<Tr> <Th> GDP per capita </Th> <Td> $6,044 (2012) </Td> </Tr> <P> Central Asia stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north . It is also colloquially referred to as "the stans" as the countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix "- stan", meaning "land of". </P> <P> Mentioned five countries of so called "Central Asia" region are situated far from the geographical midpoint of Asia in Russian Southern Siberia, the largest country of the "Central Asia" region - Kazakhstan - is partially out of Asia in Europe . Central Asia has a population of about 70 million, consisting of five republics: Kazakhstan (pop . 18 million), Kyrgyzstan (6 million), Tajikistan (9 million), Turkmenistan (6 million), and Uzbekistan (31 million). Afghanistan (pop . 35 million), which is a part of South Asia, is also sometimes included in Central Asia, as is Mongolia (pop . 3 million), which is part of East Asia . </P> <P> Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road . It has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, Western Asia, South Asia, and East Asia . The Silk Road connected Muslim lands with the people of Europe, India, and China . This crossroads position has intensified the conflict between tribalism and traditionalism and modernization . </P>

How many countries are there in central asia