Keywords

FormalPara Key Points

  • Central Asia is presently home to over 64 million people with considerable differences regarding urban-rural distribution (Table 1.4). The average population growth varies from 0.9 % for Kyrgyzstan to 1.8 % for Tajikistan. Especially within the poorer countries, out-migration rates of people moving to other countries are remarkably high, with currently Kyrgyzstan topping the list followed by Tajikistan. In both countries, the generated remittances play a key role within the overall national economy and are an important factor of investment and innovation/changes in people’s livelihoods.

  • The five nation states that evolved from the Soviet republics and the contiguous territories of western China and Afghanistan that collectively, according to UNESCO, make up the Central Asian region (CAR) are in many respects very different from each other both with regard to their biophysical and their socioeconomic features.

1 Overview

The territory of present-day Central Asia encompasses a vast area of more than 4 million km2 comprising the surface of the five former Soviet republics (now independent states) – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – that make up the bulk of the Central Asian region (CAR). However, the term “Central Asia” also includes adjacent territories such as the southern outskirts of the Russian Federation, western Mongolia, Afghanistan, and western China with the Xinjiang Province as well as parts of the Tibetan Plateau. The borders (Fig. 1.1) between countries in the CAR are of rather recent making and do not run along historical boundaries of former kingdoms or khanats that dominated large portions of the area over centuries.

Fig. 1.1
figure 1

Map of the political entities that comprise the five former Soviet republics and their borders with neighboring countries

Full size image

The territory of Central Asia is landlocked and situated at the crossroad of most of the historical civilizations including China to the east, India and Persia to the south, Russia with Siberia to the north, and Turkey with the remainder of Middle East to the west. The famous silk route passed through the Central Asian territory and connected people from diverse cultures to interact in its few urban centers often placed in desert oasis. This led to the creation of centers of learning like Samarkand and Bukhara that have contributed enormously to our current knowledge.

Besides the few urban centers, large portions of the Central Asian territory consist of grassland steppes with a lot of commonalities due to interactive nomadic cultures. Moreover, the vast steppes used by nomads through their mobile lifestyle made rigid boundaries rather an unnecessary and even critical obstacle (Jacobs and Schloeder, Chap. 6). Mobility allowed for regular interaction among people of different ethnic background. However, after the forced sedentarization and mass collectivization induced by the Marxism-Leninism doctrine, these borders are nowadays continuing to limit movements. They hamper adaptation to both climate change and global change. In a general perspective, the traditional nomadic practices developed over centuries and even millennia in Central Asia are more than ever at risk despite the “political freedom” gained by the dissolution of the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. After independence, the new nation states adapted different strategies to move forward. In a synoptic perspective, Central Asia embraces thus an impressive wide spectrum of nation states and ethnic territories that are very different from one another both with regard to their biophysical and their socioeconomic features. Despite this diversity, long-distance horizontal and vertical movements – i.e., transhumance – were and for the time being remain a common feature characterizing land use in Central Asia and shaping people’s life as well as their environment. Similarly, as for the vast plains, the huge mountain systems are a key characteristic of Central Asia. They have conserved more traditional features as compared to many flat and rather uniform lowland areas (Fig. 1.2).

Fig. 1.2
figure 2

Satellite imagery of the Central Asian region and borders of the former Soviet republics

Full size image

2 Biophysical Characteristics

The relief of Central Asia is characterized by an impressive diversity of large-scale landscapes (Figs. 1.3 and 1.4). The northern part of the territory is dominated by vast grassland steppes while relatively low-altitude flat deserts and semideserts prevail in the central and western areas. Among the most prominent deserts are the “Kara-Kum” or “black sand” in Turkmenistan, the “Kyzylkum” or “red sand” in western Uzbekistan, and the “Taklamakan” desert (“land of poplars” or “gardens of the desert”) in western China.

Fig. 1.3
figure 3

Yurts are a feature of traditional way of living (photo D. Maselli, Kyrgyzstan 2008)

Full size image
Fig. 1.4
figure 4

Vast steppes and snow-capped mountains dominate large areas

Full size image

In the south and east, large mountains raise up to altitudes of 7,495 m  a.s.l. (Peak Communism or Lenin). The major mountain ranges are the high Pamirs in southwestern Tajikistan adjacent to the Hindu Kush range in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan with its prolongation into western China’s Xinjiang Province, and the Pamir-Alai in southeast Kazakhstan connecting to Mongolia.

