Central Asia: Difference between revisions
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| title = Country list for Central Asia | | title = Country list for Central Asia | ||
| | | author = UN Office on Drugs & Crime | ||
|url=http://www.unodc.org/uzbekistan/en/country_profile.html}}</ref>. | |url=http://www.unodc.org/uzbekistan/en/country_profile.html}}</ref>. | ||
Revision as of 01:53, 15 February 2009
The term Central Asia is not precisely defined. In one common usage it designates five geographically adjacent predominantly Muslim former Soviet republics — Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. For example, that definition is often used by the UN [1] [2].
Afghanistan can reasonably be added, since it is closely related culturally and historically to those nations and geographically contiguous with them. Azerbaijan is not geographically contiguous, but it is nearby and is another former Soviet republic that is mainly Muslim so some [3] include it. The UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia includes both Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
Some definitions are broader yet. Some [4] include what is now the Chinese province of Xinjiang, a predominantly Muslim area with a language related to Turkish, calling it "East Turkestan". Arguably, Mongolia and various other areas could be included as well.
References
- ↑ UN map of Central Asia
- ↑ UN Office on Drugs & Crime, Country list for Central Asia
- ↑ M.E. Ahrari with J. Beal (January 1996), The New Great Name in Muslim Central Asia, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, McNair Paper Number 47
- ↑ Mark Dickens, The Transoxania Pages: Central Asian history, languages, literature and culture