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Compare Laos (2004) - Kazakhstan (2002)

Compare Laos (2004) z Kazakhstan (2002)

 Laos (2004)Kazakhstan (2002)
 LaosKazakhstan
Administrative divisions 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang 14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 3 cities* (qala, singular - qalasy); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*, Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy*, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Petropavlovsk), Zhambyl Oblysy (Taraz)


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk)
Age structure 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 1,277,152; female 1,265,761)


15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,642,895; female 1,688,175)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,995; female 106,139) (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 26% (male 2,212,985; female 2,141,392)


15-64 years: 66.5% (male 5,393,281; female 5,731,288)


65 years and over: 7.5% (male 434,879; female 827,694) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock
Airports 46 (2003 est.) 449 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 9


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.)
total: 28


over 3,047 m: 6


2,438 to 3,047 m: 14


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


under 914 m: 3 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 35


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 13


under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
total: 421


over 3,047 m: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 18


1,524 to 2,437 m: 45


914 to 1,523 m: 101


under 914 m: 246 (2002)
Area total: 236,800 sq km


land: 230,800 sq km


water: 6,000 sq km
total: 2,717,300 sq km


land: 2,669,800 sq km


water: 47,500 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than Utah slightly less than four times the size of Texas
Background Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; achieving a sustainable economic growth outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.
Birth rate 36.47 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 17.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $298.5 million


expenditures: $429.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
revenues: $4.2 billion


expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital Vientiane Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998
Climate tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked); note - Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km)
Constitution promulgated 14 August 1991 adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993
Country name conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic


conventional short form: Laos


local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao


local short form: none
conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan


conventional short form: Kazakhstan


local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy


local short form: none


former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency kip (LAK) tenge (KZT)
Death rate 12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 10.69 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $2.49 billion (2001) $11.6 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH


embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane


mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546


telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585


FAX: [856] (21) 212584
chief of mission: Ambassador Larry C. NAPPER


embassy: 99/97A Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan 480091


mailing address: American Embassy Almaty, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7030


telephone: [7] (3272) 63-39-21, 50-76-23, 50-76-27 (emergency number)


FAX: [7] (3272) 50-62-69
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay


chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416


FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
chief of mission: Ambassador Kanat B. SAUDABAYEV


chancery: 1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036


telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488


FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845


consulate(s): New York
Disputes - international demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is largely complete, but with Thailand several areas including Mekong River islets remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China and Russia to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; signed bilateral agreement with Russia delimiting the Caspian Sea seabed, but littoral states are far from any multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; border largely delimited with Uzbekistan, but unresolved dispute remains over sovereignty of two border villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and the regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; disputes with Kyrgyzstan over providing water and hydropower to Kazakhstan
Economic aid - recipient $243 million (2001 est.) $610 million in US assistance programs, 1992-2000
Economy - overview The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official Communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% in 1988-2001 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure; it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining. Kazakhstan, the largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also is a large agricultural - livestock and grain - producer. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a growing machine-building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR in December 1991 and the collapse in demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products resulted in a short-term contraction of the economy, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97, the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector. Kazakhstan has enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 thanks largely to its booming energy sector, but also to economic reform, good harvests, and foreign investment. The opening of the Caspian Consortium pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea, substantially raises export capacity. Astana has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry.
Electricity - consumption 824.7 million kWh (2001) 48.336 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 400 million kWh (2001) 50 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 3.102 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 1.317 billion kWh (2001) 48.692 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 86%


hydro: 14%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Mekong River 70 m


highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m


highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m
Environment - current issues unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges throughout the country pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (1999 census)
Exchange rates kips per US dollar - 10,443 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.02 (1999) tenge per US dollar - 151.14 (January 2002), 146.74 (2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997)
Executive branch chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001)


head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Bouasone BOUPHAVANH (since 3 October 2003) Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly


elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term


election results: KHAMTAI Siphandon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA%
chief of state: President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991)


head of government: Prime Minister Imangali TASMAGAMBETOV (since 28 January 2002)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 10 January 1999, a year before it was previously scheduled (next to be held NA 2006); note - President NAZARBAYEV's previous term was extended to 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30 April 1995; prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president


election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 81.7%, Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN 12.1%, Gani KASYMOV 4.7%, Engels GABBASSOV 1.5%


note: President NAZARBAYEV expanded his presidential powers by decree: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda at his discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities
Exports NA (2001) $10.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin oil and oil products 52.8%, ferrous metals 12.9%, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal (2000)
Exports - partners Thailand 20.7%, Vietnam 15.9%, France 7.3%, Germany 5.3%, Belgium 4% (2003) Russia 19.5%, China 7.3%, Germany 6.2% (2000)
Fiscal year 1 October - 30 September calendar year
Flag description three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band sky blue background representing the endless sky and a gold sun with 32 rays soaring above a golden steppe eagle in the center; on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in gold
GDP purchasing power parity - $10.32 billion (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $98.1 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 49.4%


industry: 24.5%


services: 26.1% (2003 est.)
agriculture: 10%


industry: 30%


services: 60% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5.5% (2003 est.) 12.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 18 00 N, 105 00 E 48 00 N, 68 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome
Highways total: 21,716 km


paved: 9,664 km


unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.)
total: 189,000 km


paved: 108,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)


unpaved: 80,900 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 3.2%


highest 10%: 30.6% (1997)
lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 27% (2001)
Illicit drugs world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 2003 - 18,900 hectares, a 19% decrease over 2002; estimated potential production in 2003 - 200 metric tons, a 11% increase from 2002); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis; growing methamphetamine abuse problem 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 NA (2001) $8.2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods machinery and parts 29.5%, energy and fuels 11.3%, electrical equipment 8.8%, vehicles 8.7%, ferrous metals 6.4% (2000)
Imports - partners Thailand 59.4%, China 12.8%, Vietnam 10.2% (2003) Russia 48.7%, Germany 6.6%, US 5.5% (2000)
Independence 19 July 1949 (from France) 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 9.7% (2001 est.) 11.4% (2001 est.)
Industries tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and steel, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials
Infant mortality rate total: 87.06 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 97.05 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 76.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
58.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 15.3% (2003 est.) 8.5% (2001 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 10 (with their own international channels) (2001)
Irrigated land 1,640 sq km


note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
23,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members)
Labor force 2.6 million (2001 est.) 8.4 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 80% (1997 est.) industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries total: 5,083 km


border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
total: 12,012 km


border countries: China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km
Land use arable land: 3.8%


permanent crops: 0.35%


other: 95.85% (2001)
arable land: 11.23%


permanent crops: 0.05%


other: 88.72% (1998 est.)
Languages Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
Legal system based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice based on civil law system
Legislative branch unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election)


elections: last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 109
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (39 seats - previously 47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, two from each of the 14 oblasts, the capital of Astana, and the city of Almaty, to serve six-year terms) and the Majilis (77 seats; 10 out of the 77 Majilis members are elected from the winning party's lists; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)


elections: Senate - (indirect) last held 17 September 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005); Majilis - last held 10 and 24 October and 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: note - the election results are for the old Senate structure; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 16 seats up for election in 1999, candidates nominated by local councils; Majilis - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Otan 23, Civic Party 13, Communist Party 3, Agrarian Party 3, People's Cooperative Party 1, independents 34; note - most independent candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other pro-government institutions
Life expectancy at birth total population: 54.69 years


male: 52.71 years


female: 56.75 years (2004 est.)
total population: 63.38 years


male: 58.02 years


female: 69.01 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 66.4%


male: 77.4%


female: 55.5% (2002)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98.4%


male: 99.1%


female: 97.7% (1999 est.)
Location Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam Central Asia, northwest of China
Map references Southeast Asia Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT


by type: cargo 1 (2004 est.)
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,064 GRT/646 DWT


ships by type: roll on/roll off 1


note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: United States 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Naval Force, Border Service, Republican Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure $10.9 million (2003) $173 million (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.5% (2003) 1% (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY01)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,456,500 (2004 est.) males age 15-49: 4,545,168 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 783,800 (2004 est.) males age 15-49: 3,629,219 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 68,563 (2004 est.) males: 163,628 (2002 est.)
National holiday Republic Day, 2 December (1975) Republic Day, 25 October (1990)
Nationality noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)


adjective: Lao or Laotian
noun: Kazakhstani(s)


adjective: Kazakhstani
Natural hazards floods, droughts earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty
Natural resources timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) -6.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines refined products 540 km (2004) crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992)
Political parties and leaders Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed Agrarian Party [Romin MADINOV]; Alash [Sabet-Kazy AKATAY]; AZAMAT "Citizen" Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSEITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [a union of opposition parties, movements, and NGOs which includes Communists, RNPK, Orleu "Development" Movement, Pokoleniye "Generation" Pensioners' Movement, Labor Movement, Association of Independent Mass Media of Central Asia, and the Tabighat "Nature" Ecological Movement]; Labor and Worker's Movement [Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu "Development" Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; Otan "Fatherland" [Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress of Kazakhstan of NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative Party of Kazakhstan [Umirzak SARSENOV]; Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan or RNPK [Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN]; Socialist Party [Petr SVOIK]; United Democratic Party (a new party not yet registered) [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan [Galymzhan ZHAKIYANOV, Uraz ZHANDOSOV, Nurzhan SUBKHANBERDIN, Mukhtar ABLYAZOV, Zhanat YERTLESOVA, Bulat ABILOV, cofounders]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director]
Population 6,068,117 (July 2004 est.) 16,741,519 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 40% (2002 est.) 26% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 2.44% (2004 est.) 0.1% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors none Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk)
Radio broadcast stations AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998)
Radios - 6.47 million (1997)
Railways - total: 13,601 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines


broad gauge: 13,601 km 1.520-m gauge (3,661 km electrified) (2001)
Religions Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.53 male(s)/female


total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas


domestic: radiotelephone communications


international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
general assessment: service is poor; equipment antiquated


domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile cellular systems are available in most of Kazakhstan


international: international traffic with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay; with other countries by satellite and by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat
Telephones - main lines in use 61,900 (2002) 1.92 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 55,200 (2002) 400,000 (2001)
Television broadcast stations 4 (1999) 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998)
Terrain mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia
Total fertility rate 4.86 children born/woman (2004 est.) 2.12 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.7% (1997 est.) 10% (2001 est.)
Waterways 4,600 km


note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2003)
3,900 km


note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers
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