From Wikitravel

[edit] Geography

Location 

Central Asia, northwest of China

Geographic coordinates 

48 00 N, 68 00 E

Map references 

Asia

Area 

total: 2,717,300 sq km
water: 47,500 sq km
land: 2,669,800 sq km

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)

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: 11.23%
permanent crops: 0.05%
other: 88.72% (1998 est.)

Natural hazards 

earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty

Environment - current issues 

radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges 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

[edit] People

Population 

16,741,519 (July 2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

0.1% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

17.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

10.69 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

58.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 63.38 years
female: 69.01 years (2002 est.)
male: 58.02 years

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

0.04% (1999 est.)

Nationality 

noun: Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani

Ethnic groups 

Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (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.)

[edit] Government

Country name 

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

Government type 

republic

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 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk)

Independence 

16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday 

Republic Day, 25 October (1990)

Constitution 

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

Legal system 

based on civil law system

Suffrage 

18 years of age; universal

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

[edit] Economy

Economy - overview 

Kazakhstan, the largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also is a large agricultural - livestock and grain - producer. 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 has enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 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 raises export capacity. Astana has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry.

Population below poverty line 

26% (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation 

industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate 

10% (2001 est.)

Budget 

revenues: $4.2 billion
expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 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

Electricity - production 

48.692 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 86%
hydro: 14%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Agriculture - products 

grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock

Exports - commodities 

oil and oil products 52.8%, ferrous metals 12.9%, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal (2000)

Imports - commodities 

machinery and parts 29.5%, energy and fuels 11.3%, electrical equipment 8.8%, vehicles 8.7%, ferrous metals 6.4% (2000)

Currency 

tenge (KZT)

Currency code 

KZT

Exchange rates 

tenge per US dollar - 151.14 (January 2002), 146.74 (2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997)

Fiscal year 

calendar year

[edit] Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

1.92 million (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

400,000 (2001)

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: international traffic with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay; 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 nine repeaters) (1998)

Televisions 

3.88 million (1997)

Internet country code 

.kz

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

10 (with their own international channels) (2001)

Internet users 

100,000 (2002)

[edit] Transportation

Railways 

total: 13,601 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge: 13,601 km 1.520-m gauge (3,661 km electrified) (2001)

Highways 

total: 189,000 km
paved: 108,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)
unpaved: 80,900 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)

Waterways 

3,900 km
note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers

Pipelines 

crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992)

Ports and harbors 

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

Airports 

449 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 28
over 3,047 m: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 14
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 421
over 3,047 m: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 45
914 to 1,523 m: 101
under 914 m: 246 (2002)

[edit] Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China and Russia to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; signed bilateral agreement with Russia delimiting the Caspian Sea seabed, but littoral states are far from any multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; border largely delimited with Uzbekistan, but unresolved dispute remains over sovereignty of two border villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and the regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; disputes with Kyrgyzstan over providing water and hydropower to Kazakhstan

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