home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Geography
-
-
- Location:
- Central Asia, northwest of China
- Map references:
- Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States
- Area:
- total area:
- 2,717,300 sq km
- land area:
- 2,669,800 sq km
- comparative area:
- slightly less than four times the size of Texas
- Land boundaries:
- total 12,012 km, China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km,
- Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km
- Coastline:
- 0 km (landlocked)
- note:
- Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea (1,015 km) and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km)
- Maritime claims:
- none; landlocked
- International disputes:
- Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined
- 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 oasis and desert in Central Asia
- Natural resources:
- major deposits of petroleum, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel,
- cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
- Land use:
- arable land:
- 15%
- permanent crops:
- NEGL%
- meadows and pastures:
- 57%
- forest and woodland:
- 4%
- other:
- 24%
- Irrigated land:
- 23,080 sq km (1990)
- 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 salinization
- from faulty irrigation practices
- natural hazards:
- NA
- international agreements:
- party to - Biodiversity, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate
- Change, Desertification
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Geography
- Note:
- landlocked
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- People
-
-
- Population:
- 17,376,615 (July 1995 est.)
- Age structure:
- 0-14 years:
- 30% (female 2,589,509; male 2,664,952)
- 15-64 years:
- 63% (female 5,531,519; male 5,371,563)
- 65 years and over:
- 7% (female 820,900; male 398,172) (July 1995 est.)
- Population growth rate:
- 0.62% (1995 est.)
- Birth rate:
- 19.26 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
- Death rate:
- 7.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
- Net migration rate:
- -5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
- Infant mortality rate:
- 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
- total population:
- 68.25 years
- male:
- 63.61 years
- female:
- 73.13 years (1995 est.)
- Total fertility rate:
- 2.43 children born/woman (1995 est.)
- Nationality:
- noun:
- Kazakhstani(s)
- adjective:
- Kazakhstani
- Ethnic divisions:
- Kazakh (Qazaq) 41.9%, Russian 37%, Ukrainian 5.2%, German 4.7%, Uzbek 2.1%,
- Tatar 2%, other 7.1% (1991 official data)
- Religions:
- Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
- Languages:
- Kazakh (Qazaqz) official language spoken by over 40% of population, Russian
- (language of interethnic communication) spoken by two-thirds of population
- and used in everyday business
- Literacy:
- age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
- total population:
- 98%
- male:
- 99%
- female:
- 96%
- Labor force:
- 7.356 million
- by occupation:
- industry and construction 31%, agriculture and forestry 26%, other 43%
- (1992)
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Government
-
-
- Names:
- conventional long form:
- Republic of Kazakhstan
- conventional short form:
- Kazakhstan
- local long form:
- Qazaqstan Respublikasy
- local short form:
- none
- former:
- Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
- Digraph:
- KZ
- Type:
- republic
- Capital:
- Almaty
- Administrative divisions:
- 19 oblystar (singular - oblys) and 1 city (qalalar, singular - qala)*;
- Almaty Qalasy*, Almaty Oblysy, Aqmola Oblysy, Aqtobe Oblysy, Atyrau Oblysy,
- Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Kokshetau Oblysy, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau),
- Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy,
- Qyzylorda Oblysy, Pavlodar Oblysy, Semey Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy
- (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy
- (Petropavl), Taldyqorghan Oblysy, Torghay Oblysy, Zhambyl Oblysy,
- Zhezqazghan Oblysy
- note:
- names in parentheses are administrative centers when name differs from oblys
- name
- Independence:
- 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
- National holiday:
- Independence Day, 16 December (1991)
- Constitution:
- adopted 28 January 1993
- Legal system:
- based on civil law system
- Suffrage:
- 18 years of age; universal
- Executive branch:
- chief of state:
- President Nursultan NAZARBAYEV (since NA April 1990); Vice President Yerik
- ASANBAYEV (since 1 December 1991); election last held 1 December 1991 (next
- to be held NA 1996); results - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV ran unopposed; note -
- NAZARBAYEV has extended his term to the year 2000 by a nationwide referendum
- held 30 April 1995
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN (since 12 October 1994); First Deputy
- Prime Ministers Nigmatzhan ISINGARIN (since 12 October 1994) and Vitalia
- METTE (since March 1995)
- cabinet:
- Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
- Legislative branch:
- unicameral
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Government
- Supreme Council:
- elections last held 7 March 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results -
- percent of vote by party NA; seats - (177 total) Union Peoples' Unity of
- Kazakhstan 33, Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- 11, Peoples' Congress of Kazakhstan Party 9, Socialist Party of Kazakhstan
- 8, Peasant Union of the Republic Kazakhstan 4, Social Movement LAD 4,
- Organization of Veterans 1, Union of Youth of Kazakhstan 1, Democratic
- Committee for Human Rights 1, Association of Lawyers of Kazakhstan 1,
- International Public Committee "Aral-Asia-Kazakhstan" 1, Congress of
- Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan 1, Deputies of the 12th Supreme Soviet 40,
- independents 62
- note:
- the Supreme Council disbanded 12 March 1995 following a Constitutional Court
- ruling that the March 1994 elections were invalid
- Judicial branch:
- Supreme Court
- Political parties and leaders:
- People's Unity Party (PUP; was Union of People's Unity), Kuanysh SULTANOV,
- chairman; People's Congress of Kazakhstan (PCK), Olzhas SULEYMENOV,
- chairman; Socialist Party of Kazakhstan (SPK; former Communist Party),
- Yermukhamet YERTYSHBAYEV, co-chairman; Republican Party (Azat), Kamal
- ORMANTAYEV, chairman; Democratic Progress (Russian) Party, Alexandra
- DOKUCHAYEVA, chairman; Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republic of
- Kazakhstan; Peasant Union of the Republic Kazakhstan (KPU); Social Movement
- LAD, V. MIKHAYLOV, chairman; Union of Youth of Kazakhstan; Democratic
- Committee for Human Rights; Association of Lawyers of Kazakhstan;
- International Public Committee "Aral-Asia-Kazakhstan"; Congress of
- Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan; Deputies of the 12th Supreme Soviet; People's
- Cooperative Party, Umirzak SARSENOV, chairman; Organization of Veterans
- Other political or pressure groups:
- Independent Trade Union Center (Birlesu; an association of independent trade
- union and business associations), Leonid SOLOMIN, president
- Member of:
- AsDB, CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECO, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
- INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NACC, OIC (observer),
- OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
- Diplomatic representation in US:
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Tuleutai S. SULEYMENOV
- chancery:
- (temporary) 3421 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 333-4504 through 4507
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 333-4509
- US diplomatic representation:
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador William H. COURTNEY
- embassy:
- 99/97 Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan 480012
- mailing address:
- use embassy street address
- telephone:
- [7] (3272) 63-24-26
- FAX:
- [7] (3272) 63-38-83
- Flag:
- 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 yellow
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Economy
-
-
- Overview:
- Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former Soviet states 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. The government has pursued a
- moderate program of economic reform and privatization which is gradually
- lifting state controls over economic activity and shifting assets into the
- private sector. Nevertheless, government control over key sectors of the
- economy remains strong. Sustained economic hardships and continued pressures
- from industrial elites will make it difficult for the government to sustain
- its policies of monetary and fiscal discipline which had brought down
- inflation by the end of 1994. Continued lack of pipeline transportation for
- expanded oil exports has closed off a likely source of economic recovery.
- National product:
- GDP - purchasing power parity - $55.2 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated
- from World Bank estimate for 1992)
- National product real growth rate:
- -25% (1994 est.)
- National product per capita:
- $3,200 (1994 est.)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices):
- 24% per month (1994 est.)
- Unemployment rate:
- 1.1% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of
- underemployed workers (1994)
- Budget:
- revenues:
- $NA
- expenditures:
- $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
- Exports:
- $3.1 billion (1994)
- commodities:
- oil, ferrous and nonferrous metals, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal
- partners:
- Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
- Imports:
- $3.5 billion (1994)
- commodities:
- machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas
- partners:
- Russia and other former Soviet republics, China
- External debt:
- less than $1 billion debt to Russia
- Industrial production:
- growth rate -28% (1994)
- Electricity:
- capacity:
- 17,380,000 kW
- production:
- 65.1 billion kWh
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Economy
- consumption per capita:
- 3,750 kWh (1994)
- Industries:
- accounts for 26% of net national product; extractive 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
- Agriculture:
- accounts for 20% of GDP; employs about 26% of the labor force; grain, mostly
- spring wheat; meat, cotton, wool
- Illicit drugs:
- illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for CIS consumption;
- limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for
- illicit drugs to Western Europe and North America from Southwest Asia
- Economic aid:
- recipient:
- approximately $1 billion in foreign loans and credits allocated in 1994;
- disbursements projected at $700 billion through 1995
- Currency:
- national currency the tenge introduced on 15 November 1993
- Exchange rates:
- tenges per US$1 - 54 (yearend 1994)
- Fiscal year:
- calendar year
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Transportation
-
-
- Railroads:
- total:
- 14,460 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
- broad gauge:
- 14,460 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
- Highways:
- total:
- 189,000 km
- paved and graveled:
- 108,100 km
- unpaved:
- earth 80,900 km (1990)
- Inland waterways:
- Syrdariya River, Ertis River
- Pipelines:
- crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992)
- Ports:
- Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar,
- Semey (Semipalatinsk)
- Airports:
- total:
- 352
- with paved runways over 3,047 m:
- 7
- with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
- 23
- with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
- 11
- with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
- 5
- with paved runways under 914 m:
- 9
- with unpaved runways over 3,047 m:
- 9
- with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
- 8
- with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
- 25
- with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
- 65
- with unpaved runways under 914 m:
- 190
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Communications
-
-
- Telephone system:
- 2.2 million telephones; telephone service is poor; about 17 telephones/100
- persons in urban areas and 7.6 telephones/100 persons in rural areas; Almaty
- has 184,000 telephones
-
-
- local:
- NA
- intercity:
- land line and microwave radio relay
- international:
- international traffic with other former USSR republics and China carried by
- landline and microwave, and with other countries by satellite and through 8
- international telecommunications circuits at the Moscow international
- gateway switch; INTELSAT earth station; new satellite earth station
- established at Almaty with Turkish financial help (December 1992) with 2500
- channel band width
- Radio:
- broadcast stations:
- AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
- radios:
- 4.088 million (with multiple speakers for program diffusion 6,082,000)
- Television:
- broadcast stations:
- Orbita (TV receive only) earth station
- televisions:
- 4.75 million
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Kazakhstan
- Defense Forces
-
-
- Branches:
- Army, Republic National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border
- troops)
- Manpower availability:
- males age 15-49 4,513,089; males fit for military service 3,605,584; males
- reach military age (18) annually 154,280 (1995 est.)
- Defense expenditures:
- 69.3 billion rubles, NA% of GDP (forecast for 1993); note - conversion of
- the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could
- produce misleading results
-