Austria (2007) | Kazakhstan (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.1% (male 633,375/female 603,459)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,781,291/female 2,749,539) 65 years and over: 17.5% (male 585,747/female 846,372) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.5% (male 1,758,782/female 1,683,249)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 5,169,314/female 5,407,661) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 446,549/female 819,374) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock |
Airports | 55 (2007) | 97 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 25
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 15 (2007) |
total: 65
over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 8 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 26 (2007) |
total: 32
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 12 (2007) |
Area | total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
total: 2,717,300 sq km
land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly less than four times the size of Texas |
Background | Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic Monetary Union in 1999. | 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. |
Birth rate | 8.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 16.23 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $154.3 billion
expenditures: $158.3 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $21.49 billion
expenditures: $22.31 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | name: Vienna
geographic coordinates: 48 12 N, 16 22 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
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 three time zones |
Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers | continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 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) |
Constitution | 1920; revised 1929; reinstated 1 May 1945 | first post-independence constitution adopted 28 January 1993; new constitution adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan
conventional short form: Kazakhstan local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy local short form: Qazaqstan former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic |
Death rate | 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $594.3 billion (October 2006 est.) | $92.08 billion (30 June 2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Susan R. McCAW
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John M. ORDWAY
embassy: Ak Bulak 4, Str. 23-22, Building #3, Astana 010010 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (7172) 70-21-00 FAX: [7] (7172) 34-08-90 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Yerlan IDRISOV
chancery: 1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | in 2006, Austrian public protests for the Czech Republic to close the Temelin nuclear power plant resulted in a parliamentary motion threatening international legal action | Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary delimitation with Kazakhstan; field demarcation of the boundaries with Turkmenistan commenced in 2005, and with Uzbekistan in 2004; demarcation is scheduled to get underway with Russia in 2007; demarcation with China was completed in 2002; creation of a seabed boundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains under discussion; equidistant seabed treaties have been ratified with Azerbaijan and Russia in the Caspian Sea, but no resolution has been made on dividing the water column among any of the littoral states |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $681 million (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $229.2 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The Austrian economy also benefits greatly from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. The economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. The outgoing government has successfully pursued a comprehensive economic reform program, aimed at streamlining government and creating a more competitive business environment, further strengthening Austria's attractiveness as an investment location. It has implemented effective pension reforms; however, lower taxes in 2005-06 led to a small budget deficit in 2006. Weak domestic consumption and slow growth in Europe held the economy to growth rates below 3% in 2002-05. Due to higher growth across Europe, Austria grew 3.3 percent in 2006. To meet increased competition - especially from new EU members and Central European countries - Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation by its aging population. | 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 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 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. The opening of the Caspian Consortium pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea, substantially raised export capacity. Kazakhstan in 2006 completed the Atasu-Alashankou portion of an oil pipeline to China that is planned to extend from the country's Caspian coast eastward to the Chinese border in future construction. The country has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 60.25 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 57.99 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 17.73 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 3.978 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 20.4 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 4.552 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 61.02 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 64.23 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
Environment - current issues | some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe | 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 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census) | Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.7%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999 census) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | tenge per US dollar - 122.39 (2007), 126.09 (2006), 132.88 (2005), 136.04 (2004), 149.58 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Alfred GUSENBAUER (SPOe) (since 11 January 2007); Vice Chancellor Wilhelm MOLTERER (OeVP) (since 11 January 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2010); chancellor formally chosen by the president but determined by the coalition parties forming a parliamentary majority; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER 47.6% note: government coalition - SPOe and OeVP |
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 election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 91.1%, Zharmakhan A. TUYAKBAI 6.6%, Alikhan M. BAIMENOV 1.6% note: President NAZARBAYEV arranged a referendum in 1995 that extended his term of office and expanded his presidential powers: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda at his discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities |
Exports | 34,680 bbl/day (2004) | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs | oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal (2001) |
Exports - partners | Germany 30.2%, Italy 9%, US 5.9%, Switzerland 4.7% (2006) | Germany 12.4%, Russia 11.6%, China 10.9%, Italy 10.5%, France 7.6%, Romania 4.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 30.6% services: 67.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 5.7%
industry: 39.5% services: 54.8% (2007 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2006 est.) | 9.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 48 00 N, 68 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | 5 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 22.5% (2004) |
lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 26.5% (2004 est.) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; increasing consumption of European-produced synthetic 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; significant consumer of opiates |
Imports | 157,500 bbl/day (2005) | 113,600 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs | machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2001) |
Imports - partners | Germany 45.5%, Italy 7%, Switzerland 4.5%, Netherlands 4.1% (2006) | Russia 36.4%, China 19.3%, Germany 7.4% (2006) |
Independence | 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.7% (2006 est.) | 7.1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | 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 |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 27.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2006 est.) | 9.5% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ADB, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, 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, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (2003) | 35,560 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) |
Labor force | 3.52 million (2006 est.) | 8.156 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 3%
industry: 27% services: 70% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 30% services: 50% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km |
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 |
Land use | arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85% other: 82.56% (2005) |
arable land: 8.28%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 91.67% (2005) |
Languages | German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene,official in Carinthia, and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 census) | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.) |
Legal system | civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law and Roman law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 seats; members chosen by state parliaments with each state receiving 3 to 12 members according to its population; to serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 1 October 2006 (next scheduled for the fall of 2010) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 35.3%, OeVP 34.3%, Greens 11.1%, FPOe 11.0%, BZOe 4.1%, other 4.2%; seats by party - SPOe 68, OeVP 66, Greens 21, FPOe 21, BZOe 7 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 7 members are appointed by the president; other members are elected by local assemblies; to serve six-year terms) and the Mazhilis (107 seats; 9 out of the 107 Mazhilis members are elected from the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, which represents the country's ethnic minorities; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - (indirect) last held December 2005; next to be held in 2011; Mazhilis - last held 18 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Mazhilis - percent of vote by party - Nur-Otan 88.1%, NSDP 4.6%, Ak Zhol 3.3%, Auyl 1.6%, Communist People's Party 1.3%, Patriots Party .8% Ruhaniyat .4%; seats by party - Nur-Otan 98; note - parties must achieve a threshold of 7% of the electorate to qualify for seats in the Mazhilis |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.21 years
male: 76.32 years female: 82.26 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 67.22 years
male: 61.9 years female: 72.84 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.5% male: 99.8% female: 99.3% (1999 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 31,705 GRT/40,627 DWT
by type: cargo 5, container 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2) registered in other countries: 4 (Cyprus 1, Malta 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 2) (2007) |
total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 30,011 GRT/49,223 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1 (2007) |
Military branches | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) | Ground Forces, Naval Force, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2005 est.) | 0.9% (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY02) |
National holiday | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality | Independence Day, 16 December (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
noun: Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani |
Natural hazards | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty |
Natural resources | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower | major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium |
Net migration rate | 1.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -3.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2006) | condensate 658 km; gas 11,082 km; oil 10,376 km; refined products 1,095 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Peter WESTENTHALER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wilhelm MOLTERER]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] | Adilet (Justice) [Maksut NARIKBAYEV, Zeynulla ALSHIMBAYEV, Bakhytbek AKHMETZHAN, Yerkin ONGARBAYEV, Tolegan SYDYKOV] (formerly Democratic Party of Kazakhstan); Agrarian and Industrial Union of Workers Block or AIST (Agrarian Party and Civic Party); Ak Zhol Party (Bright Path) [Alikhan BAIMENOV]; Auyl (Village) [Gani KALIYEV]; Communist Party of Kazakhstan or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN]; Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan [Vladislav KOSAREV]; National Social Democratic Party (NSDP)[Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY]; Nur-Otan [Bakhytzhan ZHUMAGULOV] (the Agrarian, Asar, and Civic parties merged with Otan); Patriots' Party [Gani KASYMOV]; Rukhaniyat (Spirituality) [Altynshash ZHAGANOVA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Social Democratic) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented Association of Austrian Industrialists or IV; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights | Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Almaty Helsinki Group [Ninel FOKINA]; Confederation of Free Trade Unions [Sergei BELKIN]; For a Just Kazakhstan [Bolat ABILOV]; For Fair Elections [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, Sabit ZHUSUPOV, Sergey DUVANOV, Ibrash NUSUPBAYEV]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director]; Pan-National Social Democratic Party of Kazakhstan [Zharmakhan TUYAKBAI]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; Republican Network of International Monitors [Dos KUSHIM]; Transparency International [Sergei ZLOTNIKOV] |
Population | 8,199,783 (July 2007 est.) | 15,284,929 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 5.9% (2004) | 19% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.077% (2007 est.) | 0.352% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) |
Railways | total: 6,383 km
standard gauge: 5,924 km 1.435-m gauge (3,772 km electrified) narrow gauge: 371 km 1.000-m gauge; 88 km 0.760-m gauge (25 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 13,700 km
broad gauge: 13,700 km 1.520-m gauge (3,700 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census) | Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.012 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.692 male(s)/female total population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.045 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.956 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.545 male(s)/female total population: 0.932 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: fixed-line subscribership has been in decline since the mid-1990s with mobile-cellular subscribership elipsing it by the late 1990s; the fiber-optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in addition, there are about 600 VSATs (very small aperture terminals) (2007) |
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 is about 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage is increasing rapidly and subscriptions now exceed 50 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.564 million (2006) | 2.928 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9.255 million (2006) | 7.83 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) | 12 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia |
Total fertility rate | 1.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.9% (2006 est.) | 7.1% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 358 km (2007) | 4,000 km (on the Ertis ((Irtysh)) River (80%) and Syr Darya ((Syrdariya)) River) (2006) |