and is currently the second-lowest in terms of income levels in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, after
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
. 22.4% of the country's population lives below the poverty line. Despite the backing of major Western lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Kyrgyzstan has had economic difficulties following independence. Initially, these were a result of the breakup of the Soviet trade bloc and resulting loss of markets, which impeded the republic's transition to a demand economy. The government reduced public spending, eliminated most price subsidies, and implemented a value-added tax. These measures reflected its commitment to transitioning toward a market-based economy. Through economic stabilization and structural reforms, the government aimed to promote sustained long-term growth. Reforms led to Kyrgyzstan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 20 December 1998. The Kyrgyz economy was severely affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting loss of its vast market. In 1990, some 98% of Kyrgyz exports went to other parts of the Soviet Union. Thus, the nation's economic performance in the early 1990s was worse than any other former Soviet republic except war-torn
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
and
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
, as factories and state farms collapsed with the disappearance of their traditional markets in the former Soviet Union. While economic performance has improved considerably in the last few years, and particularly since 1998, difficulties remain in securing adequate Fiscal Policy, fiscal revenues and providing an adequate social safety net. Remittances of around 350,000 Kyrgyz migrants working in Russia contribute to the economy however in recent years, remittances have decreased. Reliance on Remittance, remittances—currently about 15% of GDP—has declined from a previous high of 35%. Agriculture is an important sector of the economy in Kyrgyzstan (see agriculture in Kyrgyzstan). By the early 1990s, the private agricultural sector provided between one-third and one-half of some harvests. In 2002, agriculture accounted for 35.6% of GDP and about half of employment. Kyrgyzstan's terrain is mountainous, which accommodates livestock raising, the largest agricultural activity, so the resulting wool, meat and dairy products are major commodities. Main crops include wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, vegetables, and fruit. As the prices of imported agrichemicals and petroleum are so high, much farming is being done by hand and by horse, as it was generations ago. Agricultural processing is a key component of the industrial economy as well as one of the most attractive sectors for foreign investment. Kyrgyzstan is rich in mineral resources but has negligible petroleum and natural gas reserves; it imports petroleum and gas. Among its mineral reserves are substantial deposits of coal,
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
, uranium, antimony, and other valuable metals. Metallurgy is an important industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment in this field. The government has actively encouraged foreign involvement in extracting and processing gold from the Kumtor Gold Mine and other regions. The country's plentiful water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export large quantities of hydroelectric energy. The principal exports are nonferrous metals and minerals, woollen goods and other agricultural products, electric energy and certain engineering goods. Imports include petroleum and natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, most machinery, wood and paper products, some foods and some construction materials. Its leading trade partners include Germany, Russia, China,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, and
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
. After Beijing launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, China has expanded its economic presence and initiated a number of sizable infrastructure projects in Kyrgyzstan. After the 2022 Sanctions involving Russia, sanctions on Russia, several regional supply routes were redirected through Kyrgyzstan, boosting the local economy. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a negative impact on the Kyrgyz economy that is reliant on services, remittances and natural resources. As a result, in order to mitigate the economic shock and preserve much of the development progress achieved in recent years the World Bank will provide support by financing several projects in the country. Kyrgyzstan registered rapid economic growth over 2022-2024, averaging 9% annually in real terms. These changes highlight Kyrgyzstan’s strategic importance in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
and its emerging role in regional trade and infrastructure networks. Kyrgyzstan demonstrated strong macroeconomic performance between 2022 and 2024. The country maintained a fiscal surplus for two consecutive years, in 2023 and 2024, reflecting prudent public financial management and stronger-than-expected revenue collection. The government is embarking on several large infrastructure megaprojects, notably the Kambarata-1 Dam, Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan International Highway, China-Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, which have the potential to significantly reshape the country’s economic landscape.


Tourism

One of the most popular tourist destination points in Kyrgyzstan is the lake Issyk-Kul. Numerous hotels, resorts and boarding houses are located along its northern shore. The most popular beach zones are in the city of Cholpon-Ata and the settlements nearby, such as Kara-Oi (Dolinka), Bosteri and Korumdy. The number of tourists visiting the lake was more than a million a year in 2006 and 2007. However, due to the economic and political instability in the region, the number has declined in recent years.