These mountain ranges have a direct influence on the climate, land cover, and land use in Central Asia. They host a high number of glaciers and act as water towers to the entire region. These high mountains toward the south also retain the northern Siberian cool winds which remain in the territory keeping winter temperatures well below freezing point while at the same time preventing moist clouds of the monsoon rain system approaching mainly from the Indian Ocean in the south to reach Central Asia. The mountains thus act as barriers keeping the territory relatively arid. The dominant climate in Central Asia is thus continental, characterized by cold winters and hot summers with arid and semiarid regimes in the vast lowland plains and semiarid to semihumid regimes at higher altitudes.

2.1 Kazakhstan

This country covers more than two-thirds of the entire surface of the five Central Asian republics. It is thus by far the largest country in the region (Table 1.1) and the 9th largest country worldwide. Nevertheless, only little more than 8 % of its territory is categorized as arable land. With altitudes ranging from −132 (Vpadina Kaundy) to 6,995 m  a.s.l. (Khan Tangiri Shyngy or former Pik Khan-Tengri), the Kazakh landscapes encompass a huge variety of ecosystems that translate into a variety of traditional and well-adapted land use systems including in particular mobile/nomadic pastoralism. The territory is dominated by vast flat steppes that stretch from the Volga in the west to the Altai mountains in the east and from the plains of western Siberia in the north to the deserts and oases in the south.

Table 1.1 Key geographic features of five former Soviet republics in Central Asia
Full size table

2.2 Kyrgyzstan

Historically, Kyrgyzstan was formally annexed to Russia under the Czar’s authority from 1876 (Rahimon, Chap. 3) and later became a Soviet Republic in 1936. More than 93 % of its territory or close to 200,000 km2 is mountainous with the lowest point at 132 m  a.s.l. (Kara-Daryya) and the highest peak Jengish Chokusu (or former Pik Pobedy) at 7,439 m  a.s.l. (Table 1.1). The country thus hosts a large number of glaciers and high-altitude lakes of which the Son Kul is the most famous one where traditionally different tribes used to graze their animals on the rich summer pastures (jailoos). The climate varies from dry continental to polar in the Tien Shan mountains to a subtropical climate in the Ferghana valley and a temperate one in the northern foothill zone along the Chuy valley. While large parts of the country’s hill and mountain slopes are poorly covered by forest, Kyrgyzstan is home to the world’s largest natural-grown walnut forest (Arslanbob near Jalalabad in the south). The Issyk-Kul (“hot lake”) is the second largest saline lake of the world after the Caspian Sea and is a declared biosphere reserve (Fig. 1.5).

Fig. 1.5
figure 5

Revenue from tourism at Issyk-Kul provides economic diversity (photo D. Maselli, Tajikistan 2008)

Full size image

2.3 Tajikistan

Like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan is dominated by mountain ranges such as in particular the high Pamirs which are often referred to as “roof of the world.” Tajikistan hosts the highest peak in Central Asia, while its waters leave the country via the Syr Darya river toward Uzbekistan at the lowest point of about 300 m  a.s.l. in the southeast. With the Alai mountain range along the northern border, the ethnic Kyrgyz nomads populating the eastern Pamirs, and the outreach to the edges of the Ferghana valley, Tajikistan shares many commonalities with Kyrgyzstan. Its role as regional water tower is underpinned by the fact that the glaciers and lakes represent the world’s second largest mountain hydropower potential. The Tajik National Park is the largest protected area in Central Asia. It consists of an impressive mountain system surrounded by the Hindu Kush to the south, the Karakorum and Himalayas to the southeast, the Kunlun Shan to the east, the Pamir-Alai to the north, and the Parapamir to the west. The park includes a diversity of natural landscapes with rare and endangered flora and fauna of regional and global importance such as in particular the snow leopard (Uncia uncia) and the red wolf (Cuon alpinus) listed in the red book of IUCN (Jackson, Chap. 15). Some of the most spectacular features are the two high-altitude lakes of Karakul and Sarez, the two highest peaks Somoni (7,495 m  a.s.l.) and Lenin (7,134 m  a.s.l.), the two monumental glaciers Fedchenko and Medveji, and numerous hot and mineral springs (Figs. 1.6 and 1.7).

