Area comparison map:

about four times the size of Virginia; slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
total: 6,893 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (5): Afghanistan 144 km, Kazakhstan 2330 km, Kyrgyzstan 1314 km, Tajikistan 1312 km, Turkmenistan 1793 km

Coastline:
0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
none (doubly landlocked)

Climate:
mostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
More Climate Details

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:
lowest point: Sariqamish 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:
agricultural land: 62.6% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 10.1% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0.8% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 51.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 7.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 29.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
42,150 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population distribution:
most of the population is concentrated in the fertile Fergana Valley in the easternmost arm of the country; the south has significant clusters of people, while the central and western deserts are sparsely populated

Natural hazards:
earthquakes; floods; landslides or mudslides; avalanches; droughts

Environment - current issues:
shrinkage of the Aral Sea has resulted in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification and respiratory health problems; 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