Turkmenistan vs. Uzbekistan
Geography
| Turkmenistan | Uzbekistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan | Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan |
| Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 60 00 E | 41 00 N, 64 00 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 488,100 sq km land: 469,930 sq km water: 18,170 sq km | total: 447,400 sq km land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California | about four times the size of Virginia; slightly larger than California |
| Land boundaries | total: 4,158 km border countries (4): Afghanistan 804 km, Iran 1148 km, Kazakhstan 413 km, Uzbekistan 1793 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 - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 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 | subtropical desert | mostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
| Terrain | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west | 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: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya (Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya, the lake has dropped as low as -110 m) -81 m mean elevation: 230 m | highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m lowest point: Sariqamish Kuli -12 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
| Land use | agricultural land: 72% (2018 est.) arable land: 4.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 67.8% (2018 est.) forest: 8.8% (2018 est.) other: 19.2% (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 | 19,950 sq km (2012) | 42,150 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes; mudslides; droughts; dust storms; floods | earthquakes; floods; landslides or mudslides; avalanches; droughts |
| Environment - current issues | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; soil erosion; desertification | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, 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 | landlocked; the western and central low-lying desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world |
| Total renewable water resources | 24.765 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 48.87 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the most densely populated areas are the southern, eastern, and northeastern oases; approximately 50% of the population lives in and around the capital of Ashgabat | 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