Fig. 1.6
figure 6

Alpine summer pastures provide seasonal grazing for the flocks and herds of pastoral nomads (photo D. Maselli, Kyrgyzstan 2011)

Full size image
Fig. 1.7
figure 7

Tajikistan’s Zerafshan valley is utilized by a sedentary population whose livelihood is derived from small plots of irrigated land on the terraced hill slopes and in the fertile valley bottoms (photo D. Maselli, Tajikistan 2009)

Full size image

2.4 Turkmenistan

The territory of Turkmenistan is characterized by a subtropical desert climate manifesting as sandy landscape (Kara-Kum desert) that forms dunes and rises to mountains in the south at the border with Iran. The highest elevation point in Turkmenistan is at 3,139 m  a.s.l. (Gora Ayrybaba), while the lowest point is at −81 m below sea level (Vpadina Akchanaya). The Great Balkhan Range in the west (Balkhan Province) and the Köýtendag Range along the southeast border with Uzbekistan (Lebap Province) are the only other significant elevations in the country. The Great Balkhan Range rises up to 1,880 m  a.s.l. (Mount Arlan), while the highest summit in Turkmenistan is the Ayrybaba (3,137 m  a.s.l.) belonging to the Kugitangtau Range. The major rivers include the Amu Darya, the Murghab, and the Tejen. The climate is mostly arid and subtropical with little rainfall. Winters are mild and dry, while most precipitation falls from January to May with the heaviest precipitation in the Kopet Dag mountain range. Based on the prevailing natural conditions, the country mainly depends on intensive agriculture located in irrigated oases as well as on exploiting substantial oil and gas resources. Its major agricultural products though are cotton as a cash crop for export and wheat for domestic consumption. With more than 300,000 km2 of permanent meadows and pastures, Turkmenistan is the third largest producer of fresh milk and meat in the region (Table 1.3).

2.5 Uzbekistan

Today, Uzbekistan controls most of the Ferghana valley which is the largest fertile area of Central Asia and home to about half of the entire region’s population. Uzbekistan’s highest point reaches 4,301 m  a.s.l. (Adelunga Toghi), while the lowest point is slightly below sea level (Sariqamish Kuli, −12 m  a.s.l.). Intensive agriculture aimed at producing the “white gold” (cotton) and grain caused considerable environmental damage due to the overutilization of agrochemicals and of scarce water resources leading to soil degradation in particular salinization. Eventually this led to the drying out of the Aral Sea and to environmental pollution through wind erosion transporting toxic materials over large distances. The landscape is mostly dominated by sandy deserts and dunes interrupted by flat and intensely irrigated river valleys along the two major rivers of Central Asia, the Amu Darya in the south and the Syr Darya in the north. The overall climate is dry and hot in summer with rather mild winters (Fig. 1.8).

Fig. 1.8
figure 8

Modern mechanized agriculture is expanding in the Ferghana (photo D. Maselli, Uzbekistan 2007)

Full size image

2.6 Xinjiang

This large region in western China is split by the Tien Shan mountain range into two large basins: the Dzungarian basin in the north and the Tarim basin in the south. Much of the Tarim basin is dominated by the Taklamakan desert. The lowest point in Xinjiang is the Turpan depression, −155 m  a.s.l. Its highest point is the famous K2 mountain, which reaches 8,611 m  a.s.l. and is located on the border with Pakistan. Other important mountain ranges include the Pamirs in the southeast, the Karakorum in the south, and the Altai in the north. The Tien Shan mountain range marks the Xinjiang-Kyrgyzstan border at the Torugart pass (3,752 m  a.s.l.). The Karakorum Highway links Islamabad (Pakistan) with Kashgar (China) over the Khunjerab pass.

