Source:

06-06-2006 16:54

President: Abishevich Nazarbayev

Prime Minister: Daniyal Akhmetov

Area: 2.7249 million sq km

Population: 15.21 million

Capital: Astana (formerly Aqmola; capital since 1997)

Largest cities (1991): Almaty (former capital), 1,200,000; Karaganda, 608,600; Shymkent, 438,000; Ust-Kamenogorsk, 332,900; Taraz, 312,300; Astana, 287,000

Monetary unit: Tenge

Languages: Kazak (Qazaq), official language spoken by over 40% of population; Russian, official language spoken by two-thirds of population and used in everyday business

Ethnicity/race: Kazak (Qazaq) 46%, Russian 34.7%, Ukrainian 4.9%, German 3.1%, Uzbek 2.3%, Tatar 1.9%, other 7.1% (1996)

Religions: Muslim, 47%; Russian Orthodox, 44%; Protestant, 2%; other, 7%

Literacy rate: 98% (1989)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2001 est.): $98.1 billion; per capita $5,900. Real growth rate: 12.2%. Inflation: 8.5%. Unemployment: 10%. Arable land: 11.23%. Agriculture: grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock. Labor force: 8.4 million (1999); industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (2001 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: $10.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.): oil and oil products 52.8%, ferrous metals 12.9%, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal (2000). Imports: $8.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.): machinery and parts 29.5%, energy and fuels 11.3%, electrical equipment 8.8%, vehicles 8.7%, ferrous metals 6.4% (2000). Major trading partners: Russia, China, Germany, U.S.

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.92 million (2001); mobile cellular: 400,000 (2001). 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): 10 (with their own international channels) (2001). Internet users: 85,000 (2001).

Transportation: Railways: total: 13,601 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (2001). Highways: total: 189,000 km; paved: 108,100 km; unpaved: 80,900 km (1990). 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: 449 (2001).

International disputes: Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China and Russia to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; signed bilateral agreement with Russia delimiting the Caspian Sea seabed, but littoral states are far from any multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; border largely delimited with Uzbekistan, but unresolved dispute remains over sovereignty of two border villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and the regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; disputes with Kyrgyzstan over providing water and hydropower to Kazakhstan.

The head of state: Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, born in July 1940, won a landslide re-election of Kazakhstan for another seven-year term by gaining 91 percent of the votes in December 2005.

Nazarbayev first became Kazakhstan's president in 1991 and was re-elected in 1999. Under his rule, Kazakhstan, with a population of 15 million, has gained eye-catching achievements in economy and social affairs.

Relations between China and Kazakhstan have developed smoothly and rapidly since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992, featuring deep political mutual trust and close cooperation in economy, trade and energy

(Source：Xinhua )

 

Editor:Chen Minji