Abstract:

In the past 20 years, the Central Asia countries achieved considerable economic progress driven by the economic globalization and regional economic integration. The Central Asias GDP reached 303.91 billion dollars in 2010, and at the same time the area has becoming the emerging growth zone of global economic landscape. On the basis of statistical data and literature studies, we investigate the process of economic development space-time evolution and the causes in Central Asia in the past 20 years. The results are given in the following. 1) Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Central Asian countries become independent. The economic development of Central Asia can be divided into three stages: the economic stagnation and decline stage (1991-1995), economic recovery phase (1996-2000), and economic stability growth phase (after 2001). 2) The regional economies scale achieved rapid growth in the different stages, but the regional economic disparities between different countries occur. 3) The time-spatial evolution of Central Asia regional economic development is affected mainly by the high international energy prices, the market economic reforms, the rich natural resources, and the relatively stable political environment.

Key words: economic development, features, temporal-spatial evolution, Central Asia