Ethnicity/race: Kyrgyz 64.9%, Uzbek 13.8%, Russian 12.5%, Dungan
1.1%, Ukrainian 1%, Uygur 1%, other 5.7% (1999)
Religions: Islam 75%; Russian Orthodox 20%; other 5%
Literacy rate: 97% (1989 est.)
Economic summary:GDP/PPP (2005 est.):
$9.033 billion; per capita $1,800. Real growth rate: 2%.
Inflation: 4.2%. Unemployment: 18% (2004 est.).
Arable land: 7%. Agriculture: tobacco, cotton, potatoes,
vegetables, grapes, fruits and berries; sheep, goats, cattle, wool.
Labor force: 2.7 million (2000); agriculture 55%, industry 15%,
services 30% (2000 est.). Industries: small machinery,
textiles, food processing, cement, shoes, sawn logs, refrigerators,
furniture, electric motors, gold, rare earth metals. Natural
resources: abundant hydropower; significant deposits of gold and
rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas;
other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc.
Exports: $759 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): cotton, wool, meat,
tobacco; gold, mercury, uranium, natural gas, hydropower; machinery;
shoes. Imports: $937.4 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): oil and gas,
machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs. Major trading
partners: UAE, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Turkey
(2004).
Communications: Telephones:
main lines in use: 351,000 (1997); mobile cellular: n.a. Radio
broadcast stations: AM 12 (plus 10 repeater stations), FM 14,
shortwave 2 (1998). Radios: 520,000 (1997). Television
broadcast stations: n.a. (repeater stations throughout the country
relay programs from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey)
(1997). Televisions: 210,000 (1997). Internet Service
Providers (ISPs): n.a. Internet users: 51,600 (2001).
Transportation: Railways: 420 km (2002).
Highways: total: 18,500 km; paved: 16,854 km (including 140 km
of expressways); unpaved: 1,646 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 600
km (1990). Ports and harbors: Balykchy (Ysyk-Kol or Rybach'ye).
Airports: 68 (2002).
International
disputes: Kyrgyzstan's constitutional court has ruled that 1,270
sq km ceded to China in a 2000 delimitation agreement were legally
transferred; delimitation with Kazakhstan is largely complete with
only minor disputed areas; disputes in Isfara Valley delay completion
of delimitation with Tajikistan; serious disputes with Uzbekistan
around Uzbek enclaves mar progress on delimitation efforts.
Kyrgyzstan (formerly Kirghizia) is a rugged country with the Tien Shan
mountain range covering approximately 95% of the whole territory. The
mountaintops are perennially covered with snow and glaciers. Kyrgyzstan
borders Kazakhstan on the north and northwest, Uzbekistan in the
southwest, Tajikistan in the south, and China in the southeast. The
republic is the same size in area as the state of Nebraska.
Government
Constitutional republic.
History
The native Kyrgyz are a Turkic people who in ancient times first
settled in the Tien Shan mountains. They were traditionally pastoral
nomads. There was extensive Russian colonization in the 1900s and Russian
settlers were given much of the best agricultural land. This led to an
unsuccessful and disastrous revolt by the Kyrgyz people in 1916.
Kyrgyzstan became part of the Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1924
and was made an autonomous republic in 1926. It became a constituent
republic of the USSR in 1936. The Soviets forced the Kyrgyz to abandon
their nomadic culture and brought modern farming and industrial production
techniques into their society.
Kyrgyzstan proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union on Aug.
31, 1991. On Dec. 21, 1991, Kyrgyzstan joined the Commonwealth of
Independent States. The country joined the UN and the IMF in 1992 and
adopted a shock-therapy economic program. Voters endorsed market reforms
in a referendum held in Jan. 1994, and in 1996, referendum voters
overwhelmingly endorsed proposed constitutional changes that enhanced the
power of the president.
There is an ethnic and economic divide between the more developed north
with its Kyrgyz population and the impoverished south, which is made up of
Uzbeks and a diverse group of other ethnicities. About 50% of the entire
population lived below the poverty line in 2003.
Since 1999, several groups of radical Islamic gunmen, believed to be
from Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, have led raids and kidnappings from camps
in Kyrgyzstan's mountains.
In elections held on Oct. 30, 2000, President Askar Akayev easily won
reelection with nearly 75% of the vote. The election, however, was marred
by allegations of fraud, diminishing Kyrgyzstan’s claim to be the
centerpiece of central Asian democracy. Once a popular leader, Akayev's
standing has diminished as a result of accusations of nepotism and
corruption.
In 2001, Kyrgyzstan permitted troops from the U.S. and seven other
nations to be stationed in the country in support of efforts to fight
against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in neighboring Afghanistan. In 2002,
construction of a large U.S. airbase began outside of Bishkek. In Feb.
2003, a controversial referendum expanded Akayev's powers, and in June
parliament granted him lifelong immunity from prosecution.
February and March 2005 parliamentary elections were judged by
international observers and opposition leaders to be flawed, and they set
off violent protests in the country. On March 24, as the protests spread
to the capital, President Akayev fled the country, and he announced his
resignation on April 4. Opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev served as
interim president and prime minister until the July 10 election, in which
he won the presidency with 88.7% of the vote. Felix Kulov became the prime
minister. An opposition leader, he had been imprisoned by former president
Akayev until the March 24 coup.
During 2006, numerous public protests took place demanding
constitutional reform and pressuring the government to clean up
corruption. In response to the protests, President Bakiyev signed a new
constitution in November that limited his powers. A month later, however,
Parliament—under pressure from Bakiyev—restored some of his
powers. Prime Minister Kulov resigned in December. Parliament twice
thwarted Bakiyev's efforts to reinstate Kulov. In January 2007, it
approved Azim Isabekov as prime minister. He resigned the post in March,
and Bakiyev named prominent opposition leader Almaz Atambayev as prime
minister, temporarily averting a political crisis.
In an October 2007 referendum, voters approved a new constitution and
election laws proposed by President Bakiyev, who said the changes
increased the power of Parliament and created a balance of power. The
opposition, however, claimed they further strengthened the presidency.
After the vote, which monitors called flawed, Bakiyev called for new
elections. He fired Prime Minister Almaz Atambayev in November. The
opposition claimed Bakiyev was attempting to solidify his power ahead of
elections. In December Parliamentary elections, Bakiyev's party, Ak Zhol,
breezed to victory. The opposition, which trailed far behind, alleged the
vote was rigged.
