Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia. It is surrounded by five countries: Kazakhstan to the north; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Tajikistan to the southeast; Afghanistan to the south, Turkmenistan to the south-west. Its capital and largest city is Tashkent. Uzbekistan is part of the Turkic speaking world, as well as a member of the Turkic Council. Uzbek, a Turkic language written in a modified Latin alphabet is spoken natively by approximately 85% of the population. Russian has widespread use as an inter-ethnic tongue and in governance. Islam is the majority religion in Uzbekistan, with the majority of Uzbeks being non-denominational Muslims. The first recorded settlers on what is now Uzbekistan were Eastern Iranian nomads, known as Scythians, who founded kingdoms in Khwarazm, Bactria, Sogdia, Fergana, and Margiana.
