Central Asia
Central Asia is a subregion of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia[4] in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.[5] It is also colloquially referred to as "The -Stans" as the countries all have names ending with the Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of".[6]
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| Area | 4,003,451 km2 (1,545,741 sq mi) |
|---|---|
| Population | 72,960,000 (2019) (16th)[1][2] |
| Population density | 17.43 km2 (6.73 sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | $1.0 trillion (2019)[3] |
| GDP (nominal) | $300 billion (2019)[3] |
| GDP per capita | $4,000 (2019; nominal)[3] $14,000 (2019; PPP)[3] |
| HDI |  0.779 (high) |
| Demonym | Central Asian |
| Countries | |
| Languages | Russian, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, and others |
| Time zones | 2 time zones
|
| Internet TLD | .kg, .kz, .tj, .tm, .uz |
| Calling code | Zone 9 except Kazakhstan (Zone 7) |
| Largest cities | |
| UN M49 code | 143 – Central Asia142 – Asia001 – World |
a With population over 500,000 people | |
In the pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras (c. 1000 and earlier) Central Asia was inhabited predominantly by Iranian peoples,[7][8] populated by Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, Chorasmians and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae. After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area, with the exception of Tajikistan and areas where Tajik is spoken.
Central Asia was historically closely tied to the Silk Road trade routes,[9] acting as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe and the Far East.[10][11][12]
From the mid-19th century until almost the end of the 20th century, Central Asia was colonised by the Russians, and incorporated into the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet Union, which led to Russians and other Slavs emigrating into the area. Modern-day Central Asia is home to a large population of European settlers, who mostly live in Kazakhstan; 7 million Russians, 500,000 Ukrainians,[13][14][15] and about 170,000 Germans.[16] Stalinist-era forced deportation policies also mean that over 300,000 Koreans live there.[17]
Central Asia (2019) has a population of about 72 million people, in five countries: Kazakhstan (pop. 18 million), Kyrgyzstan (6 million), Tajikistan (9 million), Turkmenistan (6 million), and Uzbekistan (35 million).[18]