Central Asia
Central Asia is usually considered to be the five landlocked former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Investors and businesses will often consider them together with Caucasus countries (Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia) and Mongolia. All these countries are frontier markets. Kazakhstan is the largest country (9th largest in the world), and also has the highest GDP, on the back of its significant mineral resources. Kazakhstan is probably the easiest country in the region in which to do business, though recent liberalization in Uzbekistan is attracting a lot of investment. Turkmenistan, with possibly some of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, is the next richest country on a per capita basis. Uzbekistan, with the largest population in the region, is home to the the old Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Uzbekistan has significant oil & gas and gold, and is a large producer of cotton. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are both smaller and poorer than the other countries, though they do have significant gold and silver (Tajikistan) reserves, as well as hydroelectric potential. |
Source: Library of Congress / CIA
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Source: IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2020
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