Science and technology

The headquarters of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences is located in Bishkek, where several research institutes are located. Kyrgyz researchers are developing useful technologies based on natural products, such as heavy metal remediation for purifying waste water. Kyrgyzstan was ranked 99th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.


Demographics

Kyrgyzstan's population is estimated at 6,586,600 in August 2020. Of those, 34.4% are under the age of 15 and 6.2% are over 65. The country is rural: only about one-third of the population live in urban areas. The average population density is 25 people per km2. In the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), Kyrgyzstan has a score of 6.8, ranking 36th among 127 countries with sufficient data. The hunger level is classified as low.


Ethnic groups

The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz, a Turkic peoples, Turkic people, who comprise 77.8% of the population. Other ethnic groups include the
Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
(3.8%) concentrated in the north and the
Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...
(14.2%) living in the south. Small but noticeable minorities include the Dungans (1.0%), Tājik people, Tajiks (0.9%), Uyghur people, Uyghurs (0.5%),
Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...
(0.4%), and other smaller ethnic minorities. The country has over 80 ethnic groups. The Kyrgyz have historically been semi-nomadic herders, living in round tents called
yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...
s and tending sheep, horses and yaks. This nomadic tradition continues to function seasonally (see transhumance) as herding families return to the high mountain pasture (or ''jailoo'') in the summer. The sedentary Uzbeks and Tajiks traditionally have farmed lower-lying irrigated land in the Fergana valley. Kyrgyzstan has undergone a pronounced change in its ethnic composition since independence. The percentage of ethnic Kyrgyz has increased from around 50% in 1979 to over 70% in 2013, while the percentage of ethnic groups, such as Russians, Ukrainians, Germans and Tatars dropped from 35% to about 7%. Since 1991, a large number of Germans in Kyrgyzstan, Germans, who in 1989 numbered 101,000 persons, have emigrated to Germany.


Languages

Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz is the state language of Kyrgyzstan. Russian language, Russian is additionally an official language. Kyrgyzstan is one of five former Soviet republics to have Russian as a ''de jure'' official language, along with Russia,
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, and
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyz was adopted as the state language of Kyrgyzstan in 1991. Kyrgyzstan adopted Russian as an official language in 2000. The languages have different legal statuses. Kyrgyz is a Turkic languages, Turkic language of the Kipchak languages, Kipchak branch, closely related to Kazakh language, Kazakh, Karakalpak language, Karakalpak, and Nogay language, Nogay Tatar. It was written in the Arabic alphabet until the twentieth century. The Latin alphabet, Latin script was introduced and adopted on Stalin's orders in 1928, and was subsequently replaced by Cyrillic script#Kyrgyz, Cyrillic script in 1941. A reformed Perso-Arabic alphabet, created by the Kyrgyz intellectual and scientist Kasym Tynystanov is the official script of the Kyrgyz language in the People's Republic of China. As a result of the pending language reform in neighboring Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan will be the only independent Turkic languages, Turkic-speaking country in a few years that exclusively uses the Cyrillic alphabet. In April 2023, Russia suspended dairy exports to Kyrgyzstan after the chairman of Kyrgyzstan's National Commission for the State Language and Language Policies, Kanybek Osmonaliev, proposed to change the official script from Cyrillic to Latin to bring the country in line with other Turkic-speaking nations. Osmonaliev was reprimanded by President
Sadyr Japarov Sadyr Nurgojo uulu Japarov (born 6 December 1968) is a Kyrgyzstani politician, diplomat, and oligarch who has been serving as the sixth president of Kyrgyzstan since 28 January 2021. He previously served as the 22nd prime minister in the 2020 ...
who then clarified that Kyrgyzstan had no plans to replace the Cyrillic alphabet. Russian TV media enjoy enormous popularity in Kyrgyzstan, especially in the deeply russification, Russified Bishkek, city of Bishkek and the Chüy Region, despite the percentage of Russians today being a fraction of that in 1989. According to World Values Survey in 2020, Russian was the language spoken at home for 55.6% of the population of Bishkek, and Kyrgyz was the second with 43.6%. However, the countrywide figure for the Russian was only 16.3%, whereas Kyrgyz was the home language of 70.9%. Uzbek language was the third most spoken home language with 10.7% according to the same survey. Russian media outlets have an enormous influence on public opinion in Kyrgyzstan, especially in areas such as human rights and international political developments. Many business and political affairs are carried out in Russian. Until recently, Kyrgyz remained a language spoken at home and was rarely used during meetings or other events. However, most parliamentary meetings today are conducted in Kyrgyz, with simultaneous interpretation available for those not speaking Kyrgyz. According to an RFE/RL article from 2014, despite the attempts to raise the status of Kyrgyz, thousands of Kyrgyz are russifying their names every year (around 40,000), mostly for career prospects, and to remove themselves from the Russian blacklists (people who are to be deported upon entrance) by registering different names. There are also many Russian-language medium schools that are supported from the Russian foundations via the embassy of Russia in Bishkek which are better funded than the Kyrgyz language medium schools. Due to this, many ethnic Kyrgyz go to Russian language medium schools. Many high school students change their surnames annually; for example, 800 such changes were recorded in high school students in the region of Naryn.


