Estonia (2001) | Kazakhstan (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuessaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
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 (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
17.08% (male 123,997; female 119,166) 15-64 years: 68.14% (male 466,823; female 503,032) 65 years and over: 14.78% (male 68,802; female 141,496) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26% (male 2,212,985; female 2,141,392)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 5,393,281; female 5,731,288) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 434,879; female 827,694) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, fruits, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock |
Airports | 32 (2000 est.) | 449 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
24 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
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 (2002) |
Area | total:
45,226 sq km land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea |
total: 2,717,300 sq km
land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined | slightly less than four times the size of Texas |
Background | After centuries of Swedish and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. | 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; achieving a sustainable economic growth outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers. |
Birth rate | 8.7 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.37 billion expenditures: $1.37 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $4.2 billion
expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Tallinn | Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998 |
Climate | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers | continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid |
Coastline | 3,794 km | 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 | adopted 28 June 1992 | adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Estonia conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic |
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 | Estonian kroon (EEK) | tenge (KZT) |
Death rate | 13.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.69 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000 est.) | $11.6 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Melissa WELLS embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Larry C. NAPPER
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) 50-62-69 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Sven JURGENSON chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Kanat B. 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 | Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December 1996 which has not been signed nor ratified by Russia as of February 2001 | Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China and Russia to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; signed bilateral agreement with Russia delimiting the Caspian Sea seabed, but littoral states are far from any multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; border largely delimited with Uzbekistan, but unresolved dispute remains over sovereignty of two border villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and the regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; disputes with Kyrgyzstan over providing water and hydropower to Kazakhstan |
Economic aid - recipient | $137.3 million (1995) | $610 million in US assistance programs, 1992-2000 |
Economy - overview | In 2000, Estonia rebounded from the Russian financial crisis by scaling back its budget and reorienting trade away from Russian markets into EU member states. After GDP shrank 1.1% in 1999, the economy made a strong recovery in 2000, with growth estimated at 6.4% - the highest in Central and Eastern Europe. Estonia joined the World Trade Organization in November 1999 - the second Baltic state to join - and continues its EU accession talks. For 2001, Estonians predict GDP to grow around 6%, inflation of between 4.2%-5.3%, and a balanced budget. Substantial gains were made in completing privatization of Estonia's few remaining large, state-owned companies in 2000, and this momentum is expected to continue in 2001. Estonia hopes to join the EU during the next round of enlargement tentatively set for 2004. | Kazakhstan, the largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, excluding Russia, 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 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 has enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 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 raises export capacity. 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 | 6.807 billion kWh (1999) | 48.336 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 530 million kWh (1999) | 50 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (1999) | 3.102 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 7.782 billion kWh (1999) | 48.692 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.72% hydro: 0.09% nuclear: 0% other: 0.19% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 86%
hydro: 14% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
Environment - current issues | air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products, chemicals at former Soviet military bases; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas are heavily affected by organic waste; coastal sea water is polluted in many locations | radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | Estonian 65.1%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Byelorussian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.8% (1998) | 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 | krooni per US dollar - 16.663 (January 2001), 16.969 (2000), 14.678 (1999), 14.075 (1998), 13.882 (1997), 12.034 (1996); note - krooni are tied to the German deutsche mark at a fixed rate of 8 to 1 | tenge per US dollar - 151.14 (January 2002), 146.74 (2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Lennart MERI (since 5 October 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Mart LAAR (since 29 March 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; if he or she does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held August-September 1996 (next to be held in the fall of 2001); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Lennart MERI reelected president by an electoral assembly after Parliament was unable to break a deadlock between MERI and RUUTEL; percent of electoral assembly vote - Lennart MERI 61%, Arnold RUUTEL 39% |
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 Imangali TASMAGAMBETOV (since 28 January 2002) 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 was 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%, Engels GABBASSOV 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 | $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $10.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 24%, wood products 20%, textiles 17%, food products 9%, metals, chemical products (1999) | oil and oil products 52.8%, ferrous metals 12.9%, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal (2000) |
Exports - partners | Finland 19.4%, Sweden 18.8%, Russia 9.2%, Latvia 8.7%, Germany 7.5%, US 2.5% (1999) | Russia 19.5%, China 7.3%, Germany 6.2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white | 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 - $14.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $98.1 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.6% industry: 30.7% services: 65.7% (1999) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 30% services: 60% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2000 est.) | 12.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 59 00 N, 26 00 E | 48 00 N, 68 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome |
Highways | total:
30,300 km paved: 29,200 km (including 75 km of expressways); note - 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 unpaved: 1,100 km (2000) |
total: 189,000 km
paved: 108,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 80,900 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.2% highest 10%: 28.5% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 27% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western Europe to Scandinavia; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking; synthetic drug production growing, trafficked to Russia, Baltics, Finland | 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 |
Imports | $4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $8.2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 31%, chemical products 13%, foodstuffs 11%, metal products 8%, textiles 8% (1999) | machinery and parts 29.5%, energy and fuels 11.3%, electrical equipment 8.8%, vehicles 8.7%, ferrous metals 6.4% (2000) |
