Kyrgyzstan, or the Kyrgyz Republic, is located in northeastern Central Asia, along the Tjan-Shan
Mountains and the Pamir-Alay mountain ridge. The Kyrgyz Republic borders on the Republic of
Kazakhstan to the north, on China to the east and south, and on the Republics of Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan to the west. Its area totals 199,900 square kilometers, 5.1 percent of which is forested, 4.3
percent water, 53.9 percent agricultural land and 36.7 percent other types of land. Approximately
ninety percent of the republic is mountainous, with altitudes of over 1,500 meters above sea level.
Kyrgyzstan is a unitary state and consists of the capital city, Bishkek, and seven oblasts, Ysyk-Kol,
Naryn, Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken, Talas and Chuy. These are divided into a total of forty raions and
four capital city districts.
According to the first national census, conducted in 1999, the Kyrgyz Republic has a population of
4,851,000, one-third of which is urban and two-thirds of which is rural. Altogether, 787,800
citizens reside in Bishkek. The Chuy valley, with its urban center of Bishkek, and the Fergana valley,
with the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad, comprise the two most densely populated areas