The autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh lies within the political geography of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan declared its independence in 1991. Central Asia Kazakhstan Kazakhstan is home to a mainly Russian population to the north and northeast, but the south remains mostly muslim, descendants of the Turks. Territorially it is larger than all four other countries of Central Asia combined with a topography that is mainly desert and steppe. The population is mainly located around areas of water.
Natural resources are plentiful, with deposits of coal and iron ore.
It also has an oil supply near the Caspian Sea. Uzbekistan is the world's third largest cotton producer, and also produces rice. The agriculture is irrigated with water from the rivers flowing to the Aral Sea. Because of this irrigation, local food and water are unsafe to consume, and cancer rates are high. The irrigation also contributes to the shrinkage of the Aral Sea.