Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a <a href="/facts/Landlocked_country/9AqwXqMF">landlocked country</a> in <a href="/facts/Central_Asia/rB8k0CyT">Central Asia</a> lying in the <a href="/facts/Tian_Shan/2WxpayoN">Tian Shan</a> and <a href="/facts/Pamir_Mountains/v5y6FB2f">Pamir</a> mountain ranges. <a href="/facts/Bishkek/GjXU7pIF">Bishkek</a> is the <a href="/facts/Capital_city/aRTzKRH0">capital</a> and <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_Kyrgyzstan/WeE7tVkv">largest city</a>. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by <a href="/facts/Kazakhstan/Vfs8NI6e">Kazakhstan</a> to the <a href="/facts/Kazakhstan%25E2%2580%2593Kyrgyzstan_border/IFahBDRr">north</a>, <a href="/facts/Uzbekistan/o8wfw2xR">Uzbekistan</a> to the <a href="/facts/Kyrgyzstan%25E2%2580%2593Uzbekistan_border/PG4ArJqb">west</a>, <a href="/facts/Tajikistan/xLLXqHEJ">Tajikistan</a> to the <a href="/facts/Kyrgyzstan%25E2%2580%2593Tajikistan_border/v30THf69">south</a>, and <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a> to the <a href="/facts/China%25E2%2580%2593Kyrgyzstan_border/M5J97Kzb">east and southeast</a>. Ethnic <a href="/facts/Kyrgyz_people/aYPJ0voJ">Kyrgyz</a> make up the majority of the country's over 7 million people, followed by significant minorities of <a href="/facts/Uzbeks/fEuHTRSV">Uzbeks</a> and <a href="/facts/Russians/RBG9H1Rj">Russians</a>.
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 <a href="/facts/Silk_Road/TLBryY39">Silk Road</a> along with other commercial routes. Inhabited by a succession of tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under larger domination, for example the <a href="/facts/Turkic_people/ocd7rpI3">Turkic</a> <a href="/facts/Nomads/R9KGKP72">nomads</a>, who trace their ancestry to many Turkic states. It was first established as the <a href="/facts/Yenisei_Kyrgyz_Khaganate/3zcRKUxH">Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate</a>. Later, in the 13th century, Kyrgyzstan was conquered by the <a href="/facts/Mongol_Empire/cfddtfIK">Mongol Empire</a> and under several <a href="/facts/Mongol_dynasty_(disambiguation)/mIEej1wY">Mongol dynasties</a>; it regained independence, but was later invaded by the <a href="/facts/Dzungar_Khanate/0FTbneJR">Dzungar Khanate</a>. After the <a href="/facts/Dzungar_genocide/WksFTVKq">fall of Dzhungars</a>, Kyrgyz and Kipchaks were an integral part of <a href="/facts/Kokand_Khanate/STILwWhc">Kokand Khanate</a>.
In 1876, Kyrgyzstan became part of the <a href="/facts/Russian_Empire/hg1g5SpV">Russian Empire</a>, and in 1936, the <a href="/facts/Kirghiz_Soviet_Socialist_Republic/CptGDWXN">Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic</a> was formed to become a constituent republic of the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a>. Following <a href="/facts/Mikhail_Gorbachev/tKxQRaeP">Mikhail Gorbachev</a>'s democratic reforms in the USSR, in 1990 pro-independence candidate <a href="/facts/Askar_Akayev/yocTX2JT">Askar Akayev</a> was elected president. On 31 August 1991, Kyrgyzstan declared independence from the <a href="/facts/USSR/m7wWsPto">USSR</a> and a democratic government was established. Kyrgyzstan attained sovereignty as a nation state after the <a href="/facts/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union/Fyn5jw3n">breakup of the Soviet Union</a> in 1991.

 After independence, Kyrgyzstan was officially a <a href="/facts/Unitary_state/HAxK1eMM">unitary</a> <a href="/facts/Presidential_republic/lFFCrzpv">presidential republic</a>. Following the <a href="/facts/Tulip_Revolution/q4cM8U2s">Tulip Revolution</a> it became a <a href="/facts/Unitary_parliamentary_republic/FIJWB5Jg">unitary parliamentary republic</a>; however, it gradually developed an executive president and was governed as a <a href="/facts/Semi-presidential_republic/vncj96gR">semi-presidential republic</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States/DqccXsyS">Commonwealth of Independent States</a>, the <a href="/facts/Eurasian_Economic_Union/STKuhLsw">Eurasian Economic Union</a>, the <a href="/facts/Collective_Security_Treaty_Organization/tcGnX2xT">Collective Security Treaty Organization</a>, the <a href="/facts/Shanghai_Cooperation_Organisation/8ovtWDzP">Shanghai Cooperation Organisation</a>, the <a href="/facts/Organisation_of_Islamic_Cooperation/wWSQSzfF">Organisation of Islamic Cooperation</a>, the <a href="/facts/Organization_for_Security_and_Co-operation_in_Europe/Lo5lUrA6">Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe</a>, the <a href="/facts/Organization_of_Turkic_States/xMl695nL">Organization of Turkic States</a>, the <a href="/facts/T%25C3%25BCrksoy/Gnm95dhK">Türksoy</a> community, and the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a>. It is a <a href="/facts/Developing_country/eTfS4kxl">developing country</a> ranked 117th in the <a href="/facts/Human_Development_Index/hQpz064I">Human Development Index</a>, and is the second poorest country in Central Asia after neighbouring Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan’s <a href="/facts/Transition_economy/udTGKCjg">transition economy</a> 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.

Kyrgyzstan open-in-new

Kyrgyzstan