Kazakhstan
republicIndependence 16 December 1991
Kazakhstan as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 73 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.
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Geography
12 fieldsTerrain
extends from the Volga to the Altai mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oasis and desert in Central Asia
Natural resources
petroleum, coal, iron, manganese, chrome, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium, iron
Land use
- NA% arable land;
- NA% permanent crops;
- NA% meadows and pastures;
- NA% forest and woodland;
- NA% other;
- includes NA% irrigated
Environment
drying up of Aral Sea is causing increased concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; industrial pollution
People
14 fieldsPer 1,000 population
Government
Republic
19 fieldsAdministrative divisions
- 19 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast');
- Aktyubinsk, Alma-Ata, Atyrau, Chimkent, Dzhambul, Dzhezkazgan, Karaganda, Kokchetav, Kustanay, Kzyl-Orda, Mangistauz (Aqtau), Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, Severo-Kazakhstan (Petropavlovsk), Taldy-Kurgan, Tselinograd, Turgay (Arkalyk), Ural'sk, Vostochno-Kazakhstan (Ust'-Kamenogorsk);
- note - an oblast has the same name as its administrative center (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Leaders
- Chief of State:
- President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (since April 1990), Vice President Yerik ASANBAYEV (since 1 December 1991)
- Head of Government:
- Prime Minister Sergey TERESHCHENKO (since 14 October 1991), Deputy Prime Minister Davlat SEMBAYEV (since November 1990)
Political parties and leaders
- Peoples Forum Party, Olzhas SULEIMENOV and Mukhtar SHAKHANOV, co-chairmen;
- Socialist Party (former Communist Party), Anuar ALIJANOV, chairman;
- ZHOLTOKSAN, Hasan KOJAKHETOV, chairmen;
- AZAT Party, Sabitkazi AKETAEV, chairman
Elections
- President:
- last held 1 December 1991 (next to be held NA);
- percent of vote by party NA;
- seats - (NA total) percent of seats by party NA
Diplomatic representation
- Ambassador NA;
- Chancery at NA NW, Washington, DC 200__;
- telephone NA;
- there are NA Consulates General
- US:
- Ambassador-designate William Courtney;
- Embassy at Hotel Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata, (mailing address is APO AE 09862);
- telephone 8-011-7-3272-61-90-56
Economy
The second-largest in area of the 15 former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan has | vast oil, coal, and agricultural resources.
17 fieldsOverview
The second-largest in area of the 15 former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan has vast oil, coal, and agricultural resources. Kazakhstan is highly dependent on trade with Russia, exchanging its natural resources for finished consumer and industrial goods. Kazakhstan now finds itself with serious pollution problems, backward technology, and little experience in foreign markets.
The government in 1991 pushed privatization of the economy at a faster pace than Russia's program. The ongoing transitional period - marked by sharp inflation in wages and prices, lower output, lost jobs, and disruption of time-honored channels of supply - has brought considerable social unrest.
Kazakhstan lacks the funds, technology, and managerial skills for a quick recovery of output. US firms have been enlisted to increase oil output but face formidable obstacles; for example, oil can now reach Western markets only through pipelines that run across independent (and sometimes unfriendly) former Soviet republics.
Finally, the end of monolithic Communist control has brought ethnic grievances into the open. The 6 million Russians in the republic, formerly the favored class, now face the hostility of a society dominated by Muslims. Ethnic rivalry will be just one of the formidable obstacles to the creation of a productive, technologically advancing society.
Budget
revenues $NA million; expenditures $NA million, including capital expenditures of $1.76 billion (1991)
Exports
$4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
- commodities:
- oil, ferrous and nonferrous metals, chemicals, grain, wool, meat (1991)
- partners:
- Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Imports
$NA million (c.i.f., 1990)
- commodities:
- machinery and parts, industrial materials
- partners:
- Russia and other former Soviet republics
Industries
extractive industries (oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur) iron and steel, nonferrous metal, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials
Illicit drugs
- illicit producers of cannabis and opium;
- mostly for domestic consumption;
- status of government eradication programs unknown;
- used as transshipment points for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid
- US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $NA billion;
- Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $NA million;
- Communist countries (1971-86), $NA million
Communications
8 fieldsNetworkskm
Telecommunications
- telephone service is poor, with only about 6 telephones for each 100 persons;
- of the approximately 1 million telephones, Alma-Ata has 184,000;
- international traffic with other former USSR republics and China carried by landline and microwave, and with other countries by satellite and through the Moscow international gateway switch;
- satellite earth stations - INTELSAT and Orbita
Defense Forces
Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard; CIS | Forces (Ground, Air, Air Defense, and Strategic Rocket)
3 fieldsBranches
Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard; CIS Forces (Ground, Air, Air Defense, and Strategic Rocket)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Kazakhstan.” The World Factbook 1992. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/kazakhstan/1992.