Chad (2008) | Kazakhstan (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 regions (regions, singular - region); Batha, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Hadjer-Lamis, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mandoul, Mayo-Kebbi Est, Mayo-Kebbi Ouest, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile, Ville de N'Djamena, Wadi Fira | 14 oblystar (singular - oblysy) and 3 cities (qala, singular - qalasy)*; Almaty, Almaty*, Aqmola (Astana), Aqtobe, Astana*, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan (Oral), Bayqongyr*, Mangghystau (Aqtau; formerly Shevchenko), Ongtustik Qazaqstan (Shymkent), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Shyghys Qazaqstan (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan (Petropavl), Zhambyl (Taraz; formerly Dzhambul)
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 (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.3% (male 2,366,496/female 2,308,155)
15-64 years: 49.8% (male 2,250,211/female 2,676,076) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 120,666/female 164,057) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
26.73% (male 2,271,866; female 2,200,078) 15-64 years: 66.03% (male 5,358,535; female 5,688,550) 65 years and over: 7.24% (male 412,761; female 799,513) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock |
Airports | 55 (2007) | 449 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 7
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
28 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 14 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 48
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 11 (2007) |
total:
421 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 45 914 to 1,523 m: 101 under 914 m: 246 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 1.284 million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
total:
2,717,300 sq km land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of California | slightly less than four times the size of Texas |
Background | Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution, and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which has sporadically flared up despite several peace agreements between the government and the rebels. In 2005, new rebel groups emerged in western Sudan and made probing attacks into eastern Chad, despite signing peace agreements in December 2006 and October 2007. Power remains in the hands of an ethnic minority. In June 2005, President Idriss DEBY held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits and won another controversial election in 2006. Sporadic rebel campaigns continued throughout 2006 and 2007, and the capital experienced a significant rebel threat in early 2008. | 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 has caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; and continuing to strengthen relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers. |
Birth rate | 42.35 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.889 billion
expenditures: $1.473 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$3.1 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | name: N'Djamena
geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 15 02 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998 |
Climate | tropical in south, desert in north | 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 | passed by referendum 31 March 1996; a June 2005 referendum removed constitutional term limits | adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Chad
conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad/Jumhuriyat Tshad local short form: Tchad/Tshad |
conventional long form:
Republic of Kazakhstan conventional short form: Kazakhstan local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy local short form: none former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | - | tenge (KZT) |
Death rate | 16.69 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2005 est.) | $12.5 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Louis NIGRO
embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] 251-62-11, [235] 251-70-09, [235] 251-77-59 FAX: [235] 251-56-54 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard H. JONES embassy: 99/97A Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan 480091 mailing address: American Embassy Almaty, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7030 telephone: [7] (3272) 63-39-21, 50-76-23, 50-76-27 (emergency number) FAX: [7] (3272) 63-38-83, 50-76-24 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mahamat Adam BECHIR
chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Kanat SAUDABAYEV chancery: 1401 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | since 2003, Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military have driven hundreds of thousands of Darfur residents into Chad; Chad remains an important mediator in the Sudanese civil conflict, reducing tensions with Sudan arising from cross-border banditry; Chadian Aozou rebels reside in southern Libya; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $379.8 million (2005) | $409.6 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Chad's primarily agricultural economy will continue to be boosted by major foreign direct investment projects in the oil sector that began in 2000. Over 80% of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and livestock raising for its livelihood. Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its landlocked position, high energy costs, and a history of instability. Chad relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most public and private sector investment projects. A consortium led by two US companies has been investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves - estimated at 1 billion barrels - in southern Chad. Chinese companies are also expanding exploration efforts and plan to build a refinery. The nation's total oil reserves have been estimated to be 1.5 billion barrels. Oil production came on stream in late 2003. Chad began to export oil in 2004. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad's non-oil export earnings. | Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also is a large agricultural - livestock and grain - producer. 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 of 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. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium agreement to build a new pipeline from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea increases prospects for substantially larger oil exports in several years. Kazakhstan's economy again turned downward in 1998 with a 2% decline in GDP due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in Russia. The recovery of international oil prices in 1999, combined with a well-timed tenge devaluation and a bumper grain harvest, pulled the economy out of recession in 2000. Astana has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry. |
Electricity - consumption | 88.35 million kWh (2005) | 44.132 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 200 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 3.077 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (2005) | 44.36 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
87.12% hydro: 12.65% nuclear: 0.23% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m |
lowest point:
Vpadina Kaundy -132 m highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification | radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Sara 27.7%, Arab 12.3%, Mayo-Kebbi 11.5%, Kanem-Bornou 9%, Ouaddai 8.7%, Hadjarai 6.7%, Tandjile 6.5%, Gorane 6.3%, Fitri-Batha 4.7%, other 6.4%, unknown 0.3% (1993 census) | Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (1999 census) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 480.1 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) | tenge per US dollar - 145.09 (January 2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997), 67.30 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno (since 4 December 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Nouradine Delwa KASSIRE Koumakoye (since 26 February 2007) cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote to serve five-year term; if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes must stand for a second round of voting; last held 3 May 2006 (next to be held by May 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno reelected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 64.7%, Delwa Kassire KOUMAKOYE 15.1%, Albert Pahimi PADACKE 7.8%, Mahamat ABDOULAYE 7.1%, Brahim KOULAMALLAH 5.3%; note - a June 2005 national referendum altered the constitution removing presidential term limits and permitting Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno to run for reelection |
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 Kazymzhomart TOKAYEV (since 2 October 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 10 January 1999, a year before it was previously scheduled (next to be held NA 2006); note - President NAZARBAYEV's previous term had been extended to 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30 April 1995; prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 81.7%, Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN 12.1%, Gani KASYMOV 4.7%, other 1.5% note: President NAZARBAYEV expanded his presidential powers by decree: 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 | 170,000 bbl/day (2004) | $8.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | oil, cattle, cotton, gum arabic | oil 40%, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal |
Exports - partners | US 80.6%, China 10.4%, South Korea 2.3% (2006) | EU 23%, Russia 20%, China 8% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red
note: similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France |
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 | - | purchasing power parity - $85.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 22.2%
industry: 47.2% services: 30.6% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 30% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.3% (2007 est.) | 10.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 19 00 E | 48 00 N, 68 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel | landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome |
Highways | - | total:
NA km paved: 150,000 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) (2000) unpaved: NA km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2.7% highest 10%: 26.3% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | significant illicit cultivation of cannabis and limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrone); limited government eradication program; cannabis consumed largely in the CIS; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Russia, North America, and Western Europe from Southwest Asia; developing heroin addiction problem |
Imports | 1,316 bbl/day (2004) | $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, foodstuffs, textiles | machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas, vehicles |
Imports - partners | France 18.6%, Cameroon 17.6%, US 12.5%, Germany 7.4%, Saudi Arabia 5%, Belgium 4.9% (2006) | Russia 37%, US, Uzbekistan, Turkey, UK, Germany, Ukraine, South Korea (1999) |
Independence | 11 August 1960 (from France) | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.5% (2007 est.) | 14.9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials | 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 |
Infant mortality rate | total: 102.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 108.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 95.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
59.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2007 est.) | 13.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | 300 sq km (2003) | 22,000 sq km (1996 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) |
Labor force | 3.747 million (2006) | 8.8 million (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)
industry and services: 20% (2006 est.) |
industry 27%, agriculture 23%, services 50% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 5,968 km
border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 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: 2.8%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 97.18% (2005) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 11% permanent pastures: 57% forests and woodland: 4% other: 16% (1996 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66% |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (155 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the 1996 constitution called for a Senate that has never been formed
elections: National Assembly - last held 21 April 2002 (next to be held by 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, URD 5, UNDR 3, other 11 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, two from each of the former oblasts and the former capital of Almaty, to serve six-year terms) and the Majilis (67 seats; the addition of 10 "Party List" seats brings the total to 77; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms); note - with the oblasts being reduced to 14, the Senate will eventually be reduced to 37; a number of Senate seats come up for reelection every two years
elections: Senate - (indirect) last held 17 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2001); Majilis - last held 10 and 24 October and 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 16 seats up for election in 1999, candidates nominated by local councils; Majilis - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Otan 23, Civic Party 13, Communist Party 3, Agrarian Party 3, People's Cooperative Party 1, independents 34; note - most independent candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other pro-government institutions |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.2 years
male: 46.17 years female: 48.27 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
63.29 years male: 57.87 years female: 68.97 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic
total population: 47.5% male: 56% female: 39.3% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, south of Libya | Central Asia, northwest of China |
Map references | Africa | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Chadian National Army (Armee Nationale Tchadienne, ANT), Chadian Air Force (Force Aerienne Tchadienne, FAT), Gendarmerie (2007) | General Purpose Forces (Army), Air Force, Border Guards, Navy, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $322 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (2006) | 1.5% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
4,509,179 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
3,598,859 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
163,628 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) | Republic Day, 25 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian |
noun:
Kazakhstani(s) adjective: Kazakhstani |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty |
Natural resources | petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt | major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium |
Net migration rate | -2.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -6.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 250 km (2007) | crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Federation Action for the Republic or FAR [Ngarledjy YORONGAR]; National Rally for Development and Progress or RNDP [Delwa Kassire KOUMAKOYE]; National Union for Democracy and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; Party for Liberty and Development or PLD [Ibni Oumar Mahamat SALEH]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lol Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [Jean ALINGUE]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE] | Agrarian Party [Romin MADENOV]; Alash [Soverkazhy AKATAYEV]; AZAMAT Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSIITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [Nurbulat MASANOV, Deputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan (RNPK); Amirzhan KOSANOV, RNPK activist; Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM, Orleu Movement; cochairmen]; Labor and Worker's Movement [Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; Otan [Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress of Kazakhstan of NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative Party [Umirzak SARSENOV]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV]; Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan or RNPK [Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director] |
Population | 9,885,661 (July 2007 est.) | 16,731,303 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2001 est.) | 35% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.32% (2007 est.) | 0.03% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 5 (2001) | AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) |
Radios | - | 6.47 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
14,400 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 14,400 km 1.520-m gauge (3,299 km electrified) (1997) |
Religions | Muslim 53.1%, Catholic 20.1%, Protestant 14.2%, animist 7.3%, other 0.5%, unknown 1.7%, atheist 3.1% (1993 census) | Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.025 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.841 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: primitive system with high costs and low telephone density
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: country code - 235; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment:
service is poor; equipment antiquated domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile cellular systems are available in most of Kazakhstan international: international traffic with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay; 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 | 13,000 (2006) | 1.818 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 466,100 (2006) | 11,202 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south | 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 | 5.56 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 13.7% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | Chari and Legone rivers are navigable only in wet season (2006) | 3,900 km
note: on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers |