The Continent of Asia
Asia is around 44 million km². About 4010 million Asians live on the continent, which corresponds to 60.5 percent of the world population.
The name Asia (Latin Asia) comes from Assyrian and stands for “east” or “sunrise”. The Romans originally only referred to Asia Minor, the Asian part of today’s Turkey. Your local province “Asia” was named after an oceanid in Greek mythology.
The most populous Asian states are China, India and Indonesia, the largest in terms of area China, India and Kazakhstan. The following countries come from Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan – Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan is a country in Asia. The capital of the country is Bishkek. Around 6.1 million Kyrgyz people live in Kyrgyzstan. The official languages are Kyrgyz and Russian. Kyrgyzstan covers an area of around 200,000 km² and is about seven times the size of Belgium. Neighboring countries are China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Kyrgyzstan’s topography presents great difficulties for the transport system, and the road network of 18,500 km is sparse in large parts of the country. The existing railway lines do not form a coherent network, but consist mainly of short extensions from neighboring countries into Kyrgyzstan.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan – Central Asia
Kazakhstan is a state in Asia. The capital of the country is Astana. Around 18 million Kazakhs, Kazakhs and residents of other nationalities live in Kazakhstan, making Kazakhstan one of the most sparsely populated regions in the world. The official languages are Kazakh and Russian. Kazakhstan covers an area of around 3 million km² and is about five times the size of France. Neighboring countries are China, the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.
The railways, which covered 16,600 km in 2017, form the backbone of Kazakhstan’s transport network and are of great importance for raw material handling. The Turkish Sibban, which was built in the 1930’s, crosses Kazakhstan. The country’s road network covers 93 600 km (2009). Alongside a noticeable orientation towards the Russian Federation, it is also noteworthy that the infrastructure is best developed in the north. Alma-Ata has an international airport.
Uzbekistan
According to Countryaah, as a landlocked country in Central Asia, Uzbekistan has a well-developed network of roads, railways and telecommunications by Central Asian dimensions. However, it is worn and adapted to the needs of central planning. Telecommunications are lagging behind technologically and have therefore been designated as a priority area for public and foreign investment. The roads are usually paved but with neglected maintenance. This is supplemented by 4,600 km of railway with Russian gauge and some inland shipping on Syr-Darja. Tashkent has an international airport, while several of the country’s major cities have regular air services with, among others, Moscow.
Turkmenistan
The combination of central planning (low priority for transport services) and large unpopulated areas has led to a sparse transport network. However, since independence, physical infrastructure, including transport and telecommunications, has received a large proportion of the total investment. Both road and rail networks are concentrated in the country’s eastern, southern and western parts with limited cross-links through the Karakum desert. Despite the inauguration in 1991 of the 600-km-long road Ashgabat-Tasjauz, in some cases it is dependent on connections across a neighboring country. The road network amounts to about 59,000 km, of which 4/5 are paved.
The railways, which have the wider Russian gauge, amount to 3,000 km. Amu-Darja and the Karakum Canal are also used for local transport. Turkmenistan’s large gas and oil production has motivated the construction of pipelines, most of which are concentrated to the western part of the country. Ashgabat has an international airport.
Tajikistan
Most of the transport work, in terms of both freight and passenger transport, is carried out by vehicle traffic. The road network comprises about 27,800 km of general road of extremely varying quality and accessibility. During the 1990’s, several major road projects, carried out with Chinese and American assistance, made Tajikistan a regional transport hub.
The railways cover only 700 km (1,524 mm gauge). Given the country’s mountainous nature and, to a large extent, low population density, the conditions for rail transport within Tajikistan are poor. Instead, the rail network has been laid out with a view to linking more important cities and districts with neighboring countries. To some extent, this has been offset by a relatively well-developed domestic flight. However, high costs and difficult weather conditions in the mountainous regions, as well as increasing political turmoil and fuel shortages, have also circumvented the utility of this vehicle. Dusjanbe has an international airport.
Afghanistan – Central Asia
Afghanistan is a state in Asia. The capital of the country is Kabul. About 35 million Afghans and Afghans of other nationalities live in Afghanistan. The official languages are Pashto and Dari. Afghanistan covers an area of around 653,000 km² and is therefore around twice the size of Poland. The highest mountain in Afghanistan is the Noshak at 7,485 meters. Neighboring countries are China, Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Afghan National Day is August 18 (Independence Day in 1919).