Urban centres


Religion

Islam is the dominant religion in Kyrgyzstan, and most of the Kyrgyz are Muslim. The CIA World Factbook estimates that as of 2017, 90% of the population is Muslim, with the majority being Non-denominational Muslim, Non-denominational and Sunni; 7% are Christian, including 3% Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodoxy, and the remainder are other religions. A 2009 Pew Research Center report indicated 86.3% of Kyrgyzstan's population adhering to Islam. The great majority of Muslims are Sunni, adhering to the Hanafi, Hanafi school of thought, although a 2012 Pew survey report showed that only 23% of respondents to a questionnaire chose to identify themselves as Sunni, with 64% volunteering that they were "just a Muslim". There are a few Ahmadiyya Muslims, though unrecognized by the country. During Soviet times, state atheism was encouraged. Today, however, Kyrgyzstan is a secular state, although Islam has exerted a growing influence in politics. For instance, there has been an attempt to arrange for officials to travel on ''hajj'' (the pilgrimage to Mecca) under a tax-free arrangement. While Islam in Kyrgyzstan is more of a cultural background than a devout daily practice for many, public figures have expressed support for restoring religious values. For example, human rights ombudsman Tursunbay Bakir-Ulu noted, "In this era of independence, it is not surprising that there has been a return to spiritual roots not only in Kyrgyzstan, but also in other post-communist republics. It would be immoral to develop a market-based society without an ethical dimension." Additionally, Bermet Akayeva, the daughter of
Askar Akayev Askar Akayevich Akayev (, ; born 10 November 1944) is a Kyrgyz former politician who served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until being overthrown in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution. Education and early career Akayev was born in Kyzyl-B ...
, the former President of Kyrgyzstan, stated during a July 2007 interview that Islam is increasingly taking root across the nation. She emphasized that many mosques have recently been built and that the Kyrgyz are increasingly devoting themselves to Islam, which she noted was "not a bad thing in itself. It keeps our society more moral, cleaner." There is a contemporary Sufi order present which adheres to a somewhat different form of Islam than orthodox Islam. The other faiths practiced in Kyrgyzstan include Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox and Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Ukrainian Orthodox versions of Christianity, practiced primarily by
Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
and Ukrainians respectively. A small minority of ethnic Germans are also Christian, mostly Lutheran Church, Lutheran and Anabaptist as well as a Roman Catholic community of approximately 600. As part of the historic Kyrgyzstan Germans, Kyrgyzstan German minority, there were around 200 Mennonites in Kyrgyzstan in 2022. One Mennonite community continues in the settlement of Rot-Front. A community of 5,000 to 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses gathers in both Kyrgyz and Russian-speaking congregations and some Chinese- and Turkish-speaking groups. A few Animism, Animistic traditions survive, as do influences from Buddhism such as the tying of prayer flags onto sacred trees, though some view this practice as rooted within Sufi Islam. There is also a small number of Bukharian Jews living in Kyrgyzstan, but during the collapse of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
most fled to other countries, mainly the United States and Israel. In addition, there is a small community of Ashkenazi Jews, who fled to the country from eastern Europe during the Second World War. On 6 November 2008, the Kyrgyz parliament unanimously passed a law increasing the minimum number of adherents for recognizing a religion from 10 to 200. It also outlawed "aggressive action aimed at proselytism", and banned religious activity in schools and all activity by unregistered organizations. It was signed by President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev Kurmanbek Sali uulu Bakiyev (born 1 August 1949) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the second president of Kyrgyzstan from 2005 until his removal from office as a result of the Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010, forcing Bakiyev to flee the coun ...
on 12 January 2009. There have been several reported police raids against peaceful minority religious meetings, as well as reports of officials planting false evidence, but also some court decisions in favour of religious minorities.


