Photo Credit: Refugees International
11/09/2007

Landlocked Kyrgyzstan became an independent republic when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Over 90 percent of the country is mountainous, with some 40 percent standing at an elevation of over 3,000 meters. About a third of the population of 5.2 million lives in the cities, though even the capital, Bishkek, has fewer than one million inhabitants. The estimated number of stateless persons, an issue which is little appreciated resulting in a lack of official statistics, ranges from 10,000 to 100,000.