Yemen (2008) | Kazakhstan (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
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: 46.3% (male 5,239,003/female 5,047,301)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 5,781,491/female 5,585,152) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 281,121/female 296,463) (2007 est.) |
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, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock |
Airports | 50 (2007) | 488 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 17
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 33
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
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: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
total: 2,717,300 sq km
land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly less than four times the size of Texas |
Background | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. | 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 | 42.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.36 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $7.902 billion
expenditures: $8.167 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $4.2 billion
expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Sanaa
geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998 |
Climate | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east | continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 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 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] |
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 | 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.78 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.122 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $6.6 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen A. SECHE
embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
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 | Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities | 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 | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) | $610 million in US assistance programs, 1992-2000 |
Economy - overview | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth in the range of 3-4% from 2000 through 2007. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on declining oil resources, but the country is trying to diversify its earnings. In 2006 Yemen began an economic reform program designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. As a result of the program, international donors pledged about $5 billion for development projects. In addition, Yemen has made some progress on reforms over the last year that will likely encourage foreign investment. Oil revenues probably increased in 2007 as a result of higher prices. | 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 | 3.381 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 48.36 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 3.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 3.2 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 4.456 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 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: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | 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, Hazardous Wastes, 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 | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans | 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 | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 199.14 (2007), 197.18 (2006), 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003) | 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 Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Ali Muhammad MUJAWWAR (since 31 March 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Rashad Muhammad al-ALIMI cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faysal BIN SHAMLAN 21.8% |
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 | 320,600 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal (2001) |
Exports - partners | China 31.4%, India 17.4%, Thailand 16.7%, South Korea 7%, US 6.7%, UAE 4.1% (2006) | 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 | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, and of Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white 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 - $120 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.4%
industry: 40.9% services: 46.7% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 40% services: 51% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.2% (2007 est.) | 9.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 48 00 N, 68 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes | 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%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
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 | 58,100 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals | machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2001) |
Imports - partners | UAE 16.4%, China 12.8%, Saudi Arabia 7.7%, Kuwait 5.8%, Brazil 4.5%, Malaysia 4.2%, US 4% (2006) | Russia 37.1%, US 9.3%, China 9.3%, Germany 9.1% (2002) |
Independence | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (2007 est.) | 10% (2002 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair | 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: 57.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 62.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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) | 10.7% (2007 est.) | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | 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 | 5,500 sq km (2003) | 23,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) |
Labor force | 6.316 million (2007 est.) | 8.4 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force | industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 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: 2.91%
permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005) |
arable land: 11.23%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 88.72% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic | 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 Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
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: 62.52 years
male: 60.61 years female: 64.54 years (2007 est.) |
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: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (1999 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe |
Map references | Middle East | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,474 GRT/18,072 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 12 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 5, St Kitts and Nevis 1) (2007) |
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 | a Coast Guard was established in 2002 | - |
Military branches | Army (includes Republican Guard), Navy (includes Marines), Yemen Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2007) | 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 | 6.6% (2006) | 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 | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) | Republic Day, 25 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west | 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 (2007 est.) | -5.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,309 km (2007) | 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 | General People's Congress or GPC [Abdul-Kader BAJAMMAL]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Mohammed Abdullah AL-YADOUMI (acting)]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]; note - there are at least seven more active political parties | 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 | NA | 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 | 22,230,531 (July 2007 est.) | 16,763,795 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45.2% (2003) | 26% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.461% (2007 est.) | 0.17% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | 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 | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu | Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.948 male(s)/female total population: 1.034 male(s)/female (2007 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 (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems; fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity remains low by regional standards international: country code - 967; landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
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 | 968,400 (2006) | 1.92 million (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2 million (2006) | 400,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (including one Egypt-based station that broadcasts in Yemen); (plus several repeaters) (2007) | 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula | 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 | 6.49 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.16 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 35% (2003 est.) | 8.8% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 3,900 km
note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers |