page_title: Tuva
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Tuva / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Географический Центр Азии
context_page_description: Tuva or Tyva, officially the Tyva Republic, is a federal subject of Russia.
  The Tuvan republic lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and Mongolia to the south. It has a population of 307,930. Its capital is the city of Kyzyl.
  From 1921 to 1944, Tuva constituted a sovereign, independent, but partially recognized nation, acknowledged only by its neighbors the Soviet Union and Communist Mongolia. It was known officially as Tannu Tuva until 1926 and thereafter as the Tuvan People's Republic.
  A majority of the population are ethnic Tuvans who speak Tuvan as their native tongue, while Russian is spoken natively by the Russian minority; both are official and widely understood in the republic. Tuva is governed by the Great Khural, which elects a chairman for a four-year term.
context_section_description: The republic is situated in the far south of Siberia. Its capital city of Kyzyl is located near the geographic "center of Asia". The eastern part of the republic is forested and elevated, and the west is a drier lowland.
  Borders:
  internal: Khakassia (NW/N), Krasnoyarsk Krai (N), Irkutsk Oblast (N/NE), Buryatia (E), Altai Republic (SW/W)
  international: Mongolia (Bayan-Ölgii Province, Khövsgöl Province, Uvs Province and Zavkhan Province) (S) (border line length: 1,305 kilometers (811 mi))
  Highest point: Mount Mongun-Tayga, 3,970 meters (13,020 ft)
  Maximum N–S distance: 450 kilometers (280 mi)
  Maximum E–W distance: over 700 kilometers (430 mi)
  Area: 170,427 square kilometers (65,802 sq mi)
caption: The geographic "center of Asia", 2015
exif: {"Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2015:08:26 12:50:17", "Image ExifOffset": "162", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "362", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "18765", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:08:21 18:49:21", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:08:21 18:49:21", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "69", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "69"}