Culture


Media


Traditions

* ''Manas (epic), Manas'', an epic poem; the plot revolves around a series of events that coincide with the history of the region in the 9th century, primarily the interaction of the Kyrgyz people with other Turkic and Chinese people. * ''Komuz'', a three-stringed lute * ''Tush kyiz'', large, elaborately embroidered wall hangings * ''Shyrdak'' and ''Ala-kiyiz'' carpets, manufactured by the process of felting, used for yurts. Inscribed in 2012 on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. * Other textiles, especially made from felt * ''Ala kachuu'', "bride kidnapping", traditional form of marriage in Kyrgyzstan * Falconry * Various Dance in Kyrgyzstan, dances Illegal, but still practiced, is the tradition of bride kidnapping. It is debatable whether bride kidnapping is actually traditional. Some of the confusion may stem from the fact that arranged marriages were traditional, and one of the ways to escape an arranged marriage was to arrange a consensual "kidnapping".


Flag

The 40-rayed yellow sun in the center of Flag of Kyrgyzstan, the national flag represent the 40 tribes that once made up the entirety of Kyrgyz culture before the intervention of Russia during the rise of the Soviet Union. The lines inside the sun represent the crown or tündük (Kyrgyz түндүк) of a yurt, a symbol replicated in many facets of Kyrgyz architecture. The red portion of the flag represents peace and openness of Kyrgyzstan. Under Soviet rule and before 1992, it had the flag of the Soviet Union with two big blue stripes and a white thin stripe in the middle.


Public holidays

In addition to celebrating the New Year each 1 January, the Kyrgyz observe the traditional New Year festival Nowruz on the vernal equinox. This spring holiday is celebrated with feasts and festivities such as the horse game Buzkashi, Ulak Tartish. This is the list of public holidays in Kyrgyzstan: * 1 January – New Year's Day * 7 January – Orthodox Christmas * 23 February – Fatherland Defender's Day * 8 March – Women's Day * 21–23 March – Nowruz, Nooruz Mairamy, Persian New Year (spring festival) * 7 April – Day of National Revolution * 1 May – Labor Day * 5 May – Constitution Day * 8 May – Remembrance Day * 9 May – Victory Day (9 May), Victory Day * 31 August – Independence Day * 7–8 November – Days of History and Commemoration of Ancestors Two additional Muslim holidays ''Eid al-Fitr, Orozo Ayt'' and ''Eid al-Adha, Qurman (or Qurban) Ayt'' are defined by the lunar calendar.


Sports

In the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Kyrgyzstan received its first ever Olympic medal when Aidyn Smagulov won bronze in the men's 60 kg competition final in judo. Association football, Football is one of the most popular sports in Kyrgyzstan. The official governing body is the Football Federation of Kyrgyz Republic, which was founded in 1992, after the split of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. It administers the Kyrgyzstan national football team. Wrestling is also very popular. Since the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Kyrgyzstani wrestlers have won six medals in Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling: three in Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 and three in Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020. Ice hockey was not as popular in Kyrgyzstan until the first Kyrgyzstan Championship (ice hockey), Ice Hockey Championship was organized in 2009. In 2011, the Kyrgyzstan men's national ice hockey team won 2011 Asian Winter Games Premier Division dominating in all six games with six wins. It was the first major international event that Kyrgyzstan's ice hockey team took part in. The Kyrgyzstan men's ice hockey team joined the IIHF in July 2011. Bandy is becoming increasingly popular in the country. The Kyrgyz national team took Kyrgyzstan's first medal at the Asian Winter Games, when they captured the bronze. They played in the Bandy World Championship 2012, their first appearance in that tournament. Kyrgyzstan's national basketball team had its best performance at the official 1995 Asian Basketball Championship where the team finished ahead of favorites such as Iran national basketball team, Iran, Philippines men's national basketball team, Philippines and Jordan national basketball team, Jordan. XXI International Issyk-Kul Sports Games (SCO + CIS) was held in 9–17 September 2022 in Baktuu-Dolonotu village (Issyk-Kul). The first three World Nomad Games were held in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan. The 6th International Sports Festival Pearl of Kyrgyzstan were held in Issyk-Kul region from 15 June to 3 July 2022.


Horse riding

The traditional national sports reflect the importance of horse riding in Kyrgyz culture. Very popular, as in all of
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, is ''Buzkashi, Ulak Tartysh'', a team sports, team game resembling a cross between polo and rugby football, rugby in which two teams of riders wrestle for possession of the headless carcass of a goat, which they attempt to deliver across the opposition's goal line, or into the opposition's goal: a big tub or a circle marked on the ground. Other popular games on horseback include: * ''At Chabysh'' – a long-distance horse race, sometimes over a distance of more than 50 km * ''Jumby Atmai'' – a large bar of precious metal (the "jumby") is tied to a pole by a thread and contestants attempt to break the thread by shooting at it, while at a gallop * ''Kyz Kuumai'' – a man chases a girl in order to win a kiss from her, while she gallops away; if he is not successful she may in turn chase him and attempt to beat him with her "kamchi" (horsewhip) * ''Oodarysh'' – two contestants wrestle on horseback, each attempting to be the first to throw the other from his horse * ''Tyin Emmei'' – picking up a coin from the ground at full gallop


Education

The school system in Kyrgyzstan also includes primary (grades 1 to 4, some schools have optional 0 grade), secondary (grades 5 to 9) and high (grades 10 to 11) divisions within one school. Children are usually accepted to primary schools at the age of 6 or 7. It is required that every child finishes 9 grades of school and receives a certificate of completion. Grades 10–11 are optional, but it is necessary to complete them to graduate and receive a state-accredited school diploma. To graduate, a student must complete the 11-year school course and pass 4 mandatory state exams in writing, maths, history, and a foreign language. As of 2023, there were 4.989 primary and secondary schools in the country, including 445 in Bishkek; the large majority of these (4.537) were State school, public schools. The country also counted 58 higher educational institutions and universities, out of which 42 were public and 16 private. In September 2016, the University of Central Asia was launched in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. There are also various Russian-language medium schools in Bishkek, Osh and other areas. Because of the better funding that they receive in comparation with Kyrgyz state schools, many Kyrgyz go there. In March 2021 Russia announced its plans to create approximately 30 new Russian-language schools in Kyrgyzstan. Teachers from Russia are also working here. However, the existence of these schools has been criticised, for reasons such as the fact that Russian language education has flaws compared to the Turkish and American schools in the country, but also because many ethnic Kyrgyz born after Kyrgyz independence in 1991 can't speak Kyrgyz, but only Russian, according to a Bishkek resident.


Libraries

Kyrgyzstan is home to 1,066 libraries. The National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic is the oldest library in the country, which was established in 1934. Kyrgyz Libraries are working towards expanding access to communities, evident in projects such as the signing of the Marrakesh VIP Treaty and the Open access Portal.


Transport

Transport in Kyrgyzstan is severely constrained by the country's alpine topography. Roads have to snake up steep valleys, cross passes of altitude and more, and are subject to frequent mudslides and snow avalanches. Winter travel is close to impossible in many of the more remote and high-altitude regions. Additional problems come from the fact that many roads and railway lines built during the Soviet Union, Soviet period are today intersected by international boundaries, requiring time-consuming border formalities to cross where they are not completely closed. Horses are still a much-used transport option, especially in more rural areas; Kyrgyzstan's road infrastructure is not extensive, so horses are able to reach locations that motor vehicles cannot, and they do not require expensive, imported fuel.


Airports

At the end of the Soviet period there were about 50 airports and airstrips in Kyrgyzstan, many of them built primarily to serve military purposes in this border region so close to China. Only a few of them remain in service today. The Kyrgyzstan Air Company provides air transport to China, Russia, and other local countries. * Manas International Airport near
Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
is the main international airport, with services to Moscow, Tashkent, Almaty, Ürümqi, Istanbul, Baku, and Dubai. * Osh Airport is the main air terminal in the south of the country, with daily connections to Bishkek, and services to Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Almaty and more international places. * Jalal-Abad Airport is linked to Bishkek by daily flights. The national flag carrier, Kyrgyzstan, operates flights on BAe-146 aircraft. During the summer months, a weekly flight links Jalal-Abad with the Issyk-Kul Region. * Other facilities built during the Soviet era are either closed down, used only occasionally or restricted to military use (e.g., Kant Air Base near Bishkek, which is used by the Russian Air Force).


