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Sub-region of Asia · Country Index 2026

Central Asia

How are the countries of Central Asia doing?

Half of Central Asia’s 5 placed countries sit at or above 102nd of 183 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 14th of 22 sub-regions. Kazakhstan is placed highest, 61st; Turkmenistan lowest, 158th. None reaches the world’s top fifth.

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Central AsiaUN M49 143

Central Asia, shown in red on a map of the world

102nd

median position of 183 · 14th of 22 sub-regions

Asia →median 91st

01Who is in it

The countries of Central Asia

Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.

02The region

About Central Asia

The five former-Soviet republics between the Caspian Sea and China.

Central Asia lies between the Caspian Sea and China: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It is a land of steppe, desert and high mountains, far from any ocean, where the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers flow down from the Pamirs and the Tian Shan.

Cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara grew rich on the Silk Roads, and the region was ruled in turn by Persian, Turkic and Mongol powers. It became part of the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century and then of the Soviet Union, and all five countries became independent in 1991. Turkic languages and Tajik, a form of Persian, are spoken alongside Russian.

03Where

Central Asia on the map

Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.

Country Index position: 1st183rdMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks

04Country Index 2026

Where Central Asia’s countries place

Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 183, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.

The full Country Index 2026
Central Asia’s 5 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountryIn the world1st183rd
1Kazakhstan61 / 183between 57th and 71st if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
2Kyrgyzstan84 / 183between 80th and 103rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
3Uzbekistan102 / 183between 93rd and 108th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
4Tajikistan132 / 183between 127th and 136th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
5Turkmenistan158 / 183between 146th and 160th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics

Central Asia among the 22 sub-regions with a median

14th of 22. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Western Europe8thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  2. Northern Europe11thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 26th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from Australia 17th to New Zealand 19th.
  4. Northern America24thPlaced countries run from Canada 24th to United States 37th.
  5. Southern Europe31stPlaced countries run from Slovenia 14th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 62nd.
  6. Eastern Asia42ndPlaced countries run from South Korea 13th to Mongolia 75th.
  7. Eastern Europe43rdPlaced countries run from Czechia 10th to Russia 73rd.
  8. Central America80thPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  9. Caribbean81stPlaced countries run from Barbados 67th to Haiti 173rd.
  10. South America83rdPlaced countries run from Uruguay 35th to Venezuela 133rd.
  11. South-eastern Asia86thPlaced countries run from Singapore 25th to Myanmar 159th.
  12. Polynesia89thPlaced countries run from Samoa 89th to Tonga 97th.
  13. Western Asia95thPlaced countries run from Cyprus 33rd to Yemen 181st.
  14. Central Asia102ndPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 61st to Turkmenistan 158th.
  15. Southern Asia106thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 52nd to Afghanistan 175th.
  16. Melanesia107thPlaced countries run from Fiji 64th to Papua New Guinea 144th.
  17. Micronesia109thPlaced countries run from Kiribati 109th to Kiribati 109th.
  18. Northern Africa116thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 104th to Sudan 179th.
  19. Southern Africa121stPlaced countries run from South Africa 93rd to Eswatini 147th.
  20. Western Africa148thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 94th to Guinea-Bissau 171st.
  21. Eastern Africa153rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 45th to South Sudan 183rd.
  22. Middle Africa166thPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 115th to Chad 180th.
  23. Asia, the whole continent91st
  24. The world’s midpoint91st
1st183rdmedian

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

05By subject

Topic by topic

Every country’s position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field; select a cell for the country’s page on the topic. Strongest for Central Asia: Energy, 6th of 21 sub-regions. Weakest: Environment & Sustainability, 21st of 21.

All topics
Central Asia: each country’s position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among sub-regions.
EnergyPoverty & InequalityEducation & KnowledgeRisk & ResilienceHealth & WellbeingDevelopment & Human CapitalDigital & TechnologyPeace & SecurityFood & AgricultureEconomy & InnovationWork & LabourGender & EqualityDemocracy & Civil LibertiesGovernance & InstitutionsMobility & TradeEnvironment & SustainabilityMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
KazakhstanNo standing14 of 15976 of 19861 of 19375 of 20044 of 19649 of 19897 of 177107 of 18465 of 17669 of 18291 of 183138 of 19899 of 19499 of 177177 of 186No standingNo standing
Kyrgyzstan15 of 16542 of 15938 of 19850 of 19383 of 200112 of 196116 of 198110 of 177133 of 184106 of 176125 of 18293 of 183135 of 198137 of 194120 of 177147 of 186No standingNo standing
Uzbekistan144 of 16567 of 15925 of 19858 of 19386 of 20093 of 19679 of 19872 of 17789 of 184118 of 176110 of 182131 of 183145 of 198131 of 194132 of 177166 of 186No standingNo standing
Tajikistan45 of 165104 of 159108 of 19873 of 193118 of 200104 of 196122 of 198115 of 177115 of 184154 of 176172 of 182155 of 183185 of 198170 of 194No standing69 of 186No standingNo standing
Turkmenistan165 of 165No standing126 of 19848 of 193123 of 20073 of 196172 of 19880 of 177122 of 184130 of 176123 of 182172 of 183194 of 198188 of 194No standing179 of 186No standingNo standing
Region median45th of 16542nd of 15976th of 19858th of 19386th of 20093rd of 196116th of 19897th of 177115th of 184118th of 176123rd of 182131st of 183145th of 198137th of 194120th of 177166th of 186——
Among sub-regions6th of 217th of 218th of 228th of 229th of 2210th of 2214th of 2214th of 2015th of 2216th of 2116th of 2117th of 2119th of 2219th of 2219th of 2221st of 21——

Columns run from the topic where Central Asia places best among sub-regions to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.

06In numbers

Central Asia in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Central Asia’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.

All statistics

  • Population

    people · log scale

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · no better end

    KyrgyzstanTurkmenistanTajikistanKazakhstanUzbekistan496world median 6,541,4131,438,069,596

  • Land area

    km²

    FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end

    TajikistanKyrgyzstanUzbekistanTurkmenistanKazakhstan0.4world median 87,58916,376,870

  • GDP per person

    international $, PPP · log scale

    World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better

    TajikistanKyrgyzstanUzbekistanTurkmenistanKazakhstan1,067world median 17,265139,593

  • Life expectancy

    years at birth

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · higher is better

    TurkmenistanKyrgyzstanTajikistanUzbekistanKazakhstan54.46world median 74.6386.37

  • Human development

    HDI, 0–1

    UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better

    TajikistanKyrgyzstanUzbekistanTurkmenistanKazakhstan0.388world median 0.7620.972

  • Unemployment

    % of the labour force

    ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better

    KyrgyzstanTurkmenistanUzbekistanKazakhstan0.13world median 5.08434.2
Every value for Central Asia’s countries
CountryPopulation 2023Land area 2024GDP per person 2025Life expectancy 2023Human development 2023Unemployment 2025
Kazakhstan20,330,104rank 642,699,700rank 937,851rank 5174.4rank 1170.837rank 604.771rank 102
Kyrgyzstan7,073,516rank 107191,800rank 877,878rank 13271.68rank 1430.72rank 1173.526rank 125
Tajikistan10,389,799rank 92138,790rank 945,062rank 14971.79rank 1400.691rank 1286.931rank 57
Turkmenistan7,364,438rank 105469,930rank 5319,314rank 8770.07rank 1550.764rank 954.267rank 111
Uzbekistan35,652,307rank 43438,510rank 5611,623rank 11672.39rank 1340.74rank 1074.622rank 106

07In records

Central Asia in records

The member at the extreme of each statistic, read from its newest edition. Where two members share the top, no record is named.

08Latest editions

Who rose and fell in the published ranks

The moves of Central Asia’s countries between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.

Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Human Development Index: reference years 2022 (192 countries ranked) → 2023 (193 ranked), both from its 2025 report.

Improved most

rank before → after
  1. Turkmenistan96 → 95+1
  2. Kyrgyzstan118 → 117+1
  3. Tajikistan129 → 128+1

Declined most

rank before → after
  1. Kazakhstan59 → 60−1
Every country in the Human Development Index

09In context

Across the border

The countries outside Central Asia that share a land border with one of its members, with their world positions, and the sub-regions they belong to. Land borders only, as drawn on the map.

Eastern Asia

Eastern Europe

The neighbouring sub-regions

10Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The rest of Asia

11Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Central Asia?

5 countries and territories: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification.

Which country in Central Asia is placed highest?

Kazakhstan, placed 61st of 183 in the Country Index 2026. Turkmenistan is placed lowest, 158th. 5 of the region’s 5 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Central Asia compare with other regions?

Half of its 5 placed countries sit at or above 102nd of 183, which places it 14th of 22 sub-regions. The median across Asia is 91st. The middle of the whole field is 91st. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Central Asia?

80,810,164 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 5 countries and territories.

What is the largest country in Central Asia?

By land area, Kazakhstan: 2,699,700 square kilometres (2024). By population, Uzbekistan: 35,652,307 people (2023).

How a region’s figure is made
  1. Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
  2. Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
  3. The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
  4. A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Central Asia: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/central-asia

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