Central Asia

Central Asia is a subregion of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to Mongolia and China in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. The region is colloquially known as "The -Stans", as it consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Some scholars include Afghanistan.

During Soviet times, between 1918 and 1991, this region was known by scholars as Soviet Central Asia (Советская Средняя Азия). Historically, it has been inhabited by Indo-Iranian peoples, then by Turkic peoples. The predominant religion is Islam.