KAZAKHSTAN
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KAZAKHSTAN
@Kazakhstan:Geography
Location: Central Asia, northwest of China
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian
States
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KAZAKHSTAN - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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ALMA-ATA 1,128,000 43.15N, 76.57E 7- GMT+6
Karaganda 614,000 49.50N, 73.10E 7- GMT+6
Chimkent 393,000 42.18N, 69.36E 7- GMT+6
Semipalatinsk 334,000 50.28N, 80.13E 7- GMT+6
Pavlodar 331,000 52.18N, 76.57E 7- GMT+6
Ust-Kamenogorsk 324,000 49.58N, 82.38E 7- GMT+6
Dzhambul 307,000 42.54N, 71.22E 7- GMT+6
Tselinograd 277,000 51.10N, 71.30E 7- GMT+6
Aktyubinsk 253,000 50.17N, 57.10E 7- GMT+5
Petropavlovsk 241,000 54.54N, 69.06E 7- GMT+6
Kustanay 224,000 53.10N, 63.35E 7- GMT+5
Temirtau 212,000 50.05N, 72.56E 7- GMT+6
Uralsk 200,000 51.14N, 51.22E 7- GMT+5
Shevchenko 159,000 43.37N, 51.11E 7- GMT+5
Kzyl-Orda 153,000 44.48N, 65.28E 7- GMT+5
Guryev 149,000 47.07N, 51.56E 7- GMT+5
Kokchetav 137,000 53.17N, 69.25E 7- GMT+6
Ekibastuz 135,000 51.42N, 75.22E 7- GMT+6
Rudny 124,000 52.27N, 63.07E 7- GMT+5
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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
Note: landlocked
@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)
@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
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
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
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
@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
@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
@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
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