2.7 Afghanistan

This country is also regularly considered as being part of Central Asia. The country’s highest point is the Noshaq at 7,492 m  a.s.l. By and large, Afghanistan is characterized by a continental climate with very harsh winters in the central highlands, the glaciated northeast (i.e., around Nuristan), and the Wakhan corridor, where the average temperature in January falls below −15 °C, and hot summers in the low-lying areas of the Sistan basin of the southwest, the Jalalabad basin in the east, and the Turkestan plains along the Amu Darya river in the north, where temperatures average over 35 °C in July. Despite having numerous rivers and reservoirs, large parts of the country are dry. The endorheic Sistan basin is one of the driest regions in the world. Aside from the usual rain falls, Afghanistan receives snow during winter in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains, and the melting snow in the spring season enters the rivers, lakes, and streams. However, two-thirds of the country’s water flows into neighboring countries of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan.

3 Land Use

Despite the fact that all CAR countries are still heavily involved in and dependent on agricultural production, the overall output (and partially also the productivity) has declined tremendously after independence and remains generally at a very poor level despite governmental efforts supported by bi- and multilateral partners. The stagnation is due to a number of factors such as in particular the lack of investment ­opportunities needed, e.g., to replace aged agricultural machinery and improve technology, overutilized and degraded soils and vegetation cover, as well as inappropriate water management. Generally, the current agricultural sector is suffering from a deep economic, social, and ecological crisis that requires new orientation. However, the lack of appropriate policy and land reforms including their ineffective implementation hamper the required structural adjustment of land use in the entire region. Western China (Xinjiang and Tibet) has benefited by higher levels of investment, inward migration, and more effective land reforms (Hua, Chap. 14; Hannam, Chap. 17). Afghanistan is caught up in seemingly interminable war (Emadi, Chap. 5; Jacobs and Schloeder, Chap. 6).

Permanent meadows cover the prevailing portion of the land, and hence pasturing is the dominant land use and animal husbandry the dominant occupation. The overall forest cover in Central Asia is extremely poor: 131,660 km2 or just about 3 % of the entire land surface (Table 1.2). It would require considerable efforts to increase forest cover in a substantial manner within all Central Asian countries. The forced reversion to self-sustenance and specific incidences, such as in particular the civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s, have put forest cover under heavy stress and have further exacerbated its deterioration (Table 1.3).

Table 1.2 Key land use figures in the five former Soviet republics
Full size table
Table 1.3 Net agriculture production value (in $1,000) for the five former Soviet republics
Full size table

With regard to agricultural production, Central Asia is generating an impressive amount of goods with a total value of nearly 22 billion international dollars in 2010. Despite its vast territory, Kazakhstan is only the number 2 in the region since Uzbekistan with the fertile and irrigated Ferghana valley produces about 1.6 times as much as its large neighbor. Live animals and livestock products bear huge potentials for proper processing and export. However, this potential has not so far been properly exploited.

4 Environmental Issues and Natural Hazards

Most CAR countries also suffer from a variety of environmental threats and mostly human-induced degradation processes (Fig. 1.9). Kazakhstan, e.g., has a number of radioactive or toxic chemical sites stemming from the former Soviet Union defense industries and test ranges. They represent a considerable health risk both for humans and animals. The diversion of water for irrigation from the two main rivers – the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya – that used to flow into the Aral Sea has dried up its shore and made its surface shrink in an alarming manner. As a consequence, a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts covers the soil that is picked up by the wind and blown away as noxious dust storms. Nowadays, the concerned area is one of the heaviest polluted ones in Central Asia.

Fig. 1.9
figure 9

Cutting of trees and other woody plants for fuel is a daily chore, often done by children and women (photos by D. Maselli, Tajikistan 2008)

Full size image

Mining along with inappropriate precautionary environmental measures is threatening considerable areas in Central Asia such as the high-altitude gold mines in Kyrgyzstan that threaten glaciers and their melting waters as well as traditional summer pastures (jailoos). Furthermore, uranium and mercury tailing sites are of concern to large parts of lowland population including in particular the Ferghana valley.

In most cases, both technical know-how and funding are required to take appropriate measures that will help avoid further spoiling vast areas needed as living ground for future generations.

