The Timeline of Central Asia aims to serve as a chronological guide offering information regarding essential developments in the Central Asian region. Within the framework of this study, the Central Asian region is defined as the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Each of the five Central Asian republics has its own distinctive features and unique accomplishments. However, due to many common characteristics and mutually-dependent aspects, this study provides the timeline of developments in a regional format, rather than using the conventional way of displaying information by country. The Central Asian states do not just share similar features, such as common political history and administrative experience and similar cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious identities; they also have to face many common challenges, such as national security, drug trafficking, energy sustainability, transportation of energy resources, trading routes in landlocked economies, improving transportation infrastructure, environmental pollution, labor migration and many others.