Banned airline status

Kyrgyzstan appears on the European Union's List of air carriers banned in the European Union, list of prohibited countries for the certification of airlines. This means that no airline that is registered in Kyrgyzstan may operate services of any kind within the European Union, due to safety standards that fail to meet European regulations.


Railways

The Chüy Valley in the north and the Fergana valley in the south were endpoints of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
's rail system in Central Asia. Following the emergence of independent post-Soviet states, the rail lines which were built without regard for administrative boundaries have been cut by borders, and traffic is therefore severely curtailed. The small bits of rail lines within Kyrgyzstan, about ( broad gauge) in total, have little economic value in the absence of the former bulk traffic over long distances to and from such centres as Tashkent, Almaty, and the cities of Russia. In 2022, construction began on a new 186 km extension of the existing railway from Balykchy to Karakeche, primarily meant to carry coal from mines at Karakeche to
Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
. In June 2023, a railway between Balykchy and Bishkek was officially opened. The planned construction of a 523 km (CKU) was announced in 2022, comprising in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, in Kyrgyzstan and in
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
. The railway, conceived as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, is planned to lead from Kashgar through the Torugart Pass to
Jalal-Abad Jalal-Abad (; ) is the administrative and economic centre of Jalal-Abad Region in southwestern Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its resident population was 123,239 in 2021. It is situated at the north-eastern end of the Fergana valley along the Kög ...
, and further on to the Uzbek city of
Andijan Andijan ( ), also spelt Andijon () and formerly romanized as Andizhan ( ), is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is a district-level city with an area of . Andijan is the most ...
. Construction is set to begin in July 2025.


Rail connections with adjacent countries

:


Highways

With support from the Asian Development Bank, a major road linking the north and southwest of the country from the capital city of
Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
to
Osh Osh is a city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh or OSH may also refer to: * Osh (food), in Tajik and Uzbek cuisines * Osh (singer) (born 1995), English singer and rapper * OSH, the IATA code for Wittman Regional Airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States ...
has recently been completed. This considerably eases communication between the two major population centres of the country—the Chüy Valley in the north and the
Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...
in the South. An offshoot of this road branches off across a 3,500 meter mountain pass, pass into the Talas Valley in the northwest. Plans are now being formulated to build a major road from Osh into China. * ''total:'' (including of expressways) * ''paved:'' (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) * ''unpaved:'' (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)


Ports and harbours

* Balykchy (Ysyk-Kol or Rybach'ye) on Issyk Kul Lake.


See also

* Outline of Kyrgyzstan * Index of Kyrgyzstan-related articles * Chinghiz Aitmatov


Notes


References


Further reading

* Minahan, James. ''Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States'' (Routledge, 1998) pp 200-214. * ''Historical Dictionary of Kyrgyzstan'' by Rafis Abazov * ''Kyrgyzstan: Central Asia's Island of Democracy?'' by John Anderson * ''Kyrgyzstan: The Growth and Influence of Islam in the Nations of Asia and Central Asia'' by Daniel E. Harmon * ''Lonely Planet Guide: Central Asia'' by Paul Clammer, Michael Kohn and Bradley Mayhew * ''Odyssey Guide: Kyrgyz Republic'' by Ceri Fairclough, Rowan Stewart and Susie Weldon *
Politics of Language in the Ex-Soviet Muslim States: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan
'' by Jacob M. Landau and Barbara Kellner-Heinkele. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2001. * ''Kyrgyzstan: Traditions of Nomads'' by V. Kadyrov, Rarity Ltd., Bishkek, 2005. * * * *


External links

; Government
President of Kyrgyzstan
official site
Government of Kyrgyzstan
official site
Parliament of Kyrgyzstan
official site

; General information
Country Profile
from BBC News
Kyrgyzstan
''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
Kyrgyzstan
at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''


Key Development Forecasts for Kyrgyzstan
from International Futures
Language Policy in Kyrgyzstan
from University of Pannonia
Kyrgyzstan Population
;Maps * {{Coord, 41, N, 75, E, display=title Kyrgyzstan, History of the Kyrgyz people Central Asian countries Landlocked countries Member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Member states of the Eurasian Economic Union Member states of the United Nations Member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Republics Countries and territories where Russian is an official language States and territories established in 1991 1991 establishments in Asia Countries in Asia Members of the International Organization of Turkic Culture Member states of the Organization of Turkic States