Uzbekistan vs. Tajikistan
Geography
| Uzbekistan | Tajikistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan | Central Asia, west of China, south of Kyrgyzstan |
| Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 64 00 E | 39 00 N, 71 00 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 447,400 sq km land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km | total: 144,100 sq km land: 141,510 sq km water: 2,590 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about four times the size of Virginia; slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
| 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: 4,130 km border countries (4): Afghanistan 1357 km, China 477 km, Kyrgyzstan 984 km, Uzbekistan 1312 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 | mid-latitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains |
| 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 | mountainous region dominated by the Trans-Alay Range in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m lowest point: Sariqamish Kuli -12 m | highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m mean elevation: 3,186 m |
| Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold |
| 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: 34.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 6.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.9% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 27.7% (2018 est.) forest: 2.9% (2018 est.) other: 62.4% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 42,150 sq km (2012) | 7,420 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes; floods; landslides or mudslides; avalanches; droughts | earthquakes; floods |
| 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 | areas of high air pollution from motor vehicles and industry; water pollution from agricultural runoff and disposal of untreated industrial waste and sewage; poor management of water resources; soil erosion; increasing levels of soil salinity |
| 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world | landlocked; highest point, Qullai Ismoili Somoni (formerly Communism Peak), was the tallest mountain in the former USSR |
| Total renewable water resources | 48.87 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 21.91 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 | the country's population is concentrated at lower elevations, with perhaps as much as 90% of the people living in valleys; overall density increases from east to west |
Source: CIA Factbook
