Kyrgyzstan (2001) | Sudan (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 oblastlar (singular - oblast) and 1 city* (singular - shaar); Batken Oblasty, Bishkek Shaary*, Chuy Oblasty (Bishkek), Jalal-Abad Oblasty, Naryn Oblasty, Osh Oblasty, Talas Oblasty, Ysyk-Kol Oblasty (Karakol)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
35.03% (male 841,029; female 823,723) 15-64 years: 58.83% (male 1,369,842; female 1,426,522) 65 years and over: 6.14% (male 110,340; female 181,547) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.62% (male 8,227,011; female 7,870,783) 15-64 years: 53.29% (male 9,619,218; female 9,608,469) 65 years and over: 2.09% (male 425,898; female 328,994) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, cotton, potatoes, vegetables, grapes, fruits and berries; sheep, goats, cattle, wool | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara, mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock |
Airports | 50 (2000 est.) | 61 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
46 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
total:
49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
198,500 sq km land: 191,300 sq km water: 7,200 sq km |
total:
2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Dakota | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US |
Background | A Central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions, Kyrgyzstan was annexed by Russia in 1864; it achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Current concerns include: privatization of state-owned enterprises, expansion of democracy and political freedoms, inter-ethnic relations, and terrorism. | Military dictatorships promulgating an Islamic government have mostly run the country since independence from the UK in 1956. Over the past two decades, a civil war pitting black Christians and animists in the south against the Arab-Muslims of the north has cost at least 1.5 million lives in war- and famine-related deaths, as well as the displacement of millions of others. |
Birth rate | 26.18 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 37.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$207.4 million expenditures: $238.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$1.2 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Bishkek | Khartoum |
Climate | dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 853 km |
Constitution | adopted 5 May 1993; note - amendment proposed by President AKAYEV and passed in a national referendum on 10 February 1996 significantly expands the powers of the president at the expense of the legislature | 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kyrgyz Republic conventional short form: Kyrgyzstan local long form: Kyrgyz Respublikasy local short form: none former: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form:
Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
Currency | Kyrgyzstani som (KGS) | Sudanese dinar (SDD) |
Death rate | 9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.04 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2000 est.) | $24.9 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John M. O'KEEFE embassy: 171 Prospect Mira, 720016 Bishkek mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [996] (312) 551-241, (517) 777-217 FAX: [996] (312) 551-264 |
US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were moved for security reasons in February 1996 and have been relocated to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt, from where they make periodic visits to Khartoum; the US Embassy in Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located in the Interim Office Building on Mombasa Road, Nairobi; mailing address - P. O. Box 30137, Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone - [254] (2) 751613; FAX - [254] (2) 743204; the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address - Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900; telephone - [20] (2) 3557371; FAX - [20] (2) 3573200 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Bakyt ABDRISAYEV chancery: 1732 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 338-5141 FAX: [1] (202) 338-5139 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mahdi Ibrahim MAHAMMAD (recalled to Khartoum in August 1998) chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
Disputes - international | territorial dispute with Tajikistan on southwestern boundary in Isfara Valley area; periodic target of Islamic insurgents from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan | administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899 |
Economic aid - recipient | $329.4 million (1995) | $187 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Kyrgyzstan is a small, poor, mountainous country with a predominantly agricultural economy. Cotton, wool, and meat are the main agricultural products and exports. Industrial exports include gold, mercury, uranium, and electricity. Kyrgyzstan has been one of the most progressive countries of the former Soviet Union in carrying out market reforms. Following a successful stabilization program, which lowered inflation from 88% in 1994 to 15% for 1997, attention is turning toward stimulating growth. Much of the government's stock in enterprises has been sold. Drops in production had been severe since the breakup of the Soviet Union in December 1991, but by mid-1995 production began to recover and exports began to increase. Pensioners, unemployed workers, and government workers with salary arrears continue to suffer. Foreign assistance played a substantial role in the country's economic turnaround in 1996-97. Growth was held down to 2.1% in 1998 largely because of the spillover from Russia's economic difficulties, but moved ahead to 3.6% in 1999 and an estimated 5.7% in 2000. The government has adopted a series of measures to combat such persistent problems as excessive external debt, inflation, and inadequate revenue collection. | Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic instability, adverse weather, weak world agricultural prices, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture (which employs 80% of the work force), trading, and light industry which is mostly processing of agricultural goods. Most of the 1990s were characterized by sluggish economic growth as the IMF suspended lending, declared Sudan a non-cooperative state, and threatened to expel Sudan from the IMF. Starting in 