Saint Martin (2007) | Kazakhstan (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 3 cities* (qala, singular - qalasy); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*, Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy*, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Petropavlovsk), Zhambyl Oblysy (Taraz)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 25.4% (male 2,161,510; female 2,089,780)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 5,425,545; female 5,769,457) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 458,379; female 859,124) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock |
Airports | 1 | 488 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 |
total: 60
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 428
over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 44 914 to 1,523 m: 103 under 914 m: 251 (2002) |
Area | total: 54.4 sq km
land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL |
total: 2,717,300 sq km
land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than one-third the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than four times the size of Texas |
Background | Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished St. Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it amongst themselves in 1648. The cultivation of sugar cane introduced slavery to the island in the late 18th century; the practice was not abolished until 1848. The island became a free port in 1939; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, the populace of St. Martin voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the northern portion of the island became a French overseas collectivity. | 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 | - | 18.36 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $4.2 billion
expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Marigot
geographical coordinates: 18 04 N, 63 05 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight savings: +1 hour |
Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998 |
Climate | temperature averages 80-85 degrees all year long; low humidity, gentle trade winds, brief, intense rain showers; July-Novemeber is the hurricane season | continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid |
Coastline | 58.9 km (for entire island) | 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 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Martin
conventional short form: Saint Martin local long form: Collectivity d'outre mer de Saint-Martin local short form: Saint-Martin |
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 | - | tenge (KZT) |
Death rate | - | 10.78 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $6.6 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Larry C. NAPPER
embassy: 99/97A Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan 480091 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (3272) 63-39-21, 63-13-75, 50-76-23, 50-76-27 (emergency number) FAX: [7] (3272) 63-38-83 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | 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 | - | Kazakhstan and China have resolved their border dispute and are working to delimit their large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; delimitation of boundary with Russia is scheduled for completion in 2003 - delimitations with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are complete with demarcations underway - delimitation with Kyrgyzstan is largely complete; equidistant seabed treaties have been signed with Azerbaijan and Russia in the Caspian Sea but no resolution has been made on dividing the water column among any of the littoral states; no resolution of Caspian seabed boundary with Turkmenistan |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $610 million in US assistance programs, 1992-2000 |
Economy - overview | The economy of Saint Martin centers around tourism with 85% of the labor force engaged in this sector. Over one million visitors come to the island each year with most arriving through the Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten. No significant agriculture and limited local fishing means that almost all food must be imported. Energy resources and manufactured goods are also imported, primarily from Mexico and the United States. Saint Martin is reported to have the highest per capita income in the Caribbean. | 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 enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 - and a solid 9.5% in 2002 - thanks largely to its booming energy sector, but also to economic reform, good harvests, and foreign investment. The opening of the Caspian Consortium pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea, substantially raised export capacity. The country has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector, by developing light industry. Additionally, the policy aims to reduce the influence of foreign investment and foreign personnel; the government has engaged in several disputes with foreign oil companies over the terms of production agreements, and tensions continue. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 48.36 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 3.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 3.2 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 52.43 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 84.3%
hydro: 15.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 m |
lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water supply is dependent on desalinization of sea 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: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia), white, East Indian | 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 | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | tenge per US dollar - 153.28 (2002), 146.74 (2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.3 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007), represented by Prefect Dominique LACROIX (since 21 March 2007)
head of government: President of the Territorial Council Louis-Constant FLEMING (since 16 July 2007) cabinet: Executive Council; note - there is also an advisory economic, social, and cultural council election: French president elected by popular vote to a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the Territorial Council is elected by the members of the Council for a five-year term election results: Louis-Constant FLEMING unanimously elected president by the Territorial Council on 16 July 2007 |
chief of state: President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Daniyal AKHMETOV (since 13 June 2003) 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) |
Exports - commodities | - | oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal (2001) |
Exports - partners | - | Russia 16.2%, Bermuda 12.1%, China 11.3%, Germany 8.8%, Italy 5.5%, Ukraine 4.9%, France 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $120 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 40% services: 51% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 9.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 05 N, 63 57 W | 48 00 N, 68 00 E |
Geography - note | the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the World shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten | landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome |
Highways | - | total: 81,331 km
paved: 77,020 km unpaved: 4,311 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 27.3% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | - | significant illicit cultivation of cannabis for CIS markets, as well as limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrine); limited government eradication of illicit crops; transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia and the rest of Europe |
Imports | - | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactured items | machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2001) |
Imports - partners | US, Mexico (2006) | Russia 37.1%, US 9.3%, China 9.3%, Germany 9.1% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas collectivity of France) | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 10% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry and manufacturing, heavy industry | 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: 58.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 63.41 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, 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 | - | 23,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) |
Labor force | - | 8.4 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | 85% directly or indirectly employed in tourist industry | industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 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: 11.23%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 88.72% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles) | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.) |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Territorial Council (23 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 and 8 July 2007 (next to be held July 2012) election results: percent of seats by party - UPP 49%, RRR 42.2%, Reussir Saint-Martin 8.9%; seats by party - UPP 16, RRR 6, Reussir Saint-Martin 1 |
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: 63.48 years
male: 58.16 years female: 69.06 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (1999 est.) |
Location | island 300 km southeast of Puerto Rico | Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | - | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 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: US 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Naval Force, Border Service, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $221.8 million (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.9% (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 4,580,754 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 3,658,815 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 174,111 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848) | Republic Day, 25 October (1990) |
Nationality | - | noun: Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani |
Natural hazards | - | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty |
Natural resources | salt | major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium |
Net migration rate | - | -5.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 640 km; gas 10,527 km; oil 9,771 km; refined products 1,187 km; water 1,465 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Union Pour le Progres or UPP [Louis Constant FLEMING]; Rassemblement Responsabilite Reussite or RRR [Alain RICHARDSON]; Reussir Saint-Martin [Jean-Luc HAMLET] | Agrarian Party [Romin MADINOV]; Ak Zhol Party "White Road" [Bulat ABILOV, Uraz ZHANDOSOV, Zhanat YERTLESOVA, cofounders]; AUL "Village" [leader NA]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Otan "Fatherland" [Gani YESIMOV, chairman]; Patriots' Party [Gani KASYMOV]
note: only seven parties in Kazakhstan have been registered under the new political party law passed in July 2002 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Alash [Sabet-Kazy AKATAY]; AZAMAT "Citizen" Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSEITOV, cochairmen]; Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan [Galymzhan ZHAKIYANOV, Nurzhan SUBKHANBERDIN, cochairmen]; Labor and Worker's Movement [Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director]; Orleu "Development" Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; 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] |
Population | 33,102 (October 2004 census) | 16,763,795 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 26% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 0.17% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 3 (2007) | AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 13,601 km
broad gauge: 13,601 km 1.520-m gauge (3,661 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Hindu | Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% |
Sex ratio | - | 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 (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully integrated access
domestic: direct dial capability with both fixed and wireless systems international: country code - 590; undersea fiber-optic cable provides voice and data connectivity to Puerto Rico and Gudaloupe |
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 and 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 | - | 1.92 million (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 400,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | - | 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 | - | 2.16 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Transportation - note | nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 8.8% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 3,900 km
note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers |