🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous Central Asian country of 7 million with a GDP of about $12 billion. Over 90% of the country is above 1,500 meters, and the Tien Shan mountains dominate the landscape. It's the most politically open country in Central Asia, having experienced two revolutions (2005 and 2010) that ousted presidents — unusual in a region of strongmen. The country has a strong nomadic heritage, and the yurt remains a cultural symbol. Issyk-Kul, the world's second-largest alpine lake, never freezes despite being surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Gold mining (the Kumtor mine) is the single largest contributor to GDP.

Gold (Kumtor mine alone is about 10% of GDP), remittances (about 30% of GDP, one of the highest ratios in the world), and agriculture are the economic pillars. Russia is the main destination for migrant workers, making the economy highly sensitive to Russian economic conditions. The country re-exports Chinese goods to other Central Asian countries and Russia. GDP growth has been volatile, swinging between contraction and 5-7% growth. The som has been relatively stable compared to other Central Asian currencies.

Kyrgyzstan's Manas epic poem is one of the longest in the world — 20 times longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined, traditionally recited from memory by storytellers called Manaschi. The country has more than 2,000 lakes, most at high altitude. Kyrgyzstan hosted the World Nomad Games, a kind of Olympics for traditional Central Asian sports including horseback wrestling, eagle hunting, and yurt-building competitions.

Kyrgyzstan's democratic tradition is a regional anomaly worth preserving, but the economy is dangerously dependent on gold and Russian remittances. Tourism potential in the mountains is enormous but underdeveloped.