The sudden and severe interruption of energy supply to the region has also triggered serious environmental damages in particular related to the collection of firewood for heating and cooking in many rural places (Vanselow, Chap. 4). Cold winter temperatures coupled with traditional cooking habits using simple but ineffective stoves and oven have contributed to the degradation of many remaining (riparian) forests and shrub vegetation. Given the general scarcity of wooden fire resources, dried dung cakes remain a widely used substitute. However, the burning of dung interrupts the natural cycle of nutrients, thus negatively impacting on soil fertility which in turn leads to reduced agricultural productivity and smaller harvests causing a vicious circle.

Many parts of Central Asia are exposed to a variety of potential natural hazards and related disasters. The biggest threat emanates from the rather frequent and partially strong seismic activities that generate regular earthquakes of different magnitudes. Landslides, floods, droughts, avalanches, or mud flows are causing damages to the infrastructure and require considerable reconstruction and maintenance work particularly in remote mountain areas. More recently with the rapid acceleration of glacier melting, the risk for incidences caused by glacial lake outburst flows (GLOFs) has increased and requires due attention and adequate preventive, mitigation, and awareness, rising efforts at all levels including in particular local authorities and communities. Along with the expected and partially already felt climate change, the potential for more frequent and severe pest calamities, heat waves, fires, or long periods of deep cold increases, too, calls for adequate response mechanisms to increase people’s resilience (Fig. 1.10).

Fig. 1.10
figure 10

Accelerated soil erosion is a common result of deforestation, a process that was accelerated as a consequence of the civil war in Tajikistan (photo D. Maselli, Tajikistan 2006)

Full size image

5 Demography

Central Asia is presently home to over 64 million people with considerable ­differences regarding urban-rural distribution (Table 1.4). The average population growth varies from 0.9 % for Kyrgyzstan to 1.8 % for Tajikistan. Especially within the poorer countries, out-migration rates of people moving to other countries are remarkably high, with currently Kyrgyzstan topping the list followed by Tajikistan. In both countries, the generated remittances play a key role within the overall national economy and are an important factor of investment and innovation/changes in people’s livelihoods.

Table 1.4 Key demographic features of the five former Soviet republics
Full size table

The global phenomenon of moving toward urban centers applies to Central Asia as well. This development is strongly correlated with the level and increase of the (peri-)urban population. As a consequence, the future generations expected to manage rural livelihoods and their respective natural resources appear to be at risk. The key question related to the exodus from rural areas to central political, economic, and cultural locations is whether there will be sufficient young people left ready to become herders of large flocks of small ruminants especially in the high-altitudinal belts of mountain ranges such as the Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan or the Pamirs in Tajikistan but also the wide steppes of Kazakhstan. Who will be ready to live a seminomadic lifestyle and refuse modern standard commodities? Herein, the provision of basic services such as health, education, and communication plays certainly a key role as incentive or disincentive for long-term/permanent migration or settlement of the younger generation.

With regard to the composition of the population, Central Asia represents an impressive mix of ethnicities and related cultures partially as a result of the settlement policy of the Soviet Union and partly as the result of long-term historical movements. Herein, the Uralic-Altaic and Indo-European represent the two main ethnic groups under which most of the others can be categorized. While this multiethnicity could potentially be an asset for the entire region, there is an imminent danger of ethnical conflicts particularly due to phenomena such as exclusion and/or political under-/misrepresentation.

Like in other rapidly growing regions, the age composition in Central Asia is characterized by an impressive youth bulge (Figs. 1.11 and 1.12).