1997, Sudan began implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms which have successfully stabilized inflation at 10% or less. Sudan continues to have limited international credit resources as over 75% of Sudan's debt of $24.9 billion is in arrears and Khartoum's continued prosecution of the civil war works to isolate Sudan. In 1999, Sudan began exporting oil and in 1999-2000 had recorded its first trade surpluses. Current oil production stands at 185,000 barrels per day, of which about 70% is exported and the rest refined for domestic consumption. Despite its many infrastructure problems, Sudan's increased oil production, the return of regular rainfall, and recent investments in irrigation schemes should allow the country to achieve economic growth of 6% in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 10.236 billion kWh (1999) | 1.637 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 2.02 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 184 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 12.981 billion kWh (1999) | 1.76 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
6.67% hydro: 93.33% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
42.05% hydro: 57.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Kara-Darya 132 m highest point: Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m |
lowest point:
Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; many people get their water directly from contaminated streams and wells; as a result, water-borne diseases are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation practices | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Kirghiz 52.4%, Russian 18%, Uzbek 12.9%, Ukrainian 2.5%, German 2.4%, other 11.8% | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | soms per US dollar - 48.701 (January 2001), 47.704 (2000), 39.008 (1999), 20.838 (1998), 17.362 (1997), 12.810 (1996) | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 257.44 (January 2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997), 125.08 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Askar AKAYEV (since 28 October 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Kurmanbek BAKIYEV (since 22 December 2000) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; elections last held 29 October 2000 (next to be held November or December 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Askar AKAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Askar AKAYEV 74%, Omurbek TEKEBAYEV 14%, other candidates 12%; note - election marred by serious irregularities |
chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received less than a combined 4% of the vote note: BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-90s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996 |
Exports | $482 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, wool, meat, tobacco; gold, mercury, uranium, hydropower; machinery; shoes | oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar |
Exports - partners | Germany 33%, Russia 16%, Kazakhstan 10%, Uzbekistan 10%, China 6% (1999) | Saudi Arabia 16%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, France 3%, Thailand 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red field with a yellow sun in the center having 40 rays representing the 40 Kirghiz tribes; on the obverse side the rays run counterclockwise, on the reverse, clockwise; in the center of the sun is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized representation of the roof of the traditional Kirghiz yurt | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $35.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
39% industry: 22% services: 39% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
39% industry: 17% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2000 est.) | 7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 75 00 E | 15 00 N, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total:
18,500 km (including 140 km of expressways) paved: 16,854 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) unpaved: 1,646 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
total:
11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.7% highest 10%: 31.7% (1997) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | limited illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Russia and Western Europe from Southwest Asia | - |
Imports | $579 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | oil and gas, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles |
Imports - partners | Russia 18%, Kazakhstan 12%, US 9%, Germany 8%, Uzbekistan 8%, China (1999) | China 14.7%, Libya 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, UK 8.7%, France 6.7% (1999) |
Independence | 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 5% (1996 est.) |
Industries | small machinery, textiles, food processing, cement, shoes, sawn logs, refrigerators, furniture, electric motors, gold, rare earth metals | cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | 76.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 68.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.7% (2000 est.) | 10% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 9,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 19,460 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed for 10-year terms by the Supreme Council on the recommendation of the president); Constitutional Court; Higher Court of Arbitration | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts |
Labor force | 1.7 million | 11 million (1996 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 55%, industry 15%, services 30% (1999 est.) | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,878 km border countries: China 858 km, Kazakhstan 1,051 km, Tajikistan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,099 km |
total:
7,687 km border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 44% forests and woodland: 4% other: 45% (1993 est.) note: Kyrgyzstan has the world's largest natural growth walnut forest |
arable land:
5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 19% other: 30% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian - official language
note: in May 2000, the Kyrgyzstani legislature made Russian an official language, equal in status to Kirghiz |
Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Supreme Council or Zhogorku Kenesh consists of the Assembly of People's Representatives (70 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Legislative Assembly (35 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Assembly of People's Representatives - last held 20 February and 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA February 2005); Legislative Assembly - last held 20 February and 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA February 2005) election results: Assembly of People's Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; percent of vote by party - NA; and Legislative Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - total seats by party in the Supreme Council were as follows: Union of Democratic Forces 12, Communists 6, My Country Party of Action 4, independents 73, other 10 note: the legislature became bicameral for the 5 February 1995 elections; the 2000 election results include both the Assembly of People's Representatives and the Legislative Assembly |
unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest groups known as the National Congress)
elections: last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA; few parties participated in the 2000 elections note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and speaker of the National Assembly Hasan al-TURABI |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.46 years male: 59.2 years female: 67.94 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
56.94 years male: 55.85 years female: 58.08 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.1% male: 57.7% female: 34.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, west of China | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,093 GRT/49,727 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense, Security Forces, Border Troops | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $12 million (FY99) | $550 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY99) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,203,001 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
8,436,732 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
975,744 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
5,194,862 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
50,590 (2001 est.) |
males:
398,294 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1991) | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) |
Nationality | noun:
Kyrgyzstani(s) adjective: Kyrgyzstani |
noun:
Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese |
Natural hazards | NA | dust storms |
Natural resources | abundant hydropower; significant deposits of gold and rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 200 km | refined products 815 km |
Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Labor Party of Kyrgyzstan [Uson S. SYDYKOV]; Agrarian Party of Kyrgyzstan [Arkin ALIYEV]; Ata-Meken Socialist Party or Fatherland [Onurbek TEKEBAYEV]; Banner National Revival Party or ASABA [Chaprashty BAZARBAY]; Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan or DDK [Jypar JEKSHEYEV]; Democratic Women's Party of Kyrgyzstan [T. A. SHAILIYEVA]; Dignity Party [Feliks KULOV]; Erkin Kyrgyzstan Progressive and Democratic Party [Tursunbay Bakir UULU]; Justice Party [Chingiz AYTMATOV]; Movement for the People's Salvation [Jumgalbek AMAMBAYEV]; Mutual Help Movement or Ashar [Jumagazy USUPOV]; My Country of Action [Almazbek ISMANKULOV]; National Unity Democratic Movement or DDNE [Yury RAZGULYAYEV]; Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan or KCP [Absamat M. MASALIYEV]; Party of the Veterans of the War in Afghanistan [leader NA]; Peasant Party [leader NA]; People's Party [Melis ESHIMKANOV]; Poor and Unprotected People's Party [Daniyar USENOV]; Republican Popular Party of Kyrgyzstan [J. SHARSHENALIYEV]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [J. IBRAMOV]; Union of Democratic Forces (composed of Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan or PSD [J. IBRAMOV], Economic Revival Party, and Birimdik Party | the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI], and a handful of minor pro-government parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Council of Free Trade Unions; Kyrgyz Committee on Human Rights [Ramazan DYRYIDAYEV]; National Unity Democratic Movement; Union of Entrepreneurs | National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR] (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF); Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation Army [Dr. John GARANG] |
Population | 4,753,003 (July 2001 est.) | 36,080,373 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 51% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.44% (2001 est.) | 2.79% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Balykchy (Ysyk-Kol or Rybach'ye) | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12 (plus 10 repeater stations), FM 14, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 520,000 (1997) | 7.55 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
370 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 370 km 1.520-m gauge (1990) |
total:
5,311 km narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line note: the main line linking Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic |
Religions | Muslim 75%, Russian Orthodox 20%, other 5% | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.29 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
poorly developed; about 100,000 unsatisfied applications for household telephones domestic: principally microwave radio relay; one cellular provider, probably limited to Bishkek region international: connections with other CIS countries by landline or microwave radio relay and with other countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway switch and by satellite; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik and 1 Intelsat; connected internationally by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line |
general assessment:
large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 351,000 (1997) | 400,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 20,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | NA (repeater stations throughout the country relay programs from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey) (1997) | 3 (1997) |
Terrain | peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west |
Total fertility rate | 3.19 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | 4% (1996 est.) |
Waterways | 600 km (1990) | 5,310 km |