Eighty-eight percent of the population is Muslim (mostly Sunnis); nine percent are Eastern Orthodox Christian.  The government is a republic with authoritarian presidential rule and little power outside the executive branch.  Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11 percent consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys.  More than 60 percent of its population lives in densely populated rural communities.  The country’s main production and export is cotton.

Languages include Uzbek (74 percent), Russian (14 percent), and Tajik (four percent).

Uzbekistan is a source country for women and girls trafficked to Kazakhstan, Russia, the Middle East, and Asia for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, and men are trafficked to Kazakhstan and Russia for purposes of forced labor in the construction, cotton, and tobacco industries.  Uzbekistan also has a bad tradition of violation of child labor laws.

Pennsylvania has not resettled any refugees from Uzbekistan so far this year.

Previously a component of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Great Britain during the First World War.  In 1932, Iraq attained independence as a kingdom and a "Republic" was decreed in 1958.  However, a series of military strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The most recent was Saddam Hussein. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was forced out by UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991.  Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council required Iraq to destroy all weapons of mass destruction and allow the UN to inspect military bunkers. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with the UN over a period of 12 years led to the United States-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the dismantling of the Hussein regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq under a UN mandate, helping to provide security and to support the freely elected government.

Bordering several countries that include Syria and Saudi Arabia, Iraq is a Middle-Eastern nation roughly twice the size of Idaho.  Languages spoken are Arabic, Kurdish, Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian.  Islam (Shi’a and Sunni) is practiced among 97 percent of the population; the other 3 percent is Christian.  Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil industry which has traditionally provided about 95 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Although looting, insurgent attacks, and sabotage have undermined rebuilding efforts, economic activity is beginning to pick up in areas recently secured by the United States military surge.  Oil exports are around levels seen before the war, and government revenues have benefited from the currently high oil prices.

More than 400 Iraqis have resettled in Pennsylvania since October 2008.

Afghanistan is located in Central Asia, with Kabul as its capital.  This nation is home to many different cultures, reflected in the nation’s use of Dari, Pashto, Turkish dialects, and a wide variety of minor languages.  Afghanistan has been a prominent topic in the news for many years, with events ranging from the 1979 Soviet invasion, the 1996 civil war that gave control to the Taliban, the post- 9/11 US backed war which eventually toppled the Taliban regime, and the 2004 democratic presidential election of Hamid Karzai.

Afghanistan was recently popularized in the book and film The Kite Runner, works that brought worldwide attention to both the culture of the country and the intense internal political strife the nation has faced in the past few decades.  Afghanistan is an Islamic culture, known for production of hand-woven rugs and its passionate love of kites.

Afghanistan has been a source of refugees for many years.  Political strife, an inability of the government to police the nation, a war-torn infrastructure, a thriving underground opium business which ranks among the highest in the world, and a people scarred by war.  All of these factors create refugees who are scattered to the winds.  Pennsylvania has become home to at least 115 Afghan refugees in the last two years.

A Central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions, most of Kyrgyzstan was formally annexed to Russia in 1876. The Kyrgyz staged a major revolt against the Tsarist Empire in 1916 in which almost one-sixth of the Kyrgyz population was killed. Kyrgyzstan became a Soviet republic in 1936 and achieved independence in 1991 when the USSR dissolved. Nationwide demonstrations in the spring of 2005 resulted in the ouster of President Askar AKAEV, who had run the country since 1990. Subsequent presidential elections in July 2005 were won overwhelmingly by former Prime Minister Kurmanbek BAKIEV. The political opposition organized demonstrations in Bishkek in April, May, and November 2006 resulting in the adoption of a new constitution that transferred some of the president's powers to parliament and the government. In December 2006, the Kyrgyzstani parliament voted to adopt new amendments, restoring some of the presidential powers lost in the November 2006 constitutional change. By late-September 2007, both previous versions of the constitution were declared illegal, and the country reverted to the AKAEV-era 2003 constitution, which was subsequently modified in a flawed referendum initiated by BAKIEV. The president then dissolved parliament, called for early elections, and gained control of the new parliament through his newly-created political party, Ak Jol, in December 2007 elections. Current concerns include: privatization of state-owned enterprises, negative trends in democracy and political freedoms, endemic corruption, improving interethnic relations, electricity generation, rising food prices, and combating terrorism.

Kyrgyzstan is a poor, mountainous country with a predominantly agricultural economy. Cotton, tobacco, wool, and meat are the main agricultural products, although only tobacco and cotton are exported in any quantity. Industrial exports include gold, mercury, uranium, natural gas, and electricity. Following independence, Kyrgyzstan was progressive in carrying out market reforms such as an improved regulatory system and land reform. Kyrgyzstan was the first Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) country to be accepted into the World Trade Organization. Much of the government's stock in enterprises has been sold. Drops in production had been severe after the breakup of the Soviet Union in December 1991, but by mid-1995, production began to recover and exports began to increase. The economy is heavily weighted toward gold export and a drop in output at the main Kumtor gold mine sparked a 0.5% decline in GDP in 2002 and a 0.6% decline in 2005. The government made steady strides in controlling its substantial fiscal deficit, nearly closing the gap between revenues and expenditures in 2006, before boosting expenditures more than 20% in 2007-08. The government and international financial institutions have been engaged in a comprehensive medium-term poverty reduction and economic growth strategy. In 2005, Bishkek agreed to pursue much-needed tax reform and, in 2006, became eligible for the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative. Progress fighting corruption, further restructuring of domestic industry and success in attracting foreign investment are keys to future growth. GDP grew more than 6% annually in 2007-08, partly due to higher gold prices internationally, but growth is likely to decline from that level in 2009, due to declining demand and lower commodity prices in the wake of the international financial crisis.

Officially named The Islamic Republic of Iran, the country is centrally located in Western Asia. It is the 18th largest country in the world in terms of area and has a population of more than 70 million. Several countries border Iran including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran is a founding member of the United Nations and OPEC. The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader. Shia Islam is the official religion and Persian is the official language.

Iran has historically been rife with war and upheaval including the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s and the war soon following with neighboring Iraq. Iranian refugees have come to the United States in small groups spread across a number of decades. Since 2003, Pennsylvania has resettled approximately 40 Iranian refugees.