Fig. 1.11
figure 11

People of Central Asia (photos D. Maselli, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, 2006–2009)

Full size image
Fig. 1.12
figure 12

Women in Tajikistan producing traditional handicrafts (photo D. Maselli, Tajikistan 2004)

Full size image

The relative population density among the five former Soviet republics is highest in Uzbekistan followed by Tajikistan with the lowest in Kazakhstan. On one hand, Kazakhstan has the highest proportion of population residing in urban areas as compared to the other states, while on the other hand having the lowest density of population per unit of pastoral and agricultural land. This shows that in Kazakhstan, more and more population is moving to the urban centers due to increasing job opportunities, while, e.g., the people in Tajikistan still depend on subsistence farming. This disparity is confirmed by the proportion of population living below poverty line which is highest in Tajikistan and lowest in Kazakhstan. Due to the better economic conditions, Kazakhstan acts as pull area for the working labor of the other Central Asian nations, in particular Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (see Table 1.4). The high literacy rate is comparable among the former Soviet republics, thanks to the Soviet system that offered education to all while, e.g., the literacy rates in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan are less than 60 % (Fig. 1.13).

Fig. 1.13
figure 13

Population statistics for Central Asia

Full size image

6 Social Features

Since independence in 1990, a sharp increase in the inequality of income ­distribution has hurt the lower ranks of society in most of the Central Asian states. Many of the former facilities and services provided to the entire population through the Soviet system have collapsed. This increased the vulnerability of many households, in particular single-headed women households (Kurbanova, CIA World Factbook, FAOSTAT) (Chap. 7) (Table 1.5).

Table 1.5 Key social features of the five former Soviet republics
Full size table

7 Economy

The dramatic shift from planned to market economy triggered by the disruption of the Soviet Union caused a sharp drop in the production of the Central Asian economies immediately after becoming independent in the early 1990s. This economic collapse was accompanied by an abrupt fall in living conditions for the majority of the population and by an out-migration of ethnic Russian specialists returning to their native country along with their families. As a result – and despite many efforts trying to address the economic breakdown – poverty is still widespread, especially in rural areas but meanwhile also in peri-urban settlements. Many governmental services have ceased to exist or have been considerably reduced in scope at all levels and in many domains such as in particular health and education. This state failure is continuing to strain the relation between authorities and the population.

With the disappearance of the socialist redistributive economy, the new Central Asian states are forced to find their own position in the global market. Due to their geographical double landlocked position between China and Russia as two economic and political giants, this task is difficult, especially for the poorer and weaker countries such as in particular Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Most of the Central Asian economies remain predominantly agricultural relying mainly on primary exports that expose them to fluctuating world prices and financial turmoil.

Despite its huge territory and natural livestock grazing potential, Kazakhstan with its growing industrial development has become a major pull area for agricultural products such as in particular livestock-related products like milk and meat. This provides certain market opportunities for the smaller Central Asian countries to access regional markets. However, competition from China is rapidly increasing as many products such as apples are being imported into Kyrgyzstan. This compromises the market opportunities for certain agricultural and livestock products of the Central Asian states. Nevertheless, the meat market remains a good avenue for income, provided meat quality can be improved and serious issues of animal health are addressed properly and effectively such as in particular brucellosis in Kyrgyzstan or anthrax in Tajikistan (Fig. 1.14).

Fig. 1.14
figure 14

Percent distribution of labor force according to occupation sectors

Full size image

8 Current Status and Future Prospects of the Five Former Soviet Republics

8.1 Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the “economic giant” among the newly created Central Asian countries. Its overall GDP is nearly one-third higher than the total GDP of the four other countries (Table 1.6). Its per capita GDP is considerably higher than in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The primary/agricultural sector is of much less importance in comparison to the other four countries. Compared to Uzbekistan, the labor force is only about half with a relatively high concentration in the tertiary sector as compared to the other four countries. With regard to unemployment and to inflation rate, Kazakhstan is performing rather well. This translates into a rather moderate portion of its population living below poverty line, i.e., less than 10 %. With regard to the occupation of the labor force, Kazakhstan is currently the only one with less than 30 % in the primary sector (agriculture) and more than 50 % in the tertiary sector (services) as compared to the other four CAS states.

Table 1.6 Key economic features of the five former Soviet republics
Full size table

Kazakhstan is also both the largest consumer and producer of energy in Central Asia. With a consumption of nearly 78 billion kWh of electricity in 2009, it consumed more electric power than the remaining other four countries (Table 1.7). The regional supremacy of Kazakhstan related to energy production manifests via its impressive and rapidly evolving oil production that boosts its economy and secures the country’s international reputation as a new key oil provider on the global market. Kazakhstan’s other major export products are ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat, and coal. It has large deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, and uranium (Tables 1.8).

