Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
Kyrgyzstan is a country in Asia with a population of 6,630,623. Its capital is Bishkek. The official currency is KGS, and the main languages are Kyrgyz, Russian.
Quick facts
- Capital: Bishkek
- Continent: Asia
- Population: 6,630,623
- Area: 199,951 km²
- Density: 33.2 people per km²
- Currency: KGS
- Languages: Kyrgyz, Russian
- ISO code: KG
Where Kyrgyzstan sits
Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Bishkek. It covers 199,951 square kilometres — 85th in the world — and is home to about 6,630,623 people, 109th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Kyrgyzstan compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Kyrgyzstan sits closest to Paraguay and Bulgaria. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Senegal and Belarus.
At 33.2 people per square kilometre it is about 1.8 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.
Kyrgyz is listed as official in Kyrgyzstan alone. The KGS is used by Kyrgyzstan and no one else.
To see Kyrgyzstan next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Kyrgyzstan
Look up through the round opening in the roof of a yurt and you see the sun: that is the flag. Bishkek sits in the north, close to the Kazakhstan border and below the snowy Tian Shan.
The flag of Kyrgyzstan: red and yellow
🇰🇬 The flag is a red flag with a yellow sun of 40 rays, with the crossed roof-ring of a yurt (a tunduk) in the middle. The 40 rays stand for the 40 clans united by the hero Manas in Kyrgyz legend, and the lines in the middle show the roof-ring of a traditional Kyrgyz yurt. Red stands for bravery.
Region and neighbours
Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked, mountainous country in Central Asia, crossed by the Tian Shan mountains. It shares land borders with 4 countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. Kyrgyzstan is landlocked, with no coast on the open ocean.
- Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 — capital Astana
- Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 — capital Tashkent
- Tajikistan 🇹🇯 — capital Dushanbe
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
Three facts about Kyrgyzstan
- The Tian Shan mountains cover more than 80% of Kyrgyzstan, which is sometimes called 'the Switzerland of Central Asia'.
- Issyk-Kul is one of the largest mountain lakes in the world, and it does not freeze in winter despite its height.
- The Epic of Manas, the Kyrgyz national poem, is one of the longest epic poems in the world.
Sources: Wikipedia: Kyrgyzstan, Wikipedia: Flag of Kyrgyzstan, Wikipedia: Issyk-Kul, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Kyrgyzstan
- Asian capitals quiz — match Kyrgyzstan to Bishkek
- Asian flags quiz — spot the Kyrgyzstan flag among its neighbours
- Landlocked countries quiz — Kyrgyzstan has no sea coast
Quizzes that include Kyrgyzstan
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Kyrgyzstan those are:
- Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Asia capitals quiz — match it to Bishkek
- Kyrgyzstan capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Kyrgyzstan
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Kyrgyzstan
- Capital of Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 48 countries of Asia
Nearby countries
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Bahrain 🇧🇠— capital Manama
- Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
- Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
- Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia 🇰🇠— capital Phnom Penh
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Kyrgyzstan flag?
The flag of Kyrgyzstan is a red flag with a yellow sun of 40 rays, with the crossed roof-ring of a yurt (a tunduk) in the middle. The 40 rays stand for the 40 clans united by the hero Manas in Kyrgyz legend, and the lines in the middle show the roof-ring of a traditional Kyrgyz yurt. Red stands for bravery.
Which countries border Kyrgyzstan?
Kyrgyzstan shares land borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China.
How can I remember the capital of Kyrgyzstan?
Look up through the round opening in the roof of a yurt and you see the sun: that is the flag. Bishkek sits in the north, close to the Kazakhstan border and below the snowy Tian Shan.