Kazakhstan

lowest point:

Vpadina Kaundy -132 m

highest point:

Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m

total:

35 cu km/yr (2%/17%/82%)

per capita:

2,360 cu m/yr (2000)

• radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with former defense industries and test ranges scattered throughout the country pose health risks for humans and animals;
• industrial pollution is severe in some cities;
• because the two main rivers that flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts;
• these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms;
• pollution in the Caspian Sea;
• soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices

party to:

Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

• landlocked;
• Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome;
• in January 2004, Kazakhstan and Russia extended the lease to 2050

noun:

Kazakhstani(s)

adjective:

Kazakhstani

at birth:

0.94 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.52 male(s)/female

total population:

0.92 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Kazakhstan

conventional short form:

Kazakhstan

local long form:

Qazaqstan Respublikasy

local short form:

Qazaqstan

former:

Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic

name:

Astana

geographic coordinates:

51 10 N, 71 25 E

time difference:

UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

note: Kazakhstan is divided into two time zones

• first post-independence constitution adopted 28 January 1993;
• new constitution adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995, amended May 2007 and February 2011

chief of state:

President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Serik AKHMETOV (since 24 September 2012);
• Deputy Prime Ministers Yerbol ORYNBAYEV (since 29 October 2007), Kairat KELIMBETOV (since 20 January 2011), Aset ISEKESHEV (since 25 September 2012), Krymbek KUSHERBAYEV (since 27 September 2012)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• election last held on 3 April 2011 (next to be held in 2016);
• prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president, with Mazhilis approval;
• note - constitutional amendments of May 2007 shortened the presidential term from seven years to five years and established a two-consecutive-term limit;
• NAZARBAYEV has official status as the "First President of Kazakhstan" and is allowed an unlimited amount of terms

note: constitutional amendments of February 2011 moved election date from 2012 to April 2011 but kept five-year term; subsequent election to take place in 2016

election results:

Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 95.5%, other 4.5%

• Adilet (Justice) [Maksut NARIKBAYEV, Serik ABDRAHMANOV, Bakhytbek AKHMETZHAN, Yerkin ONGARBAYEV, Tolegan SYDYKOV] (formerly Democratic Party of Kazakhstan);
• Agrarian and Industrial Union of Workers Block or AIST (Agrarian Party and Civic Party);
• Ak Zhol Party (Bright Path) [Azat PERUASHEV];
• Alga [Vladimir KOZLOV] (unregistered and banned as extremist in November 2012);
• Auyl (Village) [Gani KALIYEV];
• Azat (Freedom) Party [Bolat ABILOV] (formerly True Ak Zhol Party);
• Azat NSDP [co-chaired by Bolat ABILOV and Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY];
• Azat and NSDP united in 2009, but the authorities have refused to register Azat NSDP as a single party;
• Communist Party of Kazakhstan or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN] (unregistered);
• Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan [Vladislav KOSAREV];
• National Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY];
• Nur Otan (Fatherland's Ray of Light) [Nursultan NAZARBAYEV, Nurlan NIGMATULIN] (the Agrarian, Asar, and Civic parties merged with Otan);
• Patriots' Party [Gani KASYMOV];
• Rukhaniyat (Spirituality) [Altynshash ZHAGANOVA]

• Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA];
• Almaty Helsinki Committee [Ninel FOKINA];
• Confederation of Free Trade Unions [Sergei BELKIN];
• For Fair Elections [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, Sabit ZHUSUPOV, Sergey DUVANOV, Ibrash NUSUPBAYEV];
• Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director];
• Khalyk Maidany (Peoples' Front) - an informal union between the unregistered Alga Party, the unregistered Communist Party of Kazakhstan, and several opposition-oriented civil society groups, banned in November 2012 [no formal leader];
• Pan-National Social Democratic Party of Kazakhstan [Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY];
• Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman];
• Republican Network of International Monitors [Daniyar LIVAZOV];
• Transparency International [Sergey ZLOTNIKOV]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kayrat UMAROV

chancery:

1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-5488

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-5845

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles

consulate(s):

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kenneth FAIRFAX

embassy:

Ak Bulak 4, Str. 23-22, Building #3, Astana 010010

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[7] (7172) 70-21-00

FAX:

[7] (7172) 34-08-90

• a gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue background;
• the hoist side displays a national ornamental pattern "koshkar-muiz" (the horns of the ram) in gold;
• the blue color is of religious significance to the Turkic peoples of the country, and so symbolizes cultural and ethnic unity;
• it also represents the endless sky as well as water;
• the sun, a source of life and energy, exemplifies wealth and plenitude;
• the sun's rays are shaped like grain, which is the basis of abundance and prosperity;
• the eagle has appeared on the flags of Kazakh tribes for centuries and represents freedom, power, and the flight to the future

name:

"Menin Qazaqstanim" (My Kazakhstan)

lyrics/music:

Zhumeken NAZHIMEDENOV and Nursultan NAZARBAYEV/Shamshi KALDAYAKOV

note: adopted 2006; President Nursultan NAZARBAYEV played a role in revising the lyrics

agriculture:

25.9%

industry:

11.9%

services:

62.2% (2010 est.)

lowest 10%:

4%

highest 10%:

23.8% (2009 est.)

general assessment:

inherited an outdated telecommunications network from the Soviet era requiring modernization

domestic:

• intercity by landline and microwave radio relay;
• number of fixed-line connections is gradually increasing and fixed-line teledensity now roughly 25 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular usage has increased rapidly and the subscriber base now exceeds 140 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 7;
• international traffic with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay and with other countries by satellite and by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (2008)

• 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;
• households with satellite dishes have access to foreign media;
• a small number of commercial radio stations operating along with state-run radio stations;
• recent legislation requires all media outlets to register with the government and all TV poviders to broadcast in digital format by 2015 (2008)

• condensate 658 km;
• gas 12,317 km;
• oil 11,201 km;
• refined products 1,095 km;
• water 1,465 km (2010)

total:

15,079 km

country comparison to the world: 19

broad gauge:

15,079 km 1.520-m gauge (4,000 km electrified) (2008)

total:

93,612 km

country comparison to the world: 47

paved:

84,100 km

unpaved:

9,512 km (2008)

total:

11

country comparison to the world: 109

by type:

cargo 1, petroleum tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 1, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned:

3 (Austria 1, Ireland 1, Turkey 1) (2010)

• 18 years of age for compulsory military service;
• conscript service obligation - 2 years;
• minimum age for volunteers NA (2004)

males age 16-49:

4,163,629

females age 16-49:

4,179,051 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

2,909,999

females age 16-49:

3,528,169 (2010 est.)

male:

125,322

female:

119,541 (2010 est.)

• Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary delimitation with Kazakhstan;
• field demarcation of the boundaries commenced with Uzbekistan in 2004 and with Turkmenistan in 2005;
• 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

• significant illicit cultivation of cannabis for CIS markets, as well as limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrine);
• limited government eradication of illicit crops;
• transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia and the rest of Europe;
• significant consumer of opiates