Kazakhstan (2001) | South Africa (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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) |
9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 29.7% (male 6,603,220/female 6,525,810)
15-64 years: 65% (male 13,955,950/female 14,766,843) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 905,870/female 1,429,944) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products |
Airports | 449 (2000 est.) | 731 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total: 146
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 67 under 914 m: 13 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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.) |
total: 585
1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 302 under 914 m: 249 (2006) |
Area | total:
2,717,300 sq km land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
total: 1,219,912 sq km
land: 1,219,912 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island) |
Area - comparative | slightly less than four times the size of Texas | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | 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. | After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule. |
Birth rate | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.2 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3.1 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $65.91 billion
expenditures: $70.62 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998 | name: Pretoria (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 29 12 S, 28 10 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital) |
Climate | continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights |
Coastline | 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) | 2,798 km |
Constitution | adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 | 10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Kazakhstan conventional short form: Kazakhstan local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy local short form: none former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA |
Currency | tenge (KZT) | - |
Death rate | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.5 billion (2000 est.) | $29.97 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jendayi E. FRAZER
embassy: 877 Pretorius Street, Pretoria mailing address: P. O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Joyce Mosima MASEKELA
chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan | South Africa has placed military along the border to stem the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution; managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River |
Economic aid - recipient | $409.6 million (1995) | $487.5 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | 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. | South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world; and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income. |
Electricity - consumption | 44.132 billion kWh (1999) | 197.4 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 200 million kWh (1999) | 10.14 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 3.077 billion kWh (1999) | 6.739 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 44.36 billion kWh (1999) | 215.9 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
87.12% hydro: 12.65% nuclear: 0.23% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Vpadina Kaundy -132 m highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (1999 census) | black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | tenge per US dollar - 145.09 (January 2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997), 67.30 (1996) | rand per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA (since 23 June 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA (since 23 June 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 24 April 2004 (next to be held April 2009) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) |
Exports | $8.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | oil 40%, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal | gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment |
Exports - partners | EU 23%, Russia 20%, China 8% (1999) | UK 11.1%, US 9.1%, Japan 8.3%, Germany 6.3%, China 5.2%, Italy 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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 | two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $85.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 30% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 2.5%
industry: 30.3% services: 67.1% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.5% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 48 00 N, 68 00 E | 29 00 S, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland |
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%:
2.7% highest 10%: 26.3% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 45.9% (1994) |
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 | transshipment center for heroin, hashish, marijuana, and cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries; illicit cultivation of marijuana; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region |
Imports | $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas, vehicles | machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Russia 37%, US, Uzbekistan, Turkey, UK, Germany, Ukraine, South Korea (1999) | Germany 14.9%, US 7%, China 6.9%, UK 6.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.5%, Japan 5.9%, Iran 5.8%, France 4.3% (2005) |
Independence | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 31 May 1910 (from UK); note - South Africa became a republic in 1961 following an October 1960 referendum |
Industrial production growth rate | 14.9% (2000 est.) | 3.6% (2005 est.) |
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 | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 59.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 60.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 64.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 56.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13.4% (2000 est.) | 4% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | 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) | ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 22,000 sq km (1996 est.) | 14,980 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 8.8 million (1997) | 15.23 million economically active (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 27%, agriculture 23%, services 50% (1996) | agriculture: 30%
industry: 25% services: 45% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 4,862 km
border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 11% permanent pastures: 57% forests and woodland: 4% other: 16% (1996 est.) |
arable land: 12.1%
permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.11% (2005) |
Languages | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66% | IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997, the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution
elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held 14 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 69.7%, DA 12.4%, IFP 7%, UDM 2.3%, NNP 1.7%, ACDP 1.6%, other 5.3%; seats by party - ANC 279, DA 50, IFP 28, UDM 9, NNP 7, ACDP 6, other 21; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.29 years male: 57.87 years female: 68.97 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 42.73 years
male: 43.25 years female: 42.19 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4% male: 87% female: 85.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, northwest of China | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 32,815 GRT/39,295 DWT
by type: container 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Denmark 1) registered in other countries: 8 (Panama 3, UK 5) (2006) |
Military - note | - | with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete |
Military branches | General Purpose Forces (Army), Air Force, Border Guards, Navy, Republican Guard | South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Joint Support Command, Military Intelligence, Military Health Service (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $322 million (FY99) | $3.55 billion (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99) | 1.5% (2005 est.) |
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 | Republic Day, 25 October (1990) | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) |
Nationality | noun:
Kazakhstani(s) adjective: Kazakhstani |
noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African |
Natural hazards | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty | prolonged droughts |
Natural resources | major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas |
Net migration rate | -6.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992) | condensate 100 km; gas 1,062 km; oil 966 km; refined products 1,354 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance or DA [Anthony LEON] (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the Freedom Alliance or FA); Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; New National Party or NNP; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director] | Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]; note - COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance with the ANC |
Population | 16,731,303 (July 2001 est.) | 44,187,637
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (1999 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.03% (2001 est.) | -0.4% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (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) |
total: 20,872 km
narrow gauge: 20,436 km 1.065-m gauge (8,868 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% | Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, other Christian 36%, Islam 1.5%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa
domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international: country code - 27; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.818 million (1997) | 4.729 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 11,202 (1997) | 33.96 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.7% (1998 est.) | 26.6% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 3,900 km
note: on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers |
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