Kazakhstan

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More Facts & Figures

National name: Qazaqstan Respublikasy

Current government officials

Languages: Kazak (Qazaq, state language) 64%; Russian (official, used in everyday business) 95% (2001 est.)

Ethnicity/race: Kazakh (Qazaq) 63.1%, Russian 23.7%, Uzbek 2.8%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Uighur 1.4%, Tatar 1.3%, German 1.1%, other 4.5% (2009 census)

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

National Holiday: Independence Day, December 16

Literacy rate: 99.5% (1999 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP $219.6 billion (2011 est.); $13,200 (2011 est.). Real growth rate: 7.5%. Inflation: 8.4%. Unemployment: 5.4%. Arable land: 8.28%. Agriculture: grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock. Labor force: 8.777 million; industry 11.9%, agriculture 25.9%, services 62.2% (2010 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: $88.89 billion (2011 est.): oil and oil products 59%, ferrous metals 19%, chemicals 5%, machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal. Imports: $42.13 billion (2011 est.): machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8% (2011). Major trading partners: Russia, China, Germany, Ukraine, France, Canada, Italy, Romania (2011 ).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 4.011 million (2010); mobile cellular: 19.768 million (2010). Broadcast media:state owns nearly all radio and TV transmission facilities and operates national TV and radio networks; nearly all nationwide TV networks are wholly or partly owned by the government; some former state-owned media outlets have been privatized and are controlled by the president's daughter, who heads the Khabar Agency that runs multiple TV and radio stations; a number of privately-owned TV stations; households with satellite dishes have access to foreign media; a small number of commercial radio stations operating along with state-run radio stations (2008). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 65,988 (2010). Internet users: 5.299 million (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 15,079 km (2010). Roadways: total: 93,612 km ; paved: 84,100 km; unpaved: 9,512 km (2008). Waterways: 4,000 km (on the Ertis (Irtysh) River (80%) and Syr Darya (Syrdariya) River) (2010). Ports and terminals:Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk). Airports: 97 (2012).

International disputes: Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary delimitation with Kazakhstan; field demarcation of the boundaries with Turkmenistan commenced in 2005, and with Uzbekistan in 2004; ongoing demarcation with Russia began in 2007; demarcation with China was completed in 2002; creation of a seabed boundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains under discussion; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea.

Major sources and definitions