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Kazakhstan
Background: During the 1950s and 1960s Soviet citizens were urged to help settle the "New Lands" of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. The influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but including some deported minority nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include: resolving ethnic differences; speeding up market reforms; establishing stable relations with Russia, China, and other foreign powers; and developing and expanding the country's abundant energy resources.
Location: Central Asia, northwest of China Geographic coordinates: 48 00 N, 68 00 E Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States Area:
Area - comparative: slightly less than four times the size of Texas Land boundaries:
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked) Climate: continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid Terrain: extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium Land use:
Irrigated land: 22,000 sq km (1996 est.) Natural hazards: earthquakes in the south, mud slides around Almaty Environment - current issues: radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note: landlocked
Population: 16,733,227 (July 2000 est.) Age structure:
Population growth rate: -0.05% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 16.78 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 10.56 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: -6.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.) Sex ratio:
Infant mortality rate: 59.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 2.03 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality:
Ethnic groups: Kazakh (Qazaq) 46%, Russian 34.7%, Ukrainian 4.9%, German 3.1%, Uzbek 2.3%, Tatar 1.9%, other 7.1% (1996) Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% Languages: Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66% Literacy:
Country name:
Data code: KZ Government type: republic Capital:
Astana
Administrative divisions:
14 oblystar (singular - oblysy) and 3 cities (qala, singular - qalasy)*; Almaty, Almaty*, Aqmola (Astana), Aqtobe, Astana*, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan (Oral), Bayqongyr*, Mangghystau (Aqtau; formerly Shevchenko), Ongtustik Qazaqstan (Shymkent), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Shyghys Qazaqstan (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan (Petropavl), Zhambyl (Taraz; formerly Dzhambul)
Independence: 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) National holiday: Day of the Republic, 25 October (1990) (date on which Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty) Constitution: adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 Legal system: based on civil law system Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch:
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, two from each oblast and Almaty, to serve six-year terms) and the Majilis (67 seats; the addition of 10 "Party List" seats brings the total to 77; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms); note - with the oblasts being reduced to 14, the Senate will eventually be reduced to 37; a number of Senate seats come up for reelection every two years
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party [Romin MADENOV]; Alash [Soverkazhy AKATAYEV]; AZAMAT Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSIITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [leader NA]; Labor and Workers Movement [Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; Otan [Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress of Kazakhstan or NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative Party [Umirzak SARSENOV]; Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan [Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN] Political pressure groups and leaders: Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director] International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) Diplomatic representation in the US:
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Flag description: sky blue background representing the endless sky and a gold sun with 32 rays soaring above a golden steppe eagle in the center; on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in gold
Economy - overview: Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, possesses enormous untapped fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also has considerable agricultural potential with its vast steppe lands accommodating both livestock and grain production. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a relatively large machine building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR and the collapse of demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products have resulted in a sharp contraction of the economy since 1991, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97 the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector. The December 1996 signing of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium agreement to build a new pipeline from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea increases prospects for substantially larger oil exports in several years. Kazakhstan's economy turned downward in 1998 with a 2.5% decline in GDP growth due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in Russia. A bright spot in 1999 was the recovery of international oil prices, which, combined with a well-timed tenge devaluation and a bumper grain harvest, pulled the economy out of recession. GDP: purchasing power parity - $54.5 billion (1999 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 1.7% (1999 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,200 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector:
Population below poverty line: 35% (1999 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.3% (1999 est.) Labor force: 8.8 million (1997) Labor force - by occupation: industry 27%, agriculture and forestry 23%, other 50% (1996) Unemployment rate: 13.7% (1998 est.) Budget:
Industries: oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and steel, nonferrous metal, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials Industrial production growth rate: 2.2% (1998 est.) Electricity - production: 49.299 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - production by source:
Electricity - consumption: 48.822 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - exports: 400 million kWh (1998) Electricity - imports: 3.374 billion kWh (1998) Agriculture - products: grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock Exports: $5.2 billion (1999 est.) Exports - commodities: oil 40%, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal Exports - partners: EU 32%, China 29%, Russia 29% (1998) Imports: $4.8 billion (1999 est.) Imports - commodities: machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas, vehicles Imports - partners: Russia 39%, Ukraine, US, Uzbekistan, Turkey, UK, Germany, South Korea (1998) Debt - external: $7.9 billion (1999 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $409.6 million (1995) Currency: 1 Kazakhstani tenge = 100 tiyn Exchange rates: tenges per US$1 - 139.02 (January 2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997), 67.30 (1996), 60.95 (1995) Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use: 1.963 million (1995) Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,600 (1995) Telephone system:
service is poor; equipment antiquated
Radio broadcast stations: AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) Radios: 6.47 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) Televisions: 3.88 million (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 83 (Kazakhstan and Russia) (1999)
Railways:
Highways:
Waterways: 3,900 km on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh) Pipelines: crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992) Ports and harbors: Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) Airports: 10 (1997 est.) Airports - with paved runways:
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Military branches: General Purpose Forces (Army), Air Force, Border Guards, Navy, Republican Guard Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age Military manpower - availability:
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $322 million (FY99) Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.5% (FY99)
Disputes - international: Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome Illicit drugs: significant illicit cultivation of cannabis and limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrone); limited government eradication program; cannabis consumed largely in the CIS; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Russia, North America, and Western Europe from Southwest Asia Please click here for a guide to the country profiles Click here for all other countries
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