Kyrgyzstan

General information about the country: Kyrgyzstan (a state in the northeast of Central Asia) is located within two mountain systems. The northeastern part of the country (large in area) is part of the Tien Shan mountain system, the southwestern part belongs to the Pamir-Alai. Mountain ranges extending in parallel chains mainly in the latitudinal direction occupy about a quarter of the country's territory. In the east (in the area of the Meridional Ridge) there is a powerful mountain node formed by the main ridges of the Tien Shan. Here (on the border with China), the highest point of the country is Victory Peak (7,439 m, the northernmost seven thousandth on Earth). More than half of the state's territory is located at altitudes from 1,000 to 3,000 m and about a third at altitudes from 3,000 to 4,000 m. Geographically, Kyrgyzstan is divided by mountain ranges into two parts – southern and northern. These regions, isolated from each other, are connected only by the Bishkek–Osh high-altitude highway. The coat of arms of the country depicts the falcon gyrfalcon "Ak-shumkar" Manas (Manas is the hero of the Kyrgyz epic that united the Kyrgyz) with outstretched wings (which symbolizes the freedom of the country) and the pearl of Kyrgyzstan — Lake Issyk-Kul, surrounded by high rocky ridges Ala-Too (the peaks of the mountains, illuminated by the sun, look like the Kyrgyz national headdress "the hood"). Administratively, the republic is divided into seven regions (Batken, Jalal-Abad, Issyk-Kul, Naryn, Osh, Talas, Chui). Major cities: Osh (a city of republican significance), Jalal-Abad, Naryn, Karakol. Population: as of December 2023, the permanent population of Kyrgyzstan amounted to 7 million people. Representatives of almost 90 nationalities live in the country, including Kyrgyz (72.8%), Uzbeks (14.5%), Russians (about 6.2%), Dungans (1.1%), Uighurs (0.9%), Ukrainians (0.2%), representatives of other nations and nationalities (about 4%). The time zone is UTC+6.