Country profile · Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country of about 7.4 million people in Central Asia, between Kazakhstan and China. Protesters have overthrown three presidents since 2005. President Sadyr Japarov, whom protesters freed from prison in 2020, has ruled since 2021 and is running again on January 27, 2027. Russia keeps an air base there, and China is its largest trade partner.
Where Kyrgyzstan ranks
All rankings →Which alliances is Kyrgyzstan in?
All alliances →Who runs Kyrgyzstan?
President Sadyr Japarov was born on December 6, 1968, in Keng-Suu in the Issyk-Kul region. A former member of parliament, from 2012 he campaigned to nationalize the Kumtor gold mine. In 2017 a court sentenced him to 11.5 years in prison over a 2013 attempt by protesters to seize a regional governor. Protesters freed him on October 6, 2020, during unrest after a disputed election. He became acting president and won the presidential election of January 10, 2021, with about 79% of the vote. A 2021 constitution gave most power to the president. Independents won 84 of the 90 seats in parliament in November 2025, and there is no organized opposition. On February 10, 2026, Japarov fired his longtime ally Kamchybek Tashiev as head of the security service. A court later convicted Tashiev in a case over calls for an early election and gave him probation. Freedom House rates Kyrgyzstan "Not Free". The presidential election is on January 27, 2027, and Japarov is running again.
Photo (November 2025): Daniel Torok, The White House, Wikimedia Commons, public domain (cropped)
Who are Kyrgyzstan's allies and rivals?
Russia has kept an air base at Kant, near Bishkek, since 2003. A 2012 deal keeps it there until at least 2032. Kyrgyzstan belongs to the Russian-led CSTO military alliance and has been a member of the Eurasian Economic Union since August 2015. China is Kyrgyzstan's largest trade partner. President Xi Jinping made a state visit from August 30 to September 2, 2026, when Bishkek hosted the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Building work on a railway from China through Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan began on December 27, 2024. The 533 km line will cost about $4.7 billion and is due by the end of 2030. Border fighting with Tajikistan killed at least 55 people in 2021 and about 100 in 2022. The two countries signed a treaty fixing their whole border on March 13, 2025. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a treaty of allied relations in July 2026. Kyrgyzstan won a seat on the UN Security Council for 2027 and 2028.
Allies and partners
RussiaAir base at Kant; most migrant workers go there
ChinaLargest trade partner; building a railway
KazakhstanNeighbor and Eurasian Economic Union partner
UzbekistanTreaty of allied relations since July 2026
TajikistanBorder treaty in 2025 after deadly clashes
- Kant air base Russian air base since 2003. A 2012 deal keeps it until at least 2032.
- Kumtor Gold mine the state took from Canada's Centerra Gold in 2021. It produced about 12 tonnes of gold in 2025.
- Batken Border area where fighting with Tajikistan killed about 100 people in September 2022. A border treaty followed in March 2025.
- Torugart Pass Mountain border crossing with China on the road to Kashgar.
- Kyrgyzstan
- Partner
Who does Kyrgyzstan trade with?
Kyrgyzstan exported $2.64 billion of goods in 2025 and imported $12.01 billion (UN Comtrade). Russia bought 18.7% of exports (chart). Switzerland bought 16.6% and Kazakhstan 15.8%. China supplied 40.1% of imports and Russia 21.6%. Exports fell 44.5% in 2025, mainly because the central bank kept more of the country's gold instead of selling it abroad. Switzerland replaced the United Kingdom as the main buyer of Kyrgyz gold. The state took control of the Kumtor gold mine in May 2021 and gained full ownership in 2022 in a deal with Canada's Centerra Gold. After 2022 many goods passed through Kyrgyzstan on their way to Russia, but this re-export trade shrank sharply in 2024 and 2025. The economy grew 11.1% in 2025 and 10.8% in the first nine months of 2026. Inflation reached 12.2% in September 2026. Kyrgyzstan owed China's Exim Bank $1.41 billion in June 2026, 27% of its foreign debt.
Sells to
Share of Kyrgyzstan's exports
- Russia18.7%
Switzerland16.6%- Kazakhstan15.8%
- Uzbekistan15.4%
United Kingdom8.9%
Buys from
Share of Kyrgyzstan's imports
- China40.1%
- Russia21.6%
- Kazakhstan9.7%
- Uzbekistan4.7%
South Korea4.2%
Goods, 2025. UN Comtrade (Kyrgyzstan's own figures).
Why does Kyrgyzstan depend on Russia?
Between 470,000 and 500,000 Kyrgyz citizens worked in Russia in 2026, according to Kyrgyz ministries. Workers abroad sent home $3.49 billion in 2025, about 15% of GDP, and more than 90% of it came from Russia (National Bank). After the attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow in March 2024, Russia tightened its rules for migrants. By November 2025 it had banned 91,566 Kyrgyz citizens from entering. Gazprom bought the national gas company for a symbolic $1 in 2014 and took on about $40 million of its debt. It is the only gas importer. Our data puts Russia's share of gas imports at 98.1% in 2025, the highest of 60 countries (chart). Since 2022 the United States, the United Kingdom and the EU have punished Kyrgyz banks and firms for helping Russia avoid sanctions. In April 2026 the EU banned exports of some machine tools to Kyrgyzstan, the first time it used this power against any country.
Share of gas imports from Russia, 2025
Full ranking →- Kyrgyzstan98.1%
Bosnia and Herzegovina96.0%- Kazakhstan88.7%
Serbia87.6%
Armenia82.3%
Hungary73.4%
Slovakia63.3%
UN Comtrade Database
Why has Kyrgyzstan overthrown three presidents?
Kyrgyzstan became independent on August 31, 1991. Its first president, the physicist Askar Akayev, was praised in the 1990s for running an "island of democracy" in Central Asia. After a disputed election, protesters drove him out on March 24, 2005, in the Tulip Revolution. His successor, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was overthrown on April 7, 2010, and more than 80 people were killed in Bishkek. In June 2010, violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in Osh and Jalal-Abad killed about 470 people, about three quarters of them Uzbeks, and more than 400,000 fled their homes. Roza Otunbayeva, Central Asia's first woman head of state, handed power to the elected Almazbek Atambayev in December 2011. After the disputed election of October 4, 2020, protesters stormed government buildings and President Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigned on October 15, 2020. President Sadyr Japarov came to power in that third uprising, and he has since gathered power in the presidency.