Kazakhstan

Geography
Area: 2.7 million sq. km. (1.56 million sq. mi.); ninth-largest nation in the world; the size of Western Europe.
Major cities: Astana (capital, June 1998), Almaty (former capital), Karaganda, and Shymkent.
Terrain: Extends east to west from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north to south from the plains of Western Siberia to the oasis and desert of Central Asia.
Climate: Continental, cold winters and hot summers; arid and semi-arid.
Border lengths: Russia 6,846 km., Uzbekistan 2,203 km., China 1,533 km., Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km., and Turkmenistan 379 km.

People
Nationality: Kazakhstani.
Population (July 2005 est.): 15.2 million--down from 16.2 million in 1989; second most-populated country in Central Asia.
Population growth rate (2005 est.): 0.3%. Population distribution: 56.4% of population lives in urban areas. Twenty-six cities had approximate populations of more than 50,000 in 1999--Astana (capital) more than 450,000, Almaty (former capital) 1.2 million, Karaganda 440,000, Shymkent 370,000, Taraz 340,000, Ust-Kamenogorsk 310,000, Pavlodar 300,000.
Ethnic groups (2002): Kazakh 55.8%, Russian 28.3%, Ukrainian 3.3%, Uzbek 2.6%, German 1.8%, Uyghur 1.5%, other 5.0%.
Religion: Sunni Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%.
Language: Kazakhstan is a bilingual country. Kazakh language has the status of the "state" language, while Russian is declared the "official" language. Russian is used routinely in business; 64.4% of population speaks the Kazakh language.
Health (2005 est.): Infant mortality rate--29.21/1,000. Life expectancy--66.55 years (male 61.21 yrs.; female 72.2 yrs.). Health care--34.6 doctors and 74.4 hospital beds per 10,000 persons.
Education: Mandatory universal secondary education. School system consists of kindergarten, primary school (grades 1-4), secondary school (grades 5-9), and high school (grades 10-11). Literacy rate--98.8%.
Work force (2001, 8.85 million): Industry--30%; agriculture--20%; services--50%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Branches: Executive--president, prime minister, Council of Ministers. Legislative--Senate and Mazhilis. Judicial--Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 17; 14 oblasts plus 3 cities--Almaty, the former capital; Astana, the current capital; and the territory of Baykonur, which contains the space launch center that the Russians built and now lease.

Economy
GDP (2003): $29.7 billion. Exchange rate (Period average): 136.04 KZT/USD in 2004; GDP in 2003 was KZT 4449.8 billion.
GDP growth rate: 13.2% (2001); 9.5% (2002); 9.2% (2003); 9.1% (2004 est.).
GDP per capita (2004): Purchasing power parity--$7,800.
Inflation rate: 6.4% (2001); 6.6% (2002); 6.8% (2003); 6.9% (2004 est.).
Trade: Exports (2004 est.)--$18.47 billion: oil products (65%), base metals (20%), food and agricultural goods (6%), chemicals (4%). Imports (2004 est.)--$13.07 billion: machinery (43%), chemicals (15%), energy (12%), base metals (12%), food (8%).
Officially recognized unemployment rate: 9.3% (2002); 8.7% (2003); 8.4% (2004 est.). Population below poverty line: 15.3% (2005, 1st quarter est.)

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