What is the area of Uzbekistan?
Uzbekistan covers an area of 447,400 km², making it the second-largest country in Central Asia after Kazakhstan, but six times smaller than the latter.
Area and Comparisons
Uzbekistan covers 447,400 km², a size that makes it the second-largest country in Central Asia after Kazakhstan (2.7 million km²). To better visualize this dimension, Uzbekistan is slightly smaller than Spain (505,000 km²) and approximately four-fifths the size of mainland France (551,000 km²).
Geographic Location
This area is divided between the vast desert expanses of the Kyzylkum which occupy a large portion of the territory, the fertile valleys of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, as well as the mountainous foothills to the east near the Kyrgyz border. Uzbekistan is indeed one of only two countries in the world that are doubly landlocked, with no direct access to the sea.
Key Points
Despite its significant area, Uzbekistan concentrates its main historic cities in a relatively restricted territory: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva are all located in the northwestern half of the country, making them easy to discover during a trip.