Republic of Kazakhstan

National name: Qazaqstan Respublikasy

President: Nursultan A. Nazarbayev (1990)

Prime Minister: Daniyal Akhmetov (2003)

Land area: 1,030,810 sq mi (2,669,800 sq km); total area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 15,233,244 (growth rate: 0.3%); birth rate: 16.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 28.3/1000; life expectancy: 66.9; density per sq mi: 15

Capital (2003 est.): Astana, 288,200 (formerly Aqmola; capital since 1997)

Largest cities: Almaty (former capital), 1,045,900; Karaganda, 404,600; Shymkent, 333,500; Taraz, 305,700; Pavlodar, 299,500; Ust-Kamenogorsk, 288,000; Aqtöbe, 234,400

Monetary unit: Tenge

Languages: Kazak (Qazaq, state language) 64%; Russian (official, used in everyday business) 95% (2001 est.)

Ethnicity/race: Kazak (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.4%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999)

Religions: Islam 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%

Literacy rate: 98% (1999 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $133.2 billion; per capita $8,800. Real growth rate: 9%. Inflation: 7.4%. Unemployment: 7.6%. Arable land: 8%. Agriculture: grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock. Labor force: 7.85 million; industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (2002 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. Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium. Exports: $30.09 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal (2001). Imports: $17.51 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2001). Major trading partners: Russia, Bermuda, Germany, China, France, Italy, Ukraine (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.92 million (2001); mobile cellular: 400,000 (2001). 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): 10 (with their own international channels) (2001). Internet users: 100,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 13,601 km (2002). Highways: total: 81,331 km; paved: 77,020 km; unpaved: 4,311 km (2000). Waterways: 3,900 km on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh). Ports and harbors: Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk). Airports: 488 (2002).

International disputes: Kazakhstan and China have resolved their border dispute and are working to delimit their large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; delimitation of boundary with Russia is scheduled for completion in 2003—delimitations with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are complete with demarcations underway—delimitation with Kyrgyzstan is largely complete; equidistant seabed treaties have been signed 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; no resolution of Caspian seabed boundary with Turkmenistan.

 

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