The world's largest landlocked country, Kazakhstan is also the largest global producer of uranium ore.
Kyrgyzstan is the country farthest from any ocean in the world and the world's third most mountainous country.
A vital source of water for Central Asia, mountainous Tajikistan gets over 80% of its electricity from hydropower.
With the fourth-largest natural gas reserves globally, Turkmenistan also operates one of the longest irrigation canals in the world.
One of the world's only two double-landlocked countries, Uzbekistan is home to world's fourth largest gold producer.
Armenia's capital Yerevan is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, dating back to 8th century BC.
Azerbaijan has remained one of the major oil producers for over a century, with Baku oil fields among the earliest to be developed.
The birthplace of winemaking, Georgia connects continental plains with the Black Sea maritime route to the Mediterranean.
Sometimes called the "Lung of Europe" because of its forests, Belarus is also one of the world's top exporters of potash fertilizer.
Moldova is the world's leader in vineyards area per capita and home to the world's largest underground wine cellar.
A world-leading exporter of food products, Ukraine possesses about 25% of the world’s most fertile black soil.
Having the world's lowest population density of 2 people per sq. km., Mongolia holds one of the world's largest copper-gold deposits.
The heart of empires for many centuries, Turkey remains the region's predominant economic and cultural powerhouse.