Kazakhstan

Map of Kazakhstan Republic of Kazakhstan President: Nursultan A. Nazarbayev (1990) Prime Minister: Karim Masimov (2007) Land area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km); total area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km) Population (2010 est.): 15,460,484 (growth rate: 0.4%); birth rate: 16.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 24.9/1000; life expectancy: 68.2; density per sq km: 5 Capital (2003 est.): Astana, 288,200 (formerly Aqmola; capital since 1997) Largest cities: Almaty (former capital), 1,045,900; Karaganda, 404,600; Shymkent, 333,500; Taraz, 305,700; Pavlodar, 299,500; Ust-Kamenogorsk, 288,000; Aqtöbe, 234,400 Monetary unit: Tenge National name: Qazaqstan Respublikasy Current government officials Languages: Kazak (Qazaq, state language) 64%; Russian (official, used in everyday business) 95% (2001 est.) Ethnicity/race: Kazak (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.4%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999) Religions: Islam 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% National Holiday: Independence Day, December 16 Literacy rate: 99% (1999 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2009): $182.3 billion; per capita $11,800. Real growth rate: 1.0%. Inflation: 7.3%. Unemployment: 6.3%. Arable land: 8%. Agriculture: grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock. Labor force: 7.85 million; industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (2002 est.). Industries: 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. Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium. Exports: $41.64 billion (2009 est.): oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal (2001). Imports: $25.15 billion (2009 est.): machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2001). Major trading partners: Russia, Bermuda, Germany, China, France, Italy, Ukraine (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 2.928 million (2006); mobile cellular: 7.83 million (2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998). Radios: 6.47 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998). Televisions: 3.88 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 33,217 (2007). Internet users: 1.247 million (2006). Transportation: Railways: total: 13,601 km (2002). Highways: total: 90,018 km; paved: 84 km; unpaved: 4,311 km (2004). Waterways: 3,900 km on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh). Ports and harbors: Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk). Airports: 97 (2007). International disputes: 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. Major sources and definitions

Geography

Kazakhstan lies in the north of the central Asian republics and is bounded by Russia in the north, China in the east, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the south, and the Caspian Sea and part of Turkmenistan in the west. It has almost 1,177 mi (1,894 km) of coastline on the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan is about four times the size of Texas. The territory is mostly steppe land with hilly plains and plateaus.

Government

Republic.

History

The indigenous Kazakhs were a nomadic Turkic people who belonged to several divisions of Kazakh hordes. They grouped together in settlements and lived in dome-shaped tents made of felt called yurts. Their tribes migrated seasonally to find pastures for their herds of sheep, horses, and goats. Although they had chiefs, the Kazakhs were rarely united as a single nation under one great leader. Their tribes fell under Mongol rule in the 13th century and they were dominated by Tartar khanates until the area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century.

The area became part of the Kirgiz Autonomous Republic formed by the Soviet authorities in 1920, and in 1925 this entity's name was changed to the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Kazakh ASSR). After 1927, the Soviet government began forcing the nomadic Kazakhs to settle on collective and state farms, and the Soviets continued the czarist policy of encouraging large numbers of Russians and other Slavs to settle in the region.

Owing to the region's intensive agricultural development and its use as a testing ground for nuclear weapons by the Soviet government, serious environmental problems developed by the late 20th century. Along with the other central Asian republics, Kazakhstan obtained its independence from the collapsing Soviet Union in 1991. Kazakhstan proclaimed its membership in the Commonwealth of Independent States on Dec. 21, 1991, along with ten other former Soviet republics. In 1993, the country overwhelmingly approved the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. President Nursultan Nazarbayev restructured and consolidated many operations of the government in 1997, eliminating a third of the government's ministries and agencies. In 1997, the national capital was changed from Almaty, the largest city, to Astana (formerly Aqmola).

Oil Brings Hope for Prosperity

In Jan. 1999, Nazarbayev was sworn into office for another seven years, although the election was widely criticized when an opposition leader was disqualified on a technicality. Despite his authoritarianism, Nazarbayev, who has ruled Kazakhstan since 1989 (when it was still part of the Soviet Union), is a widely popular leader. Kazakhstan has the potential for becoming one of central Asia's richest countries because of its huge mineral and oil resources and its liberalized economy, which encourages Western investment. In 2000, oil was discovered in Kazakhstan's portion of the Caspian Sea. It is believed to be the largest oil find in 30 years. In March 2001, a pipeline opened to transport oil from the Tengiz fields to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. In 2004, Kazakhstan signed a deal allowing China to build an oil pipeline to the Chinese border.

President Nazarbayev Continues to Consolidate Power and Stifle Opposition

But as its economic outlook blossoms, Kazakhstan's scant democratic principles continue to wither. In the past several years, the president has harassed the independent media, arrested opposition leaders, and passed a law making it virtually impossible for new political parties to form. In Dec. 2005, President Nazarbayev was reelected with 91% of the vote. In May 2007, Parliament voted to do away with term limits, thus allowing President Nazarbayev to remain in office indefinitely. In June, Nazarbayev dissolved parliament and called for elections in August, two years ahead of schedule. The opposition complained that the move did not give them adequate time to campaign.

Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov resigned in Jan. 2007, without giving a reason. He was replaced by former deputy prime minister Karim Masimov.

In Aug. 2007 parliamentary elections, the governing party, Nur Otan (Light of the Fatherland), won 88.1% of the vote and all 98 contested seats. The victory further consolidated power in the hands of Nazarbayev.

President Nazarbayev Absence Raises Concern

In April 2011, President Nazarbayev was elected to another five-year term, winning 95.5 percent of the vote. In July 2011, Nazarbayev's office reported that he was on vacation, but would not release where he was or what he was doing. Later that month, Bild, a German newspaper, reported that Nazarbayev was in Hamburg, recovering from prostate surgery. The report raised concerns about political instability in the country. Kazakhstan's government responded to the Bild's report with a one sentence statement: President Nursultan Nazarbayev is on a short-term leave.

The Bild reported that President Nazarbayev, age 71, responded well to the surgery and would soon be back on his feet. In October 2011, he chaired a Security Council meeting in Astana. Still, President Nazarbayev's surgery and the mystery surrounding it raised questions of a potential successor.

In November 2011, President Nazarbayev called for a parliamentary election. The election, which will be held in January 2012, is supposed to encourage a multiparty system. However, the only other party expected to participate is also a supporter of Nazarbayev. President Nazarbayev stated that the rising global economic crisis was his reason for a quick election.

See also Encyclopedia: Kazakhstan.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Kazakhstan

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