Kazakhstan vs. Uzbekistan
Geography
| Kazakhstan | Uzbekistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural (Zhayyq) River in easternmost Europe | Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan |
| Geographic coordinates | 48 00 N, 68 00 E | 41 00 N, 64 00 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 2,724,900 sq km land: 2,699,700 sq km water: 25,200 sq km | total: 447,400 sq km land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than four times the size of Texas | about four times the size of Virginia; slightly larger than California |
| Land boundaries | total: 13,364 km border countries (5): China 1765 km, Kyrgyzstan 1212 km, Russia 7644 km, Turkmenistan 413 km, Uzbekistan 2330 km | total: 6,893 km border countries (5): Afghanistan 144 km, Kazakhstan 2330 km, Kyrgyzstan 1314 km, Tajikistan 1312 km, Turkmenistan 1793 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked); note - Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km) | 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (doubly landlocked) |
| Climate | continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid | mostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
| Terrain | vast flat steppe extending from the Volga in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east and from the plains of western Siberia in the north to oases and deserts of Central Asia in the south | mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m mean elevation: 387 m | highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m lowest point: Sariqamish Kuli -12 m |
| Natural resources | major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
| Land use | agricultural land: 77.4% (2018 est.) arable land: 8.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 68.5% (2018 est.) forest: 1.2% (2018 est.) other: 21.4% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 62.6% (2018 est.) arable land: 10.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 51.7% (2018 est.) forest: 7.7% (2018 est.) other: 29.7% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 20,660 sq km (2012) | 42,150 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes in the south; mudslides around Almaty | earthquakes; floods; landslides or mudslides; avalanches; droughts |
| Environment - current issues | radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with former defense industries and test ranges scattered throughout the country pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers that flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; desertification; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices | shrinkage of the Aral Sea has resulted in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification and respiratory health problems; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | world's largest landlocked country and one of only two landlocked countries in the world that extends into two continents (the other is Azerbaijan); Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome; in January 2004, Kazakhstan and Russia extended the lease to 2050 | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world |
| Total renewable water resources | 108.41 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 48.87 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | most of the country displays a low population density, particularly the interior; population clusters appear in urban agglomerations in the far northern and southern portions of the country | most of the population is concentrated in the fertile Fergana Valley in the easternmost arm of the country; the south has significant clusters of people, while the central and western deserts are sparsely populated |
Source: CIA Factbook
