| Kazakhstan |
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| Background: Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence in 1991 caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states combined, largely due to the country's vast natural resources and a recent history of political stability. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; achieving a sustainable economic growth; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's competitiveness; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Astana
geographic coordinates: 51 10 N, 71 30 E
time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note: Kazakhstan is divided into three time zones |
| Area Total: 2,717,300 sq km |
| Area Land: 2,669,800 sq km |
| Area Water: 47,500 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly less than four times the size of Texas |
| Coastline: 0 km (landlocked); note - Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km) |
| 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 Lowest Point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
| 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 Arable Land: 8.28% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 0.05% |
| Land Use Other: 91.67% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 35,560 sq km (2003) |
| Natural Hazards: earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty |
| Environment Current Issues: radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with former defense industries and test ranges scattered throughout the country 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 |
| Geography Note: landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome; in January 2004, Kazakhstan and Russia extended the lease to 2050 |
| Population |
| Population: 15,284,929 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 22.5% (male 1,758,782/female 1,683,249) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 69.2% (male 5,169,314/female 5,407,661) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 8.3% (male 446,549/female 819,374) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 29.1 years |
| Median Age Male: 27.5 years |
| Median Age Female: 30.8 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 0.352% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 16.23 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.06 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.045 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 0.956 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.545 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.932 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 27.41 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 31.94 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 22.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 67.22 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 61.9 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 72.84 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.2% (2001 est.) |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: 16,500 (2001 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.) |
| Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% |
| Languages: Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.) |
| Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write |
| Literacy Total Population: 98.4% |
| Literacy Male: 99.1% |
| Literacy Female: 97.7% (1999 est.) |
Administrative Divisions: 14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 3 cities* (qala, singular - qalasy); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*, Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy*, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Petropavlovsk), Zhambyl Oblysy (Taraz)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995, the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonur, formerly Leninsk); in 2004, a new agreement extended the lease to 2050 |
| Legal System: based on civil law system |
| Economy |
| Overview: Kazakhstan, the largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves and plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also has a large agricultural sector featuring livestock and grain. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a growing machine-building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR in December 1991 and the collapse in demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products resulted in a short-term contraction of the economy, 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. Kazakhstan enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 - 8% or more per year in 2002-06 - thanks largely to its booming energy sector, but also to economic reform, good harvests, and foreign investment. The opening of the Caspian Consortium pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea, substantially raised export capacity. Kazakhstan in 2006 completed the Atasu-Alashankou portion of an oil pipeline to China that is planned to extend from the country's Caspian coast eastward to the Chinese border in future construction. The country has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry. The policy aims to reduce the influence of foreign investment and foreign personnel. The government has engaged in several disputes with foreign oil companies over the terms of production agreements; tensions continue. Upward pressure on the local currency continued in 2006 due to massive oil-related foreign-exchange inflows. Aided by strong growth and foreign exchange earnings, Kazakhstan aspires to become a regional financial center and has created a banking system comparable to those in Central Europe. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $138.7 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 8.5% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 6.3% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 41.1% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 52.7% (2006 est.) |
| Labor Force: 7.834 million (2006 est.) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 20%
industry: 30%
services: 50% (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (2006 est.) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 26.5% (2004 est.) |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 8.6% (2006 est.) |
| Industries: oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and steel; tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: 7.7% (2006 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 66.5 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 84.3% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 15.7% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 59.2 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
| Electricity Exports: 4.9 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 4.37 billion kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 1.3 million bbl/day (2005 est.) |
| Oil Consumption: 222,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
| Oil Proved Reserves: 26 billion bbl (1 January 2004) |
| Natural Gas Production: 20.49 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 15.75 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Exports: 7.01 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Imports: 2.27 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Proved Reserves: 1.841 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) |
| Exports: $35.55 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal (2001) |
| Exports Partners: Russia 12.4%, Germany 12%, China 11.2%, Italy 8.9%, France 8.6%, Romania 5.1%, US 4.5% (2005) |
| Imports: $22 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2001) |
| Imports Partners: Russia 35.7%, China 21.3%, Germany 7.1% (2005) |
| Debt External: $53.89 billion (30 June 2006 est.) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $74.2 million (FY04) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 2.5 million (2004) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 4.955 million (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: service is poor; equipment antiquated |
| Telephone System Domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile cellular systems are available in most of Kazakhstan |
| Telephone System International: country code - 7; international traffic with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay and with other countries by satellite and by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) |
| Radios: 6.47 million (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 12 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) |
| Televisions: 3.88 million (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 10 (with their own international channels) (2001) |
| Internet Users: 400,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Railways Total: 13,700 km |
| Railways Broad Gauge: 13,700 km 1.520-m gauge (3,700 km electrified) (2005) |
| Waterways: 4,000 km (on the Ertis ((Irtysh)) River (80%) and Syr Darya ((Syrdariya)) River) (2005) |
| Airports: 150 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 0.9% (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY02) |
| Disputes International: Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary delimitation with Kazakhstan; field demarcation of the boundaries with Turkmenistan commenced in 2005, and with Uzbekistan in 2004; demarcation is scheduled to get underway with Russia in 2007; demarcation with China was completed in 2002; creation of a seabed boundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains under discussion; equidistant seabed treaties have been ratified with Azerbaijan and Russia in the Caspian Sea, but no resolution has been made on dividing the water column among any of the littoral states |
| Refugees And Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 5,000 (Russia) (2006) |
| IllicitDrugs: significant illicit cultivation of cannabis for CIS markets, as well as limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrine); limited government eradication of illicit crops; transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia and the rest of Europe; significant consumer of opiates |