CENTRAL ASIA

~>Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road.[3] As a result it has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, West Asia, South Asia, and East Asia.[4]In modern context, all definitions of Central Asia consensually include the five former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan (pop. 16.0 million), Kyrgyzstan (5.5 million), Tajikistan (7.3 million), Turkmenistan (5.1 million), and Uzbekistan (27.6 million) for a total population of 61.5 million as of 2009. Other areas are often included such as the Republic of Mongolia, Afghanistan, northern and western Pakistan, north-eastern Iran, Jammu and Kashmir, and western parts of the People's Republic of China including Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, western Sichuan, northwestern Yunnan and Inner Mongolia, as well as southern parts of Siberia (Russia), such as Tuva may also be included in Central Asia