Kirghizistan

Interesting Facts About Kirghizistan

• Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country located in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges in Central Asia.
• The Kyrgyz are a Turkic people who comprise 77.8% of the population and have historically been semi-nomadic herders living in round tents called yurts.
• Kyrgyzstan's ethnic composition has undergone significant change since independence, with the percentage of ethnic Kyrgyz increasing from around 50% in 1979 to over 70% in 2013.
• Kyrgyz is the state language and Russian is an official language - making Kyrgyzstan one of five former Soviet republics with Russian as a de jure official language.
• The Kyrgyz language was written in the Arabic alphabet until the twentieth century, then switched to Latin script in 1928 before being replaced by Cyrillic script in 1941.
• The country's nomadic herding tradition continues seasonally, with families returning to high mountain pastures called jailoo in the summer to tend sheep, horses and yaks.
• Kyrgyzstan has over 80 ethnic groups within its population.

View Bishkek guide