Location: Central Asia, between
Russia and Uzbekistan, bordering on
the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea
Map references: Asia,
Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States, Standard Time Zones
of the World
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
note
Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea (1,015 km) and the Caspian Sea (1,894
km)
Maritime claims: landlocked, but borders with Russia,
Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea are under negotiation at present
International disputes: Russia may dispute current de facto
maritime border to midpoint of Caspian Sea from shore
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
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note: landlocked
Population:
17,267,554 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.64% (1994 est.)
Birth rate: 19.4 births/1,000 population
(1994 est.)
Death rate: 7.93 deaths/1,000 population (1994
est.)
Net migration rate: -5.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 40.9 deaths/1,000 live
births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population
68.04 years
male 63.39 years
female 72.93 years
(1994 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.44
children born/woman (1994 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 9-49 can read and write (1970)
total population 100%
male 100%
female 100%
Labor force:
7.356 million
by occupation industry and construction 31%,
agriculture and forestry 26%, other 43% (1992)
Names:
conventional long form Republic of
Kazakhstan
conventional short form Kazakhstan
local long form
Kazakhstan 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*, Almaty Oblysy, Aqmola Oblysy, Aqtobe
Oblysy, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Kokshetau Oblysy, Mangghystau
Oblysy, 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 A. NAZARBAYEV (since NA April 1990); Vice President
Yerik ASANBAYEV (since 1 December 1991); election last held 1 December 1991
(next to be held NA 1995); percent of vote by party NA; Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV
ran unopposed
head of government Prime Minister Sergey TERESHCHENKO
(since 14 October 1991); First Deputy Prime Minister Arkezhan KAZHEGELDIN
(since NA November 1993)
cabinet Council of Ministers; appointed
by the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral
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, Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan
11, People's 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
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Peoples
Unity Movement (PUU), Kuanysh SULTANOV, chairman; Peoples Congress, Olzhas
SULEYMENOV, chairman; Kazakhstan Socialist Party (SPK; former Communist Party),
Piotr SVOIK, co-chairman; Republican Party (Azat), Kamal ORMANTAYEV, chairman;
Democratic Progress (Russian) Party, Alexandra DOKUCHAYEVA, chairman; Union
Peoples' Unity of Kazakhstan (SNEK); Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic
of Kazakhstan; Peasant Union of the Republic Kazakhstan; Social Movement LAD
(Slavic Rebirth Society), 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
Other political or pressure groups:
Independent Trade Union Center (Birlesu; an association of independent
trade union and business associations), Leonid SOLOMIN, president
Member of: CCC, CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, ILO,
IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOD, NACC, OIC (observer), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission Ambassador Tuleutai SULEYMENOV
chancery 3421 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone (202) 333-4504/7
FAX (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 American Embassy Almaty,
c/o Department of State, Washington, DC, 20521-7030
telephone
(7) (3272) 63-17-70, 63-24-26, 63-28-80, 63-34-05
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
Overview: Kazakhstan, the second largest
of the former Soviet states in territory, possesses vast oil, coal, rare metals,
and agricultural resources. While the economy is gradually making the transition
from a Soviet command system to a market system, strong elements of state
control persist including government ownership of most economic assets and
a continued system of mandatory state procurement for the key products such
as grain and energy; likewise, agriculture remains largely collectivized.
On the other hand, new businesses are forming rapidly, the economy is opening
to foreign investment, and 12% of state-owned commercial enterprises have
been privatized. In 1993, a three-year industrial privatization program was
launched; an independent currency was successfully introduced; and two large
joint ventures were established with western oil companies. These far-reaching
structural transformations have resulted in a cumulative decline in national
income of more than 30% since 1990. Loose monetary policies have kept the
inflation rate high, averaging 28% per month for 1993 and accelerating at
the end with the disruption caused by a new currency. Since the introduction
of its independent currency in November 1993, the government has renewed its
commitment to fiscal discipline and accelerating economic reform. However,
growing economic hardship and rising ethnic tensions between Kazakhs and Russians
over the division of economic assets will likely lead to strong pressure to
backtrack.
National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent
- $60.3 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program,
as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report
1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Kazakhstani statistics, which
are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
National product real growth rate: -13% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
$3,510 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
28% per month (1993)
Unemployment rate: 0.6% includes only
officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers
Budget:
revenues $NA
expenditures
$NA, including capital expenditures of $1.76 billion (1991 est.)
Exports: $1.3 billion to outside the FSU countries (1993)
commodities
oil, ferrous and nonferrous metals, chemicals, grain, wool, meat (1992)
partners Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Imports: $358.3
million from outside the FSU countries (1993)
commodities machinery
and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas (1992)
partners Russia
and other former Soviet republics, China
External debt:
$1.5 billion debt to Russia
Industrial production: growth
rate -16% (1993)
Electricity:
capacity 19,135,000
kW
production 81.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita
4,739 kWh (1992)
Industries: 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 almost 40% of net material product;
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 Central and Southwest Asia
Economic aid:
recipient approximately $1 billion in foreign credits to become available
in 1994
Currency: national currency the tenge introduced
on 15 November 1993
Exchange rates: NA
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Railroads:
14,460 km (all 1.520-meter gauge); does not include industrial lines
(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: inland - Atyrau (formerly Gur'yev;
on Caspian Sea)
Airports:
total 365
usable 152
with permanent-surface runways 49
with runways over 3,659 m
8
with runways 2,440-3,659 m 38
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
71
Telecommunications: telephone service is poor,
with only about 17 telephones for each 100 persons in urban areas and 7.6
telephones per 100 persons in rural areas; of the approximately 2.2 million
telephones, Almaty has 184,000; broadcast receivers - TVs 4,750,000, radios
4,088,000, radio receiver systems with multiple speakers for program diffusion
6,082,000; 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; satellite earth stations - INTELSAT and Orbita (TV receive
only); new satellite ground station established at Almaty with Turkish financial
help (December 1992) with 2500 channel band width
Branches: Army, National Guard, Security Forces (internal
and border troops)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49
4,432,716; fit for military service 3,554,209; reach military age (18) annually
154,989 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures: 69,326 million
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