Imports - partners | Finland 22.8%, Russia 13.5%, Sweden 9.3%, Germany 9.3%, Japan 4.7% (1999) | Russia 48.7%, Germany 6.6%, US 5.5% (2000) |
Independence | 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 11.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | oil shale, shipbuilding, phosphates, electric motors, excavators, cement, furniture, clothing, textiles, paper, shoes, apparel | 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 | 12.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 58.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.1% (1999 est.) | 8.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 28 (2000) | 10 (with their own international channels) (2001) |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (1996 est.) | 23,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) |
Labor force | 785,500 (1999 est.) | 8.4 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 20%, agriculture 11%, services 69% (1999 est.) | industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
633 km border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 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:
25% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 44% other: 20% (1996 est.) |
arable land: 11.23%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 88.72% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, other | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Center Party 28, Union of Pro Patria (Fatherland League) 18, Reform Party 18, Moderates 17, Country People's Party (Agrarians) 7, Coalition Party 7, UPPE 6 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (39 seats - previously 47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, two from each of the 14 oblasts, the capital of Astana, and the city of Almaty, to serve six-year terms) and the Majilis (77 seats; 10 out of the 77 Majilis members are elected from the winning party's lists; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - (indirect) last held 17 September 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005); Majilis - last held 10 and 24 October and 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: note - the election results are for the old Senate structure; 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:
69.73 years male: 63.72 years female: 76.05 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 63.38 years
male: 58.02 years female: 69.01 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1998 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (1999 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia | Central Asia, northwest of China |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 253,460 GRT/219,727 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 19, combination bulk 1, container 5, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 10, short-sea passenger 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,064 GRT/646 DWT
ships by type: roll on/roll off 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: United States 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy/Coast Guard, Air and Air Defense Force (not officially sanctioned), Maritime Border Guard, Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Security Forces (internal and border troops) | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Naval Force, Border Service, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $70 million (FY99) | $173 million (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | 1% (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
359,677 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,545,168 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
282,418 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,629,219 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
11,164 (2001 est.) |
males: 163,628 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 was the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 6 September 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union | Republic Day, 25 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun:
Estonian(s) adjective: Estonian |
noun: Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani |
Natural hazards | flooding occurs frequently in the spring | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty |
Natural resources | shale oil (kukersite), peat, phosphorite, amber, cambrian blue clay, limestone, dolomite, arable land | major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium |
Net migration rate | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -6.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 420 km (1992) | crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party or K [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Christian People's Party [Aldo VINKEL]; Coalition Party and Rural Union or KMU [Andrus OOBEL, chairman]; Estonian Democratic Party (formerly Estonian Blue Party) [Jaan LAAS]; Estonian Independence Party [leader NA]; Estonian National Democratic Party or ENDP [leader NA]; Estonian Pensioners and Families Party [Mai TREIAL]; Estonian Progressive Party [Andra VEIDEMANN]; Estonian Republican Party [leader NA]; Estonian Social-Democratic Labor Party [Tiit TOOMSALU]; Estonian Rural People's Union (1999 merger of Estonian Country People's Party and the Estonian Rural Union) [Arvo SIRENDI]; Party of Consolidation Today [leader NA]; People's Party Moderates (1999 merger of People's Party and Moderates) [Andres TARAND]; Reform Party or RE [Siim KALLAS, chairman]; Russian Party in Estonia [Nikolai MASPANOV]; Russian Unity Party [Igor SEDASHEV]; Union of Pro Patria or Fatherland League (Isamaaliit) [Mart LAAR, chairman]; United People's Party or UPPE [Viktor ANDREJEV, chairman] | Agrarian Party [Romin MADINOV]; Alash [Sabet-Kazy AKATAY]; AZAMAT "Citizen" Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSEITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [a union of opposition parties, movements, and NGOs which includes Communists, RNPK, Orleu "Development" Movement, Pokoleniye "Generation" Pensioners' Movement, Labor Movement, Association of Independent Mass Media of Central Asia, and the Tabighat "Nature" Ecological Movement]; Labor and Worker's Movement [Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu "Development" Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; Otan "Fatherland" [Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress of Kazakhstan of NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative Party of Kazakhstan [Umirzak SARSENOV]; Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan or RNPK [Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN]; Socialist Party [Petr SVOIK]; United Democratic Party (a new party not yet registered) [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan [Galymzhan ZHAKIYANOV, Uraz ZHANDOSOV, Nurzhan SUBKHANBERDIN, Mukhtar ABLYAZOV, Zhanat YERTLESOVA, Bulat ABILOV, cofounders]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director] |
Population | 1,423,316 (July 2001 est.) | 16,741,519 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 8.9% (1995 est.) | 26% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.55% (2001 est.) | 0.1% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3 (all AM stations inactive since July 1998), FM 82, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) |
Radios | 1.01 million (1997) | 6.47 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
1,018 km common carrier lines only; does not include dedicated industrial lines broad gauge: 1,018 km 1.520-m gauge (132 km electrified) (1995) |
total: 13,601 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge: 13,601 km 1.520-m gauge (3,661 km electrified) (2001) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish | Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.53 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; Internet services available throughout most of the country; about 150,000 unfilled subscriber requests domestic: local - the Ministry of Transport and Communications is expanding cellular telephone services to form rural networks; intercity - highly developed fiber-optic backbone (double loop) system presently serving at least 16 major cities (1998) international: fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located in Tallinn |
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 | 476,078 (yearend 1998) | 1.92 million (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 475,000 (yearend 2000) | 400,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 31 (plus five repeaters) (September 1995) | 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | marshy, lowlands | 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 | 1.21 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.12 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.7% (1999 est.) | 10% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 320 km (perennially navigable) | 3,900 km
note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers |