Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a doubly landlocked country located in Central Asia. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the northeast, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the south-west. It is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world, the other being Liechtenstein. The country has a population of more than 38.2 million, making it the most populous republic in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a member of the Organisation of Turkic States. Uzbek, spoken by the Uzbek people who form nearly 85% of the population, is the official language of the country. Russian and Tajik are significant minority languages, with Russian serving as a lingua franca. Tajik is primarily spoken by Tajiks living in the southern parts of the country, such as Samarkand and Bukhara.