Kyrgyzstan - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Kyrgyzstan. Landlocked; entirely mountainous, dominated by the Tien Shan range; 94% of the country is 1,000 m above sea level with an average elevation of 2,750 m; many tall peaks, glaciers, and high-altitude lakes. Mother's mean age at first birth is 22.6 years (2019 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 42 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Geographical data of Kyrgyzstan
Location Central Asia, west of China, south of Kazakhstan
Geographic coordinates 41 00 N, 75 00 E
Map references Asia
Tarrain peaks of the Tien Shan mountain range and associated valleys and basins encompass the entire country
Natural Resources abundant hydropower; gold, rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc
Natural Hazards major flooding during snow melt; prone to earthquakes
Irrigated Land 10,041 sq km (2022)
Major rivers (by length in km) Syr Darya river source (shared with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan [m]) - 3,078 km 

note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 4,573 km
Border Countries China 1,063 km; Kazakhstan 1,212 km; Tajikistan 984 km; Uzbekistan 1,314 km
Coastline 0 km (landlocked)
Climate dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan Mountains; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone
Area
Total Area
Land Area 191,801 sq km
Water Area 8,150 sq km
comparative Area slightly smaller than South Dakota
Maritime Claims
Elevations
Highest point Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m
Lowest point Kara-Daryya (Karadar'ya) 132 m
Mean elevation 2,988 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 54% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 6.7% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.4% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 46.9% (2022 est.)
Forest 7% (2022 est.)
Other 38.9% (2022 est.)
Population Distribution

The vast majority of Kyrgyzstanis live in rural areas; densest population settlement is to the north in and around the capital, Bishkek, followed by Osh in the west; the least densely populated area is the east, in the Tien Shan mountains

People and Society

In Kyrgyzstan, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Kyrgyz 73.8%, Uzbek 14.8%, Russian 5.1%, Dungan 1.1%, other 5.2% (includes Uyghur, Tajik, Turk, Kazakh, Tatar, Ukrainian, Korean, German) (2021 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.79% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 18.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 4.2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate 2.45 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.19 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Est married women (ages 15-49) 66.2% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures
Net Migration rate -4.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Kyrgyzstani | Kyrgyzstani(s)
Languages
Religions Muslim 90% (majority Sunni), Christian 7% (Russian Orthodox 3%), other 3% (includes Jewish, Buddhist, Baha'i) (2017 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 29.1% (male 922,086/female 873,245)
15-64 years 64% (male 1,935,200/female 2,013,733)
65 years and over 6.9% (2024 est.) (male 164,032/female 263,805)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 56.3 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 45.5 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 10.8 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio 9.2 (2024 est.)
Median Age
Total 28.3 years (2024 est.)
Male 26.9 years
Female 29.8 years
Urbanization
Urban population 37.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 2.05% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 1.105 million BISHKEK (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.62 male(s)/female
Total population 0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 24.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 28.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 20.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 72.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 68.9 years
Female 77.2 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99.2% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 85.8% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 90.8% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.8% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 14.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 9.2% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 4.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.43 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 3.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 26% (2025 est.)
Male 50.7% (2025 est.)
Female 3.1% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 0.3% (2018)
Women married by age 18 12.9% (2018)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Kyrgyzstan

Want to know more about Kyrgyzstan? Check all different factbooks for Kyrgyzstan below.

Kyrgyzstan is found in Central Asia