Kazakhstan Population: 17,736,896
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| Background | |
| Ethnic 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-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs thus far back to Kazakhstan. These trends have allowed Kazakhs to become the titular majority again. This dramatic demographic shift has also undermined the previous religious diversity and made the country more than 70 percent Muslim. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states largely due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; managing Islamic revivalism; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness; developing a multiparty parliament and advancing political and social reform; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers. |
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| Geography | |
| Landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome; in January 2004, Kazakhstan and Russia extended the lease to 2050 | |
| Location: | Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural (Zhayyq) River in eastern-most Europe |
| Geographic coordinates: | 48 00 N, 68 00 E |
| Area: | total: 2,724,900 sq km land: 2,699,700 sq km water: 25,200 sq km Size comparison: slightly less than four times the size of Texas |
| Land Boundaries: | total: 12,185 km border countries: China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,224 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: | vast flat steppe extending from the Volga in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east and from the plains of western Siberia in the north to oases and deserts of Central Asia in the south |
| 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: | 35,560 sq km (2003) |
| Natural hazards: | earthquakes in the south; mudslides around Almaty |
| Current Environment 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 that 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 |
| International Environment Agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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| People | |
| Population: | 17,736,896 (July 2013 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 24.7% (male 2,199,491/female 2,189,036) 15-24 years: 16.9% (male 1,525,851/female 1,475,988) 25-54 years: 42.6% (male 3,666,941/female 3,881,320) 55-64 years: 8.9% (male 691,253/female 894,562) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 415,903/female 796,551) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 29.3 years male: 27.9 years female: 30.8 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.235% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 20.44 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 8.52 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 0.94 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 23.06 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 69.63 years male: 64.34 years female: 74.59 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.38 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 13,000 (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | fewer than 500 (2009 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Kazakhstani(s) adjective: Kazakhstani |
| Ethnic groups: | Kazakh (Qazaq) 63.1%, Russian 23.7%, Uzbek 2.8%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Uighur 1.4%, Tatar 1.3%, German 1.1%, other 4.5% (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: 99.5% male: 99.8% female: 99.3% (1999 est.) |
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| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan conventional short form: Kazakhstan local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy local short form: Qazaqstan former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Government type: | republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch |
| Capital: | name: Astana geographic coordinates: 51 10 N, 71 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Kazakhstan is divided into two time zones |
| Administrative divisions: | 14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 3 cities* (qalalar, singular - qala); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*, Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy [West Kazakhstan] (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy [Baykonur]*, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy [South Kazakhstan] (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy [East Kazakhstan] (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy [North Kazakhstan] (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 |
| 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, amended May 2007 and February 2011 |
| Legal system: | civil law system influenced by Roman-Germanic law and by the theory and practice of the Russian Federation |
| 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 Serik AKHMETOV (since 24 September 2012); First Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan SAGINTAYEV (since 16 January 2013); Deputy Prime Ministers Yerbol ORYNBAYEV (since 29 October 2007), Kairat KELIMBETOV (since 20 January 2011), Aset ISEKESHEV (since 25 September 2012) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 3 April 2011 (next to be held in 2016); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president, with Mazhilis approval; note - constitutional amendments of May 2007 shortened the presidential term from seven years to five years and established a two-consecutive-term limit; NAZARBAYEV has official status as the "First President of Kazakhstan" and is allowed an unlimited amount of terms note: constitutional amendments of February 2011 moved election date from 2012 to April 2011 but kept five-year term; subsequent election to take place in 2016 election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 95.5%, other 4.5% |
