World Facts Index
 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. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central
Asian states combined, largely due to the country's vast natural resources and a
recent history of political stability. 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; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining
sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's competitiveness; and strengthening relations
with neighboring states and other foreign powers.
Geography of Kazakhstan
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Location:
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Central Asia, northwest of
China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe |
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Coordinates:
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48 00 N, 68 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 2,717,300 sq
km
water: 47,500 sq km
land: 2,669,800 sq km |
|
Area comparative:
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slightly less than four
times the size of Texas |
|
Land boundaries:
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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 |
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Coastline:
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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) |
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Climate:
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continental, cold winters
and hot summers, arid and semiarid |
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Terrain:
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extends from the Volga to
the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and
desert in Central Asia |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
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Natural resources:
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major deposits of
petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel,
cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium |
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Natural hazards:
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earthquakes in the south,
mudslides around Almaty |
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Environment current issues:
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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:
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landlocked; Russia leases
approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome
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Population of Kazakhstan
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Population:
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15,340,533 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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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) |
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Median age:
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28.8 years |
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Growth rate:
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0.33% |
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Infant mortality:
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28.3 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 66.89 years
male: 61.56 years
female: 72.52 years |
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Fertility rate:
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1.89 children born/woman |
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Nationality:
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noun: Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani |
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Ethnic groups:
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Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%,
Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uygur 1.4%, other 6.6% |
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Religions:
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Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%,
Protestant 2%, other 7% |
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Languages:
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Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%,
Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic
communication") 95% ( |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 98.4%
male: 99.1%
female: 97.7%
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Government
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of
Kazakhstan
local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy
former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Astana; note - the government moved from
Almaty to Astana in December 1998 |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 (Baykonur, formerly Leninsk); in 2004, a new
agreement extended the lease to 2050. |
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Independence:
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16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
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National holiday:
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Republic Day, 25 October (1990) |
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Constitution:
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adopted by national referendum 30 August
1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 |
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Legal system:
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based on civil law system |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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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 Karim MASIMOV (since 10 January 2007); Deputy
Prime Ministers Umirzak SHUKEYEV (since 27 August 2007) and Yerbol ORYNBAYEV
(since 29 October 2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (no term
limits); election last held 4 December 2005 (next to be held in 2012); prime
minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president. |
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Legislative branch:
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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). |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional
Council (7 members) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Agrarian and Industrial Union of Workers Bloc or AIST
(comprised of the Agrarian Party and Civic Party); 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] |
Economy
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. 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 - 8% or more per year in 2002-07 -
thanks largely to its booming energy sector, but also to economic reform, good
harvests, and foreign investment. Inflation, however, jumped to more than 10%
in 2007. In the energy sector, the opening of the Caspian Consortium pipeline
in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea,
substantially raised export capacity. In 2006 Kazakhstan completed the
Atasu-Alashankou portion of an oil pipeline to China that is planned in future
construction to 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
its manufacturing potential. 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 2007 due to massive oil-related foreign-exchange inflows. Aided by strong
growth and foreign exchange earnings, Kazakhstan aspires to become a regional
financial center and has created a banking system comparable to those in
Central Europe.
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GDP:
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$168.2 billion (2007 est.) |
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GDP growth rate:
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9.2% |
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GDP per capita:
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$8,200 |
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GDP composition by sector:
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agriculture: 6.7%
industry: 38.6%
services: 54.7% |
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Inflation rate:
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7.6% |
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Labor force:
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7.85 million |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 20%
industry: 30%
services: 50% |
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Unemployment:
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8.1% |
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Budget:
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revenues: $12.19 billion
expenditures: $12.44 billion |
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Electricity production by source:
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fossil fuel: 84.3%
hydro: 15.7%
other: 0% |
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Industries:
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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 |
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Agriculture:
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grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton;
livestock |
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Exports:
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oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals
24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal |
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Export partners:
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Russia 13.1%, Bermuda 12.8%, Germany 10.4%, China 9.8%,
Italy 7.9%, France 7.6% |
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Imports:
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machinery and equipment 41%, metal products
28%, foodstuffs 8% |
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Import partners:
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Russia 34.6%, China 21.6%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 4.1% |
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Currency:
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tenge (KZT) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |