Uzbekistan vs. Afghanistan
Geography
| Uzbekistan | Afghanistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
| Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 64 00 E | 33 00 N, 65 00 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 447,400 sq km land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km | total: 652,230 sq km land: 652,230 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about four times the size of Virginia; slightly larger than California | almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas |
| Land boundaries | total: 6,893 km border countries (5): Afghanistan 144 km, Kazakhstan 2330 km, Kyrgyzstan 1314 km, Tajikistan 1312 km, Turkmenistan 1793 km | total: 5,987 km border countries (6): China 91 km, Iran 921 km, Pakistan 2670 km, Tajikistan 1357 km, Turkmenistan 804 km, Uzbekistan 144 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | none (doubly landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | mostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
| Terrain | 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 | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m lowest point: Sariqamish Kuli -12 m | highest point: Noshak 7,492 m lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m mean elevation: 1,884 m |
| Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land |
| Land use | 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.) | agricultural land: 58.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 11.8% (2018) permanent crops: 0.3% (2018) permanent pasture: 46% (2018) forest: 1.85% (2018 est.) other: 40.1% (2018) |
| Irrigated land | 42,150 sq km (2012) | 32,080 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes; floods; landslides or mudslides; avalanches; droughts | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
| Environment - current issues | 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 | limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution in overcrowded urban areas |
| Environment - international 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 | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
| Geography - note | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world | landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor) |
| Total renewable water resources | 48.87 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 65.33 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | 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 | populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated |
Source: CIA Factbook