| Legislative branch: | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 15 members are appointed by the president; 32 members elected by local assemblies; members serve six-year terms, but elections are staggered with half of the members up for re-election every three years) and the Mazhilis (107 seats; 9 out of the 107 Mazhilis members elected by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, a presidentially appointed advisory body designed to represent the country's ethnic minorities; non-appointed members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - (indirect) last held in August 2011 (next to be held in 2014); Mazhilis - last held on 15 January 2012 (next to be held in 2017) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Nur Otan 16; Mazhilis - percent of vote by party - Nur-Otan 81%, Ak Zhol 7.5%, Communist People's Party 7.2%, other 4.3%; seats by party - Nur-Otan 83, Ak Zhol 8, Communist People's Party 7 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (seven members) |
| Political parties and leaders: | Adilet (Justice) [Maksut NARIKBAYEV, Tolegen SYDYKHOV, Bakhytbek AKHMETZHAN, Yerkin ONGARBAYEV] (formerly Democratic Party of Kazakhstan); Ak Zhol Party (Bright Path) [Azat PERUASHEV]; Alga [Vladimir KOZLOV] (unregistered and banned as extremist in November 2012); Auyl (Village) [Gani KALIYEV]; Azat (Freedom) Party [Bolat ABILOV] (formerly True Ak Zhol Party); Azat NSDP [co-chaired by Bolat ABILOV and Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY]; Azat and NSDP united in 2009, but the authorities have refused to register Azat NSDP as a single party; Communist Party of Kazakhstan or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN] (suspended by court decision); Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan [Vladislav KOSAREV]; National Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY]; Nur Otan (Fatherland's Ray of Light) [Nursultan NAZARBAYEV, Nurlan NIGMATULIN] (the Agrarian, Asar, and Civic parties merged with Otan); Patriots' Party [Gani KASYMOV]; Rukhaniyat (Spirituality) [Altynshash ZHAGANOVA] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Almaty Helsinki Committee [Ninel FOKINA]; Confederation of Free Trade Unions [Sergei BELKIN]; For Fair Elections [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, Sabit ZHUSUPOV, Sergey DUVANOV, Ibrash NUSUPBAYEV]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, Chairman of Bureau's Council, Roza AKYLBEKOVA, director]; Khalyk Maidany (Peoples' Front) - an informal union between the unregistered Alga Party, the unregistered Communist Party of Kazakhstan, and several opposition-oriented civil society groups, banned in November 2012 [no formal leader]; Pan-National Social Democratic Party of Kazakhstan [Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; Republican Network of International Monitors [Daniyar LIVAZOV]; Transparency International [Sergey ZLOTNIKOV] |
| International organization participation: | ADB, CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Kayrat UMAROV chancery: 1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845 consulate(s) general: New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth FAIRFAX embassy: Rakhymzhan Koshkarbayev Ave. No 3, Astana 010010 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (7172) 70-21-00 FAX: [7] (7172) 54-09-14 |
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| Economy | |
| Kazakhstan, geographically the largest of the former Soviet republics, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves and plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals, such as uranium, copper, and zinc. It also has a large agricultural sector featuring livestock and grain. In 2002 Kazakhstan became the first country in the former Soviet Union to receive an investment-grade credit rating. Extractive industries have been and will continue to be the engine of Kazakhstan's growth, although the country is aggressively pursuing diversification strategies. Landlocked, with restricted access to the high seas, Kazakhstan relies on its neighbors to export its products, especially oil and grain. Although its Caspian Sea ports, pipelines, and rail lines carrying oil have been upgraded, civil aviation and roadways continue to need attention. Telecoms are improving, but require considerable investment, as does the information technology base. Supply and distribution of electricity can be erratic because of regional dependencies, but the country is moving forward with plans to improve reliability of electricity and gas supply to its population. At the end of 2007, global financial markets froze up and the loss of capital inflows to Kazakhstani banks caused a credit crunch. The subsequent and sharp fall of oil and commodity prices in 2008 aggravated the economic situation, and Kazakhstan plunged into recession. While the global financial crisis took a significant toll on Kazakhstan's economy, it has rebounded well, helped by prudent government measures. GDP increased 7.5% year-on-year in 2011, and 5.5% in 2012. Rising commodity prices have helped the recovery. Despite solid macroeconomic indicators, the government realizes that its economy suffers from an overreliance on oil and extractive industries, the so-called "Dutch disease." In response, Kazakhstan has embarked on an ambitious diversification program, aimed at developing targeted sectors like transport, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, petrochemicals and food processing. In 2010 Kazakhstan joined the Belarus-Kazakhstan-Russia Customs Union in an effort to boost foreign investment and improve trade relationships and is planning to accede to the World Trade Organization in 2013. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $231.3 billion (2012 est.) $220.3 billion (2011 est.) $204.9 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $210.9 billion (2012 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 5% (2012 est.) 7.5% (2011 est.) 7.3% (2010 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $13,900 (2012 est.) $13,200 (2011 est.) $12,500 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 5.2% industry: 37.9% services: 56.9% (2011 est.) |
| Labor force: | 8.54 million (2012 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 25.8% industry: 11.9% services: 62.3% (2012 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 5.2% (2012 est.) 5.4% (2011 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 5.3% (2011 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 23.7% (2011 est.) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 28.9 (2011) 31.5 (2003) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.2% (2012 est.) 8.3% (2011 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 17.3% of GDP (2012 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $43.08 billion expenditures: $48.04 billion (2012 est.) |
| Public debt: | 12% of GDP (2012 est.) 12.6% of GDP (2011 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | grain (mostly spring wheat and barley), potatoes, vegetables, melons; livestock |
| Industries: | oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, uranium, iron and steel; tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 0.5% (2012 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 90.53 billion kWh (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 36 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 88.11 billion kWh (2011 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 1.8 billion kWh (2011 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 3.7 billion kWh (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 20.2 billion cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 10.2 billion cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 8.1 billion cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 3.7 billion cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 2.407 trillion cu m (1 January 2012 est.) |
| Current account balance: | $12.69 billion (2012 est.) $13.6 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports: | $88.61 billion (2012 est.) $88.27 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | oil and oil products 59%, ferrous metals 19%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal |
| Exports - partners: | Italy 16.8%, China 16.8%, Netherlands 8.2%, Russia 7.3%, Austria 5.4% (2012 est.) |
| Imports: | $42.82 billion (2012 est.) $40.44 billion (2011 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, metal products, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners: | Russia 37.9%, China 17.2%, Ukraine 6.7%, Germany 5.1%, US 4.8% (2012 est.) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $28.29 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $29.33 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $105.5 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $125.2 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $105.5 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $92.04 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $20.29 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $18.29 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $35.6 billion (31 December 2012) $43.3 billion (31 December 2011) $60.74 billion (31 December 2010) |
| Exchange rates: | tenge (KZT) per US dollar - 149.11 (2012 est.) 146.62 (2011 est.) 147.36 (2010 est.) 147.5 (2009) 120.25 (2008) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 4.266 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 39 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 25.24 million (2011) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: inherited an outdated telecommunications network from the Soviet era requiring modernization domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; number of fixed-line connections is gradually increasing and fixed-line teledensity now roughly 25 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage has increased rapidly and the subscriber base now exceeds 140 per 100 persons 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 (2008) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .kz |
| Internet hosts: | 67,464 (2012) |
| Internet users: | 5.299 million (2009) |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 97 (2012) country comparison to the world: 62 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 64 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 8 (2012) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 33 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 13 (2012) |
| Heliports: | 3 (2012) |
| Pipelines: | condensate 658 km; gas 12,317 km; oil 11,201 km; refined products 1,095 km; water 1,465 km (2010) |
| Railways: | total: 15,079 km broad gauge: 15,079 km 1.520-m gauge (4,000 km electrified) (2008) |
| Roadways: | total: 93,612 km paved: 84,100 km unpaved: 9,512 km (2008) |
| Waterways: | 4,000 km (on the Ertis (Irtysh) River (80%) and Syr Darya (Syrdariya) River) (2010) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 11 by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Austria 1, Ireland 1, Turkey 1) (2010) |
| Ports and terminals: | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) |
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| Military | |
| Military branches: | Kazakhstan Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Mobile Forces, Air Defense Forces (2013) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years; minimum age for volunteers NA (2004) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 4,163,629 females age 16-49: 4,179,051 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 2,909,999 females age 16-49: 3,528,169 (2010 est.) |
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