1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 2,717,300 km2 land area: 2,669,800 km2 comparative area: slightly less than four times the size of Texas
Climate
continental, arid and semiarid
Coastline
0 km note: Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea (1,015 km) and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km)
Environment
drying up of Aral Sea is causing increased concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; industrial pollution
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
23,080 km2 (1990)
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
Land use
arable land: 15% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 57% forest and woodland: 4% other: 24%
Location
South Asia, between Russia and Uzbekistan, bordering on the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea
Map references
Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
landlocked, but boundaries with Uzbekistan in the Sea of Azov and with Russia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea are yet to be determined
Natural resources
petroleum, coal, iron, manganese, chrome, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium, iron
Note
landlocked
Terrain
extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oasis and desert in Central Asia
People and Society
Birth rate
19.55 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
7.95 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Kazakh (Qazaq) 41.9%, Russian 37%, Ukrainian 5.2%, German 4.7%, Uzbek 2.1%, Tatar 2%, other 7.1%
Infant mortality rate
41.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
7.563 million by occupation: industry and construction 32%, agriculture and forestry 23%, other 45% (1990)
Languages
Kazakh (Qazaq; official language), Russian (language of interethnic communication)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 67.83 years male: 63.17 years female: 72.73 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%
Nationality
noun: Kazakhstani(s) adjective: Kazakhstani
Net migration rate
-5.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
17,156,370 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
0.65% (1993 est.)
Religions
Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 15%, Protestant 2%, other 36%
Total fertility rate
2.45 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
19 oblasts (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 1 city (qalalar, singular - qala)*; Almaty*, Almaty, Aqmola, Aqtobe, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan, Kokshetau,, Mangghystau, Ongtustik Qazaqstan, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Pavlodar, Semey, Shyghys Qazaqstan, Soltustik Qazaqstan, Taldyqorghan, Torghay, Zhambyl, Zhezqazghan,
Capital
Almaty (Alma-Ata)
Chief of State
President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (sinceNA April 1990); Vice President Yerik ASANBAYEV (since 1 December 1991)
Constitution
adopted 18 January 1993
Digraph
KZ
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Alim S. DJAMBOURCHINE chancery: 3421 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: (202) 333-4504
Executive branch
president, cabinet of ministers, prime minister
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
Head of Government
Prime Minister Sergey TERESHENKO (since 14 October 1991); First Deputy Prime Minister Davlat SEMBAYEV (since NA November 1990); Supreme Council Chairman Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN (since NA July 1991)
Independence
16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Legal system
based on civil law system
Legislative branch
unicameral Supreme Soviet
Member of
CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECO, IBRD, IDA, IMF, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan conventional short form: Kazakhstan local long form: Kazakhstan Respublikasy local short form: none former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
National holiday
Independence Day, 16 December
Other political or pressure groups
Independent Trade Union Center (Birlesu; an association of independent trade union and business associations), Leonid SOLOMIN, president
Political parties and leaders
Peoples Congress, Olzhas SULEYMENOV and Mukhtar SHAKHANOV, co-chairmen; Kazakh Socialist Party (former Communist Party), Nursultan NAZARBAYEV, chairman; December (Zheltoksan) Movement, Khasan KOZHAKMETOV, chairman; Freedom (AZAT) Party, Kamal ORMANTAYEV, chairman
President
last held 1 December 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); percent of vote by party NA; Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV ran unopposed
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Supreme Council
last held NA April 1990 (next to be held NA December 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (358 total) Socialist Party 338
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador William H. COURTNEY embassy: Furumanova 99/97, Almaty mailing address: US Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20521-7030 telephone: (3272) 63-24-26
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for almost 40% of net material product; employs about 25% of the labor force; grain, mostly spring wheat; meat, cotton, wool
Budget
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $1.76 billion (1991)
Currency
retaining Russian ruble as currency (May 1993)
Economic aid
recipient of limited foreign aid (1992)
Electricity
19,135,000 kW capacity; 81,300 million kWh produced, 4,739 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
rubles per US$1 - 415 (24 December 1992) but subject to wide fluctuations
Exports
$1.5 billion to outside the successor states of the former USSR (1992) commodities: oil, ferrous and nonferrous metals, chemicals, grain, wool, meat (1991) partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
External debt
$2.6 billion (1991 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
illicit producers of cannabis and opium; mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Imports
$500 million from outside the successor states of the former USSR (1992) commodities: machinery and parts, industrial materials partners: Russia and other former Soviet republics, China
Industrial production
growth rate -15% (1992 est.); accounts for 30% of net material product
Industries
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
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
28% per month (first quarter 1993)
National product
GDP $NA
National product per capita
$NA
National product real growth rate
-15% (1992 est.)
Overview
The second-largest in area of the 15 former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan has vast oil, coal, and agricultural resources. Kazakhstan is highly dependent on trade with Russia, exchanging its natural resources for finished consumer and industrial goods. Kazakhstan now finds itself with serious pollution problems, backward technology, and little experience in foreign markets. The government in 1992 continued to push privatization of the economy and freed many prices. Output in 1992 dropped because of problems common to the ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, especially the cumulative effects of the disruption of old supply channels and the slow process of creating new economic institutions. Kazakhstan lacks the funds, technology, and managerial skills for a quick recovery of output. US firms have been enlisted to increase oil output but face formidable obstacles; for example, oil can now reach Western markets only through pipelines that run across independent former Soviet republics. Finally, the end of monolithic Communist control has brought ethnic grievances into the open. The 6 million Russians in the republic, formerly the favored class, now face the hostility of a society dominated by Muslims. Ethnic rivalry will be just one of the formidable obstacles to the prioritization of national objectives and the creation of a productive, technologically advancing society.
Unemployment rate
0.4% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers
Communications
Airports
total: 365 useable: 152 with permanent-surface runways: 49 with runways over 3,659 m: 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 38 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 71
Highways
189,000 km total; 108,100 km hard surfaced (paved or gravel), 80,900 km earth (1990)
Inland waterways
Syr Darya
Pipelines
crude oil 2,850 km, refined products 1,500 km, natural gas 3,480 km (1992)
Ports
inland - Atyrau (Guryev; on Caspian Sea)
Railroads
14,460 km (all 1.520-meter gauge); does not include industrial lines (1990)
Telecommunications
telephone service is poor, with only about 6 telephones for each 100 persons; of the approximately 1 million telephones, Almaty (Alma-Ata) has 184,000; 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; satellite earth stations - INTELSAT and Orbita (TV receive only); new satellite ground station established at Almaty with Turkish financial help (December 1992) with 2500 channel band width
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Defense expenditures
69,326 million 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
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 4,349,509; fit for military service 3,499,718; reach military age (18) annually 154,727 (1993 est.)