Kazakhstan (2005) | Libya (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 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 |
25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.7% (male 1,834,535/female 1,758,988)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 5,075,243/female 5,312,536) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 424,341/female 780,201) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 34.2% (male 983,050; female 941,603)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 1,794,396; female 1,679,828) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 113,391; female 119,317) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 314 (2004 est.) | 140 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 67
over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) |
total: 59
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 247
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 197 (2004 est.) |
total: 80
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 2,717,300 sq km
land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than four times the size of Texas | slightly larger than Alaska |
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 in 1991 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. | From the earliest days of his rule following his 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appears to have decreased after the sanction imposition. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by paying compensation to the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. |
Birth rate | 15.78 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 27.17 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $8.67 billion
expenditures: $8.968 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $10.28 billion
expenditures: $7.86 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998 | Tripoli |
Climate | continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
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) | 1,770 km |
Constitution | first post-independence constitution adopted 28 January 1993; new constitution adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
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: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | - | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 9.46 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $26.03 billion (2004 est.) | $4.194 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John M. ORDWAY
embassy: 99/97A Fumanova, Samal-2, Almaty, 480099 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (3272) 50-48-02 FAX: [7] (3272) 50-48-84 |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli in May 1980, resumed embassy activities in February 2004 under the protective power of the US interests section of the Belgian Embassy in Tripoli, then opened a Liaison Office in Tripoli in June 2004 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US but maintains an interest section under the protective power of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | in 2005, Kazakhstan agreed with Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to commence demarcating their boundaries; delimitation with Kyrgyzstan is complete; creation of a seabed boundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains unresolved; 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 | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | $74.2 million in US assistance programs, 1992-2000 (FY2004) | $15 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | 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 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 - and a solid 9.5% in 2002 - thanks largely to its booming energy sector, but also to economic reform, good harvests, and foreign investment. Growth remained at the high 9% level in 2003 and 2004. The opening of the Caspian Consortium pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea, substantially raised export capacity. The country has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector, by developing light industry. Additionally, 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, and tensions continue. | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past three years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. |
Electricity - consumption | 62.21 billion kWh (203) | 18.77 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 4.975 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 2.506 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 66.82 billion kWh (2003) | 20.18 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | 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) | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | tenge per US dollar - 136.04 (2004), 149.58 (2003), 153.28 (2002), 146.74 (2001), 142.13 (2000) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001), 0.4994 (2000), 0.3936 (1999) |
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 Daniyal AKHMETOV (since 13 June 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Akhmetzhan YESIMOV (since 14 May 2004) 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 arranged a referendum in 1995 that 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 |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) Shukri Muhammad GHANIM (since 14 June 2003) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
Exports | 890,000 bbl/day (2003) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal (2001) | crude oil, refined petroleum products (1999) |
Exports - partners | Russia 15.1%, Bermuda 13.8%, Germany 11%, China 9.9%, France 6.6%, Italy 4% (2004) | Italy 38.8%, Spain 13.4%, Germany 13.4%, Turkey 7.1%, France 6.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $35 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.4%
industry: 37.8% services: 54.8% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 8.6%
industry: 46.1% services: 45.3% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.1% (2004 est.) | 3.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 48 00 N, 68 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | 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 | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 82,980 km
paved: 77,918 km unpaved: 5,062 km (2002) |
total: 83,200 km
paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 26.5% (2004 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit 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 | - |
Imports | 47,000 bbl/day (2003) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2001) | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods (1999) |
Imports - partners | Russia 34.6%, China 15.4%, Germany 8.2%, France 5.7%, Ukraine 4.6% (2004) | Italy 27.8%, Germany 10.5%, Tunisia 7.6%, UK 7.1%, France 6%, Turkey 4.6% (2003) |
Independence | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10.6% (2004 est.) | NA |
Industries | 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 | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 29.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 25.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2004 est.) | 2.8% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO |
Irrigated land | 23,320 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 7.95 million (2004 est.) | 1.51 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 30%, services 50% (2002 est.) | agriculture 17%, industry 29%, services 54% (1997 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: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.98%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 91.97% (2001) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2001) |
Languages | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.) | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (39 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; note - formerly composed of 47 seats) 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 December 2005); Majilis - last held 19 September and 3 October 2004 (next to be held September 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; candidates nominated by local councils; Majilis - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Otan 42, AIST 11, ASAR (All Together) 4, Ak Zhol (Bright Path) 1, Democratic Party 1, independent 18; note - most independent candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other pro-government institutions |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.55 years
male: 61.21 years female: 72.2 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 76.28 years
male: 74.1 years female: 78.58 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,064 GRT/646 DWT
by type: cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 2 (United Kingdom 2) (2005) |
total: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 129,627 GRT/105,110 DWT
by type: cargo 8, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea/passenger 4 foreign-owned: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Naval Force, Republican Guard | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $221.8 million (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY02) | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY02) | 3.9% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,588,533 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 938,196 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,828 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 December (1991) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | -3.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 18 km; gas 10,370 km; oil 10,158 km; refined products 1,187 km (2004) | condensate 225 km; gas 3,611 km; oil 7,252 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Party [Romin MADINOV]; Ak Zhol Party "Bright Path" [Bulat ABILOV, Uraz ZHANDOSOV, Lyudmila ZHULANOVA, Alikhan BAYMENOV, Altynbek SARSENBAYEV, co-chairs]; ASAR "All Together" [Dariga NAZARBAYEVA, chairwoman]; AUL "Village" [Gani KALIYEV]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan [Vladislav KOSAREV]; Democratic Party of Kazakhstan [Maksut NARIKBAEV]; Otan "Fatherland" [Bakhytzhan ZHUMAGULOV, acting chairman]; Patriots' Party [Gani KASYMOV]; Rukhaniyat [Altynshash JAGANOVA] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Almaty Helsinki Group [Ninel FOKINA]; Confederation of Free Trade Unions [Sergei BELKIN]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; Republican Network of International Monitors [Dos KUSHIM]; Transparency International [Sergei ZLOTNIKOV] | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence |
Population | 15,185,844 (July 2005 est.) | 5,631,585
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19% (2004 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.3% (2005 est.) | 2.37% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Railways | total: 13,700 km
broad gauge: 13,700 km 1.520-m gauge (3,700 km electrified) (2004) |
0 km
note: Libya is working on 7 lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to open a 191 km line by the end of 2004 (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.54 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: 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 |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,081,900 (2002) | 750,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.027 million (2002) | 100,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 1.89 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.42 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8% (2004 est.) | 30% (2001) |
Waterways | 4,000 km
note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers (2004) |
- |