Kyrgyzstan (2001) | Tuvalu (2008) | |
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) |
none |
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: 29.8% (male 1,821/female 1,752)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 3,808/female 4,006) 65 years and over: 5% (male 227/female 378) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, cotton, potatoes, vegetables, grapes, fruits and berries; sheep, goats, cattle, wool | coconuts; fish |
Airports | 50 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
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.) |
- |
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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
198,500 sq km land: 191,300 sq km water: 7,200 sq km |
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Dakota | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period. |
Birth rate | 26.18 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.43 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$207.4 million expenditures: $238.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $22.78 million
expenditures: $14.23 million (2002) |
Capital | Bishkek | name: Funafuti
geographic coordinates: 8 30 S, 179 12 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet |
Climate | dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 24 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 | 1 October 1978 |
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: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu local long form: none local short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands |
Currency | Kyrgyzstani som (KGS) | - |
Death rate | 9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
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 |
Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534 |
Disputes - international | territorial dispute with Tajikistan on southwestern boundary in Isfara Valley area; periodic target of Islamic insurgents from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $329.4 million (1995) | $13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.) |
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. | Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this fund grew from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US Government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. Tuvalu derives around $1.5 million per year from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and income from overseas investments. |
Electricity - consumption | 10.236 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 2.02 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 184 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 12.981 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
6.67% hydro: 93.33% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Kara-Darya 132 m highest point: Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 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 | since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
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% | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% |
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) | Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Apisai IELEMIA (since 14 August 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 14 August 2006 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2010) election results: Apisai IELEMIA elected Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election on 14 August 2006 |
Exports | $482 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, wool, meat, tobacco; gold, mercury, uranium, hydropower; machinery; shoes | copra, fish |
Exports - partners | Germany 33%, Russia 16%, Kazakhstan 10%, Uzbekistan 10%, China 6% (1999) | Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2006) |
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 | light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
39% industry: 22% services: 39% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 27.2% services: 56.2% (2002) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2000 est.) | 1.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 75 00 E | 8 00 S, 178 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the 9 coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon |
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) |
- |
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.) | $9.186 million c.i.f. (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | oil and gas, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Russia 18%, Kazakhstan 12%, US 9%, Germany 8%, Uzbekistan 8%, China (1999) | Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 1 October 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | small machinery, textiles, food processing, cement, shoes, sawn logs, refrigerators, furniture, electric motors, gold, rare earth metals | fishing, tourism, copra |
Infant mortality rate | 76.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.7% (2000 est.) | 3.9% (2005 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 | ACP, ADB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 9,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
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 | High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction) |
Labor force | 1.7 million | 3,615 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 55%, industry 15%, services 30% (1999 est.) | note: people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,878 km border countries: China 858 km, Kazakhstan 1,051 km, Tajikistan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,099 km |
0 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: 0%
permanent crops: 66.67% other: 33.33% (2005) |
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 |
Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | NA |
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 Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 August 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.46 years male: 59.2 years female: 67.94 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.63 years
male: 66.38 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.) |
NA |
Location | Central Asia, west of China | Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 74 ships (1000 GRT or over) 568,759 GRT/928,697 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 45, chemical tanker 5, container 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 61 (China 25, Hong Kong 10, Kenya 1, Maldives 1, Romania 1, Russia 4, Singapore 13, Thailand 1, Turkey 1, US 1, Vietnam 3) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense, Security Forces, Border Troops | no regular military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $12 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY99) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,203,001 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
975,744 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
50,590 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1991) | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) |
Nationality | noun:
Kyrgyzstani(s) adjective: Kyrgyzstani |
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
Natural hazards | NA | severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level |
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 | fish |
Net migration rate | -2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 200 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 | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Council of Free Trade Unions; Kyrgyz Committee on Human Rights [Ramazan DYRYIDAYEV]; National Unity Democratic Movement; Union of Entrepreneurs | none |
Population | 4,753,003 (July 2001 est.) | 11,992 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 51% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.44% (2001 est.) | 1.543% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Balykchy (Ysyk-Kol or Rybach'ye) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12 (plus 10 repeater stations), FM 14, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 520,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
370 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 370 km 1.520-m gauge (1990) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 75%, Russian Orthodox 20%, other 5% | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% |
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: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.601 male(s)/female total population: 0.954 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: serves particular needs for internal communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite |
Telephones - main lines in use | 351,000 (1997) | 900 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 1,300 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | NA (repeater stations throughout the country relay programs from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey) (1997) | 0 (2004) |
Terrain | peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 3.19 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.96 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 600 km (1990) | - |