Location Central Asia, north of Afghanistan

Geographic coordinates 41 00 N, 64 00 E

Map references Asia

Area
total: 447,400 sq km
water: 22,000 sq km
land: 425,400 sq km

Area - comparative slightly larger than California

Land boundaries
total: 6,221 km
border countries: Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km

Coastline 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline

Maritime claims none (doubly landlocked)

Climate mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east

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

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m

Natural resources natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum

Land use
arable land: 11%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 88% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 42,810 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards NA

Environment - current issues shrinkage of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, 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

NOTE: The information regarding Uzbekistan on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Uzbekistan Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Uzbekistan Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.