UZBEKISTAN: Landlocked Uzbekistan, about the same size as Sweden, borders Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
It is the most populous of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia, with some 26 million inhabitants.
Ethnic Uzbeks make up about 80 per cent, while Russians and Tajiks account for a further 10 per cent and Kazakhs around 3 per cent.
Since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbekistan has been ruled by autocratic President Islam Karimov, a former Communist Party boss.
Human rights bodies say there are 7,000 religious and political prisoners in Uzbekistan, where only state-sponsored Islam is allowed.
With large gas and oil reserves, Uzbekistan is self-sufficient in energy. It is also among the world's top 10 gold-producers and the No 5 cotton-producer.
Delayed market reforms and tight state regulation have caused a sharp fall in living standards. Monthly wages are about $30.