Kazakhstan

§1. Kazakhstan Introduction

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. 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 outside the oil, gas, and mining
    sectors; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other
    foreign powers.

§2. Kazakhstan Geography

Location:
  Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in
  eastern-most Europe

Geographic coordinates:
  48 00 N, 68 00 E

Map references:
  Asia

Area:
  total: 2,717,300 km²
  land: 2,669,800 km²
  water: 47,500 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly less than four times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 12,012 km
  border countries: 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, now split into
  two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km)

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:
  lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
  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%
  permanent crops: 0.05%
  other: 91.67% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  23,320 km² (1998 est.)

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

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
    Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
    Pollution
  signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note:
  landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 km² of territory enclosing
  the Baykonur Cosmodrome; in January 2004, Kazakhstan and Russia extended
  the lease to 2050

§3. Kazakhstan People

Population:
  15,233,244 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 23% (male 1,792,685/female 1,717,294)
  15-64 years: 68.8% (male 5,122,027/female 5,357,819)
  65 years and over: 8.2% (male 438,541/female 804,878) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 28.8 years
  male: 27.2 years
  female: 30.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  0.33% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  9.42 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -3.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.55 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 32.88 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 23.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 66.89 years
  male: 61.56 years
  female: 72.52 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.89 children born/woman (2006 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.)

Nationality:
  noun: Kazakhstani(s)
  adjective: Kazakhstani

Ethnic groups:
  Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%,
  Tatar 1.7%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999 census)

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
  total population: 98.4%
  male: 99.1%
  female: 97.7% (1999 est.)

§4. Kazakhstan Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan
  conventional short form: Kazakhstan
  local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy
  local short form: none
  former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type:
  republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the
  executive branch

Capital:
  Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998

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 km² enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the
    city of Bayqongyr (Baykonur, formerly Leninsk); in 2004, a new agreement
    extended the lease to 2050

Independence:
  16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday:
  Independence Day, 16 December (1991)

Constitution:
  first post-independence constitution adopted 28 January 1993; new
  constitution adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995

Legal system:
  based on civil law system

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme
    Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991)
  head of government: Prime Minister Daniyal AKHMETOV (since 13 June 2003);
    Deputy Prime Minister Karim MASIMOV (since 19 January 2006)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
  elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
    election last held 4 December 2005 (next to be held in 2012); prime
    minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president
  election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of
    vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 91.1%, Zharmakhan A. TUYAKBAI 6.6%,
    Alikhan M. BAIMENOV 1.6%
  note: President NAZARBAYEV arranged a referendum in 1995 that extended his
    term of office and expanded his
  presidential powers: only he can initiate constitutional amendments,
    appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda
    at his discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities

Legislative branch:
  bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (39 seats; 7 senators are
  appointed by the president; other members are elected by local government
  bodies, 2 from each of the 14 oblasts, the capital of Astana, and the city
  of Almaty, to serve six-year terms; note - formerly composed of 47 seats)
  and the Mazhilis (77 seats; 10 out of the 77 Mazhilis members are elected
  from the winning party's lists; members are popularly elected to serve
  five-year terms)
  elections: Senate - (indirect) last held December 2005; next to be held in
    2011; Mazhilis - last held 19 September and 3 October 2004 (next to be
    held in September 2009)
  election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
    NA; candidates nominated by local councils; Mazhilis - percent of vote by
    party - NA; seats by party - Otan 42, AIST 11, ASAR (All Together) 4, Aq
    Zhol (Bright Path) 1, Democratic Party 1 (party refused to take the seat
    due to criticism of the election and seat remained unoccupied),
    independent 18; note - most independent candidates are affiliated with
    parastatal enterprises and other pro-government institutions

Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members)

Political parties and leaders:
  Agrarian and Industrial Union of Workers Bloc or AIST (comprised of the
  Agrarian Party and Civic Party) [leader NA]; Agrarian Party [Romin MADINOV,
  chairman]; Aq Zhol Party (Bright Path) [Alikhan BAIMENOV, chairman]; ASAR
  (All Together) [Dariga NAZARBAYEVA, chairwoman]; AUL (Village) [Gani
  KALIYEV, chairman]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary];
  Communist Party of Kazakhstan or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first
  secretary]; Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan [Vladislav KOSAREV,
  first secretary]; Democratic Party of Kazakhstan [Maksut NARIKBAEV,
  chairman]; Otan (Fatherland) [Bakhytzhan ZHUMAGULOV, executor]; Patriots'
  Party [Gani KASYMOV, chairman]; Rukhaniyat [Altynshash ZHAGANOVA,
  chairwoman]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Almaty Helsinki Group [Ninel FOKINA];
  Confederation of Free Trade Unions [Sergei BELKIN]; For a Just Kazakhstan
  [Bolat ABILOV, Altynbek SARSENBAYEV]; For Fair Elections [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS,
  Sabit ZHUSUPOV, Sergey DUVANOV, Ibrash NUSUPBAYEV]; Kazakhstan
  International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive
  director]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman];
  Republican Network of International Monitors [Dos KUSHIM]; Transparency
  International [Sergei ZLOTNIKOV]

International organization participation:
  AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM
  (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kanat B. SAUDABAYEV
  chancery: 1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488
  FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845
  consulate(s): New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John M. ORDWAY
  embassy: 97 Zholdasbekova, Samal-2, Almaty, 480099
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [7] (3272) 50-48-02
  FAX: [7] (3272) 50-48-84

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

§5. Kazakhstan Economy

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 - 9%
  or more per year in 2002-05 - 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 also has begun work on an ambitious cooperative
  construction effort with China to build an oil pipeline that will extend
  from the country's Caspian coast eastward to the Chinese border. 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 2005 due to
  massive oil-related foreign-exchange inflows.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $133.2 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $42.75 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $8,800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 7.8%
  industry: 40.4%
  services: 51.8% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  7.85 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 20%, industry 30%, services 50% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  7.6% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  19% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 3.3%
  highest 10%: 26.5% (2004 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  31.5 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  7.4% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  22% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $12.19 billion
  expenditures: $12.44 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005
    est.)

Public debt:
  9.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
  grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock

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:
  10.7% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
  60.33 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  52.55 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  6 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  2.45 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  1.3 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  221,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  890,000 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports:
  47,000 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - proved reserves:
  26 billion bbl (1 January 2004)

Natural gas - production:
  18.5 billion m³ (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  15.2 billion m³ (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
  4.1 billion m³ (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
  NA m³

Natural gas - proved reserves:
  3 trillion m³ (1 January 2004)

Current account balance:
  $3.343 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $30.09 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%,
  grain, wool, meat, coal (2001)

Exports - partners:
  Russia 15.1%, Bermuda 13.8%, Germany 11%, China 9.9%, France 6.6%, Italy 4%
  (2004)

Imports:
  $17.51 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2001)

Imports - partners:
  Russia 34.6%, China 15.4%, Germany 8.2%, France 5.7%, Ukraine 4.6% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $11.13 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $32.7 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $74.2 million in US assistance programs, 1992-2000 (FY2004)

Currency (code):
  tenge (KZT)

Exchange rates:
  tenge per US dollar - 132.88 (2005), 136.04 (2004), 149.58 (2003), 153.28
  (2002), 146.74 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Kazakhstan Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  2.5 million (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  2,758,900 (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: service is poor; equipment antiquated
  domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile cellular
    systems are available in most of Kazakhstan
  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)

Television broadcast stations:
  12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998)

Internet country code:
  .kz

Internet hosts:
  20,327 (2005)

Internet users:
  400,000 (2005)

§7. Kazakhstan Transportation

Airports:
  160 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 66
  over 3,047 m: 9
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 26
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
  914 to 1,523 m: 4
  under 914 m: 10 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 94
  over 3,047 m: 6
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
  914 to 1,523 m: 12
  under 914 m: 58 (2005)

Heliports:
  4 (2005)

Pipelines:
  condensate 18 km; gas 10,370 km; oil 10,158 km; refined products 1,187 km
  (2004)

Railways:
  total: 13,700 km
  broad gauge: 13,700 km 1.520-m gauge (3,700 km electrified) (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 354,171 km
  paved: 247,347 km
  unpaved: 106,824 km (2003)

Waterways:
  4,000 km (on the Ertis (Irtysh) (80%) and Syr Darya (Syrdariya) rivers)
  (2005)

Merchant marine:
  total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,949 GRT/31,115 DWT
  by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1
  foreign-owned: 2 (Oman 2)
  registered in other countries: 1 (Marshall Islands 1) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar,
  Semey (Semipalatinsk)

§8. Kazakhstan Military

Military branches:
  Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Naval Force, Republican Guard

Military service age and obligation:
  18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service
  obligation - two years; minimum age for volunteers NA (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 3,758,255 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 2,473,529 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 173,129 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $221.8 million (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  0.9% (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY02)

§9. Kazakhstan Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  in 2005, Kazakhstan agreed with Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to
  commence demarcating their boundaries; delimitation with Kyrgyzstan is
  complete; creation of a seabed boundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian
  Sea remains unresolved; 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): 13,684 (Russia) (2005)

Illicit drugs:
  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


<Factbook 2006>
