Nepal (2002) | Kazakhstan (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti | 14 oblystar (singular - oblysy) and 3 cities (qala, singular - qalasy)*; Almaty, Almaty*, Aqmola (Astana), Aqtobe, Astana*, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan (Oral), Bayqongyr*, Mangghystau (Aqtau; formerly Shevchenko), Ongtustik Qazaqstan (Shymkent), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Shyghys Qazaqstan (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan (Petropavl), Zhambyl (Taraz; formerly Dzhambul)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40% (male 5,346,422; female 5,007,416)
15-64 years: 56.4% (male 7,476,202; female 7,125,471) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 453,263; female 465,143) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
26.73% (male 2,271,866; female 2,200,078) 15-64 years: 66.03% (male 5,358,535; female 5,688,550) 65 years and over: 7.24% (male 412,761; female 799,513) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock |
Airports | 45 (2001) | 449 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2002) |
total:
28 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 14 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 28 (2002) |
total:
421 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 45 914 to 1,523 m: 101 under 914 m: 246 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 140,800 sq km
land: 136,800 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
total:
2,717,300 sq km land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arkansas | slightly less than four times the size of Texas |
Background | In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A maoist insugency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime. Ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, were massacred in a family dispute in 2001. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. The country is now governed by the king and his appointed cabinet until elections can be held at some unspecified future date. | Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; and continuing to strengthen relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers. |
Birth rate | 32.94 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $665 million
expenditures: $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues:
$3.1 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Kathmandu | Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998 |
Climate | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south | 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 | 9 November 1990 | adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form: Nepal |
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 | Nepalese rupee (NPR) | tenge (KZT) |
Death rate | 10.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.55 billion (FY00/01) | $12.5 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael E. MALINOWSKI
embassy: Panipokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard H. JONES embassy: 99/97A Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan 480091 mailing address: American Embassy Almaty, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7030 telephone: [7] (3272) 63-39-21, 50-76-23, 50-76-27 (emergency number) FAX: [7] (3272) 63-38-83, 50-76-24 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Jai Pratap RANA
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Kanat SAUDABAYEV chancery: 1401 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | formed Joint Border committee with India in 2001 to resolve 53 disputed sections of boundary covering an area of 720 sq km; approximately 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal, 90% of whom reside in seven UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees camps, place decades-long strains on Nepal | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan |
Economic aid - recipient | $424 million (FY00/01) | $409.6 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with nearly half of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 41% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Textile and carpet production, accounteing for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in recent years, contracted significantly in 2001 due to the overall slowdown in the world economy and pressures by Maoist insurgents on factory owners and workers. Security concerns in the wake of Maoist activity, the June massacre of many members of the royal family, and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US led to a decrease in tourism, another key source of foreign exchange. Agricultural production is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual population growth of 2.3%. Since May 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, particularly those that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements to simplify investment procedures. The government has also been cutting expenditures by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. More recently, however, political instability - five different governments over the past few years - has hampered Kathmandu's ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal has considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth. | Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also is a large agricultural - livestock and grain - producer. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a growing machine-building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR in December 1991 and the collapse of demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products resulted in a short-term contraction of the economy, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97, the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium agreement to build a new pipeline from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea increases prospects for substantially larger oil exports in several years. Kazakhstan's economy again turned downward in 1998 with a 2% decline in GDP due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in Russia. The recovery of international oil prices in 1999, combined with a well-timed tenge devaluation and a bumper grain harvest, pulled the economy out of recession in 2000. Astana has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.431 billion kWh (2000) | 44.132 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 95 million kWh (2000) | 200 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 174 million kWh (2000) | 3.077 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.454 billion kWh (2000) | 44.36 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 10%
hydro: 90% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
87.12% hydro: 12.65% nuclear: 0.23% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point:
Vpadina Kaundy -132 m highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions | radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
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 | Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995) | 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 | Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 76.675 (January 2002), 74.961 (2001), 71.094 (2000), 68.239 (1999), 65.976 (1998), 58.010 (1997) | tenge per US dollar - 145.09 (January 2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997), 67.30 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (succeeded to the throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew, King DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah)
head of government: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur CHAND (since 11 October 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also claimed the lives of most of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son, Crown Price DIPENDRA, is believed to have been responsible for the shootings before fatally wounding himself; immediately following the shootings and while still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king; he died three days later and was succeeded by his uncle |
chief of state:
President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Kazymzhomart TOKAYEV (since 2 October 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 10 January 1999, a year before it was previously scheduled (next to be held NA 2006); note - President NAZARBAYEV's previous term had been extended to 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30 April 1995; prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 81.7%, Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN 12.1%, Gani KASYMOV 4.7%, other 1.5% note: President NAZARBAYEV expanded his presidential powers by decree: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda at his discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities |
Exports | $757 million f.o.b., but does not include unrecorded border trade with India (FY00/01 est.) | $8.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain | oil 40%, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal |
Exports - partners | India 48%, US 26%, Germany 11% (FY00/01) | EU 23%, Russia 20%, China 8% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 16 July - 15 July | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun | 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 - $35.6 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $85.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 41%
industry: 22% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 30% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 10.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 84 00 E | 48 00 N, 68 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest - the world's tallest - on the border with China | landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome |
Highways | total: 13,223 km
paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (April 1999) |
total:
NA km paved: 150,000 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) (2000) unpaved: NA km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 30% (1995-96) |
lowest 10%:
2.7% highest 10%: 26.3% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West | significant illicit cultivation of cannabis and limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrone); limited government eradication program; cannabis consumed largely in the CIS; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Russia, North America, and Western Europe from Southwest Asia; developing heroin addiction problem |
Imports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (FY00/01 est.) | $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer | machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas, vehicles |
Imports - partners | India 39%, Singapore 10%, China/Hong Kong 9%, (FY00/01) | Russia 37%, US, Uzbekistan, Turkey, UK, Germany, Ukraine, South Korea (1999) |
Independence | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah) | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.7% (FY99/00) | 14.9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production | oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and steel, nonferrous metal, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | 72.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 59.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% | 13.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | NA |
Irrigated land | 11,350 sq km (1998 est.) | 22,000 sq km (1996 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council) | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) |
Labor force | 10 million
note: severe lack of skilled labor (1996 est.) |
8.8 million (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3% | industry 27%, agriculture 23%, services 50% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 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: 20.27%
permanent crops: 0.49% other: 79.24% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 11% permanent pastures: 57% forests and woodland: 4% other: 16% (1996 est.) |
Languages | Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995) | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66% |
Legal system | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | note: Nepal's Parliament was dissolved on 22 May 2002 and elections are scheduled for 13 November 2002
bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 3 and 17 May 1999 (next to be held 13 November 2002) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%; seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, two from each of the former oblasts and the former capital of Almaty, to serve six-year terms) and the Majilis (67 seats; the addition of 10 "Party List" seats brings the total to 77; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms); note - with the oblasts being reduced to 14, the Senate will eventually be reduced to 37; a number of Senate seats come up for reelection every two years
elections: Senate - (indirect) last held 17 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2001); Majilis - last held 10 and 24 October and 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 16 seats up for election in 1999, candidates nominated by local councils; Majilis - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Otan 23, Civic Party 13, Communist Party 3, Agrarian Party 3, People's Cooperative Party 1, independents 34; note - most independent candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other pro-government institutions |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 58.61 years
male: 59.01 years female: 58.2 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
63.29 years male: 57.87 years female: 68.97 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 27.5% male: 40.9% female: 14% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, between China and India | Central Asia, northwest of China |
Map references | Asia | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force | General Purpose Forces (Army), Air Force, Border Guards, Navy, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $51.5 million (FY01) | $322 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | 1.5% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,484,343 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
4,509,179 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,369,454 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
3,598,859 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 292,589 (2002 est.) | males:
163,628 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946) | Republic Day, 25 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese |
noun:
Kazakhstani(s) adjective: Kazakhstani |
Natural hazards | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty |
Natural resources | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore | 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 (2002 est.) | -6.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL, general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; National People's Front (Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Chitra Bahadur, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL, acting party president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chair]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president, Sushil KOIRALA, general secretary]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani POKHAREL, general secretary] | Agrarian Party [Romin MADENOV]; Alash [Soverkazhy AKATAYEV]; AZAMAT Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSIITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [Nurbulat MASANOV, Deputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan (RNPK); Amirzhan KOSANOV, RNPK activist; Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM, Orleu Movement; cochairmen]; Labor and Worker's Movement [Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; Otan [Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress of Kazakhstan of NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative Party [Umirzak SARSENOV]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV]; Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan or RNPK [Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups | Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director] |
Population | 25,873,917 (July 2002 est.) | 16,731,303 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 42% (FY95/96 est. ) | 35% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.29% (2002 est.) | 0.03% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) | AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) |
Radios | 840,000 (1997) | 6.47 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 59 km
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge note: all in Kosi close to Indian border (2001) |
total:
14,400 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 14,400 km 1.520-m gauge (3,299 km electrified) (1997) |
Religions | Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2%
note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995) |
Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 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: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
domestic: NA international: radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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 | 236,816 (January 2000) | 1.818 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 11,202 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) | 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north | 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 | 4.48 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 47% (2001 est.) | 13.7% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | none | 3,900 km
note: on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers |