Please read this before reading any further!

There are great resources and sources of information about Kyrgyzstan (also referred to below by its ISO code KG) available on the Internet. We'll let the reader discover these for themselves. We personally recommend starting with Wikipedia (linked), or if you prefer watching videos, here's a curated list of videos from YouTube. After, for additional reading or viewing material, please do a web search.

Here, we only cover four simple items -

1. A very brief summary of the country, intended more for an audience from India.
2. Some personal (and subjective) observations about Kyrgystan from people who've actually visited or lived in Kyrgyzstan.
3. Why should one choose to enroll in a medical degree programme in Kyrgyztan
4. A little slideshow, because pictures say much that words simply cannot. And a simple graphic relating to foreign student numbers.

A Few Points About Kyrgyzstan
intended more for our audience in India, who may find these surprising

• It's only a 2.5 hours flight from Delhi to Bishkek, so it's very close to India. It's about the same as Delhi to Hyderabad.
• It's a large country, but only has 7 million people. This is less than a third of the population of Delhi. And most people live in the major cities. So most of the countryside is literally empty.
• Issyk-Kul, an alpine lake (meaning that it's high altitude in the mountains) in KG, is a thing of beauty! A surface area of 6,000 km² makes it the second largest alpine lake in the world! For reference, this means it's 4.25x the size of all of Delhi! Also, it's so clean that one can drink the water.
• Bishkek is extremely cold for three months in the winters! It can also be very beautiful at this time. Since all indoor spaces are insulated and heated, one doesn't really feel the cold like people in north India feel cold.
• One can even go swimming in one of the many heated public swimming pools in the city during winter.
• The cold winters also has a benefit — the weather is very pleasant in the summers.
• Kyrgyzstan is not a rich country but everyone is doing fine, and they don't have the level of extreme poverty as we do in India.
• The quality of life is really high for residents. Also, the cost of living is cheaper than in India. This may have to do with the fact that there are negligible taxes.
• The older generation grew up watching Indian movies, so the Kyrgys people mostly feel favourably towards Indians.
• Service people tend to be very professional and to-the-point, unlike in India. It's not intended to be rude, that's just how they are. As a plus, this guarantees great service.
• Almost 46% of the workforce is women, and the percentage of working women is similarly high. This is very different from India, where only 23% of the workforce is women. The social impact of this is that women feel safe.
• The quality of food items is very high. And in markets, food items are commonly available from all over the world, including India.
• There's not many restaurants serving Indian food, but there's enough in Bishkek.

Some Observations On Kyrgyzstan
in no particular order

• The mountainous Tian Shan region covers 80% of the country. That's a lot of mountains. The countryside is very beautiful, the vistas are specacular. It's why, justifiably, Kyrgyzstan is referred to as the "Switzerland of Central Asia".
• Bishkek is generally a very safe and very clean city. So is most of the country. The Kyrgyz people are very proud of their country and treat her very well. And the Kyrgyz people are very friendly (as long as you're not annoying them).
• Not many people speak English, which is going to be a problem for foreign students, but one can still manage. The young are more likely to understand English, if not speak it.
• General healthcare in KG is very cheap, specialized care and treatments are very pricey.
• The Kyrgyz love their horses!
• They also love tea.
• Most Kyrgyz have family members living and/or working abroad. So they tend to treat foreigners respectfully.

Why Choose Kyrgyztan to Study Medicine
the country is one of the top global destinations for students seeking an education in medicine

• Kyrgyzstan is home to numerous great medical universities that offer MBBS degrees, with English as the medium of instructions for all courses. The degrees conferred by these universities are recognized by top organizations like WHO, UNESCO, WDOMS, MCI (Medical Council of India), and the medical councils of numerous other countries.
• Alumni from these universities currently work in leading clinics and hospitals worldwide.
• Universities offer an affordable medical education and a healthy environment and housing facilities to students from all across the world. The total cost of tuition over a five year period at most universities in Kyrgystan is less than what some private Indian universities require just as initial "donations" and tuition costs are usually less than INR 3 lacs per annum.
• There's total transparency regarding costs and fee payment. There are no hidden charges and no "donations" involved.
• Most universities have deployed modern infrastructure and the latest teaching tools, IT infrastructure, medical equipment and other facilities. This is a great advantage for students' learning.
• The quality of medical education offered by the Kyrgyz universities meets European standards.
• Universities now boast a roster of highly qualified faculty members that have broad global experience and deep knowledge in their chosen fields of teaching.
• The education methodology is student-centric — every student receives the appropriate attention from their professors and other faculty, and any help they need to excel is always available.
• A degree from any of the Kyrgyz universities allows students to practice medicine in many part of the world.
• Students are also provided with a wide range of choices for specialization, all having recognition from many other countries like the USA, UK, Canada, etc.
• Housing and mess fees are also very reasonable, many times much lower than what private Indian medical universities charge, due to the lower cost of living in Kyrgyzstan.
• Studying in an international setting with students from many other nations also leads to a broadening of thinking and preactice for all.
• The country delivers a very positive environment for students.