Table 1.7 Key energy features of the five former Soviet republics
Full size table
Table 1.8 Key import and export features of the five former Soviet republics
Full size table

8.2 Kyrgyzstan

Due to its topography, Kyrgyzstan is a predominantly agricultural country with nearly 50 % of the labor force engaged in agriculture and contributing to about 20 % of the GDP (Table 1.6). It has the region’s second lowest per capita GDP (2,400 USD in 2011) right after Tajikistan (2,000 USD in 2011).

Kyrgyzstan has abundant hydropower, minerals such as in particular gold and rare earth metals, coal, oil, natural gas, and some other marketable deposits like naphthalene, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc.

8.3 Tajikistan

The civil war 1992–1997 that hit Tajikistan has severely damaged its already weak economic infrastructure causing a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. As a consequence, the country today features among the poorest of the former 15 Soviet republics that become independent in 1990. Its per capita GDP in 2011 reached approximately 2,000 USD, and widespread corruption along with weak governance, seasonal power shortages, as well as a high external debt are persisting obstacles toward improving the overall fragile socio-economic situation. Due to the lack of employment opportunities, about 1 million Tajik work as migrants outside the country (40–50 % of the total labor force), and the remittances generated account for about 25 % of total GDP. Tajikistan has the second biggest hydropower generation potentials in the world. In addition to this hydropower, Tajikistan has modest quantities of petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, and gold as additional natural resources available for exploitation and export.

8.4 Turkmenistan

Based on the prevailing natural conditions, the country mainly lives on intensive agriculture located in irrigated oases as well as on exploiting substantial oil and gas resources and the third producer of fresh milk and meat in the region (Table 1.3).

8.5 Uzbekistan

Besides agriculture and in particular the cotton monoculture inherited from Soviet times, Uzbekistan is trying to diversify its export portfolio by developing in particular the ­infrastructure to exploit the available oil and natural gas reserves as well as other natural resources. Like most of its neighbors, Uzbekistan has deposits of coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, and molybdenum that are in high demand on the global market and may help boost the economic development of the country (Tables 1.8).

Twenty years after independence, some of the economies have started recovering, showing signs of steady improvement and growth, mainly thanks to the availability of high-demand natural resources such as energy carriers in particular. Unfortunately the GDP growth rates have not yet helped to reduce poverty and social inequality – partially due to inefficient governmental service delivery structures as well as persisting political instability in many instances.

Unemployment rates are generally high, and the job markets are far too small to absorb the entire workforce – in particular youth. Considering that in many of the countries nearly half the population is under the age of 20 and thus about to join the workforce. This is a key issue that needs to be addressed in the context of regional sustainable development as it might again contribute to a drastic increase of unemployment and trigger more migration flows toward foreign destinations.

9 Politics

Since their independence in the early 1990s, the political changes within the Central Asian republics have had a critical impact on their respective political, social, and economic development as well as their integration into the worldwide market economy. Changes have been dramatic and will continue to shape the future of society in the region. At present, Table 1.9 gives an overview of the main systemic features of the political systems in the five Central Asian republics.

Table 1.9 Key political features of the five former Soviet republics and Mongolia
Full size table

10 Communication, Infrastructure, and Mobility

Connectivity in all its facets is a key aspect of modernization in the present-day Central Asia. The vast often thinly populated flat territories and the huge mountain ranges represent natural obstacles and challenges for securing an adequate communication and transportation for many rural communities (Figs. 1.15, 1.16 and Table 1.10).

Fig. 1.15
figure 15

Mechanized conveyance is used to transport equipment and portable housing to and from the summer grazing – generally over unmade roads and crossing rivers over hazardous bridges (photo D. Maselli, Kyrgyzstan 2008)

Full size image
Fig. 1.16
figure 16

Mountainous terrain and remote locations contribute to the problems of trade, lack of public transport services, and poor communications in many Central Asian countries (photo D. Maselli, Tajikistan 2008)

Full size image
Table 1.10 Key communication features in five former Soviet republics and Mongolia
Full size table