Kyrgyzstan

• dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan;
• subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley);
• temperate in northern foothill zone

• 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

• water pollution;
• many people get their water directly from contaminated streams and wells;
• as a result, water-borne diseases are prevalent;
• increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation practices

party to:

Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• landlocked;
• entirely mountainous, dominated by the Tien Shan range;
• many tall peaks, glaciers, and high-altitude lakes

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.041 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.962 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.641 male(s)/female

total population:

0.962 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

noun:

Kyrgyzstani(s)

adjective:

Kyrgyzstani

conventional long form:

Kyrgyz Republic

conventional short form:

Kyrgyzstan

local long form:

Kyrgyz Respublikasy

local short form:

Kyrgyzstan

former:

Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

name:

Bishkek

geographic coordinates:

42 52 N, 74 36 E

time difference:

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

• 7 provinces (oblastlar, singular - oblasty) and 1 city* (shaar);
• Batken Oblasty, Bishkek Shaary*, Chuy Oblasty (Bishkek), Jalal-Abad Oblasty, Naryn Oblasty, Osh Oblasty, Talas Oblasty, Ysyk-Kol Oblasty (Karakol)

note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

• adopted 5 May 1993;
• note - amendment proposed by President Askar AKAYEV and passed in a national referendum on 2 February 2003 significantly expanded the powers of the president at the expense of the legislature;
• during large-scale demonstrations in November 2006, President BAKIYEV and the opposition negotiated a new constitution granting greater powers to the parliament and the government;
• amendments added on 30 December 2006 redistributed some power back to the president

chief of state:

President Kurmanbek BAKIYEV (since 14 August 2005)

head of government:

Acting Prime Minister Iskenderbek AYDARALIYEV (since 28 November 2007); First Deputy Prime Minister Daniyar USENOV (since 10 May 2006)

cabinet:

• Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister;
• note - following legislative elections under the constitution, the legislature will propose and the president appoint the prime minister, and the prime minister will propose and the president appoint members of the Cabinet, except for ministers in charge of defense and security, who will be appointed solely by the president

elections:

• Kurmanbek BAKIYEV elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held 10 July 2005 (next scheduled for 16 December 2007);
• prime minister nominated by the president for approval by Parliament;
• note - the constitution calls for the legislature to propose and the president to appoint the prime minister after legislative elections, currently scheduled for 16 December 2007

election results:

Kurmanbek BAKIYEV elected president; percent of vote - Kurmanbek BAKIYEV 88.6%, Tursunbai BAKIR-UULU 3.9%, other candidates 7.5%

• unicameral Supreme Council or Jorgorku Kenesh (75 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms);
• note - the December 2006 constitution calls for 90 seats

elections:

• elections for the new unicameral body or Jorgorku Kenesh were held 27 February 2005, but the vast majority of positions remained undecided and were contested in a runoff election on 13 March 2005;
• election irregularities caused widespread protests that resulted in the president being forced to flee the country

election results:

Supreme Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA

• Supreme Court;
• Constitutional Court (judges of both the Supreme and Constitutional Courts are appointed for 10-year terms by the Jorgorku Kenesh on the recommendation of the president; their age limit is 70 years);
• Higher Court of Arbitration;
• Local Courts (judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council on Legal Affairs for a probationary period of five years, then 10 years)

• Ar-Namys (Dignity) Party [Emil ALIYEV];
• Asaba (Banner National Revival Party) [Azimbek BEKNAZAROV, Roza OTUNBAYEVA];
• Ata-Meken (Fatherland) [Omurbek TEKEBAYEV];
• Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan or DDK [Viktor TCHETRNOMORETS];
• Erkindik (Freedom) Party [Topchubek TURGUNALIYEV];
• Moya Strana (My Country Party of Action) [Medet SADYRKULOV];
• Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan or KCP [Ishak MASALIYEV];
• Party of Justice and Progress [Muratbek IMANALIEV];
• Party of Peasants [Esengul ISAKOV];
• Republican Party of Labor and Unity [Tabaldy OROZALIYEV];
• Sanjira (Tree of Life) [Ednan KARABAYEV];
• Social Democratic Party [Almaz ATAMBAYEV];
• Sodruzhestvo (Cooperation) [Vladimir NIFADYEV, Samat BORUBAYEV];
• Union of Democratic Forces [Kubatbek BAIBOLOV]

• Adilet Legal Clinic [Cholpon JAKUPOVA];
• Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society;
• For Reforms [Omurbek TEKEBAYEV, Almazbek ATAMBAYEV];
• Interbilim [Asiya SASYKBAYEVA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Zamira SYDYKOVA

chancery:

2360 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 338-5141

FAX:

[1] (202) 386-7550

consulate(s):

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Marie L. YOVANOVITCH

embassy:

171 Prospect Mira, Bishkek 720016

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[996] (312) 551-241, (517) 777-217

FAX:

[996] (312) 551-264

• red field with a yellow sun in the center having 40 rays representing the 40 Kyrgyz tribes;
• on the obverse side the rays run counterclockwise, on the reverse, clockwise;
• in the center of the sun is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized representation of the roof of the traditional Kyrgyz yurt

agriculture:

55%

industry:

15%

services:

30% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.8%

highest 10%:

24.3% (2003)

• cotton, wool, meat, tobacco;
• gold, mercury, uranium, natural gas, hydropower;
• machinery;
• shoes

general assessment:

telecommunications infrastructure is growing; fixed line penetration remains low and concentrated in urban areas

domestic:

4 mobile cellular service providers with growing coverage

international:

• country code - 996;
• connections with other CIS countries by landline or microwave radio relay and with other countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway switch and by satellite;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik, 1 Intelsat;
• connected internationally by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line (2006)

total:

470 km

broad gauge:

470 km 1.520-m gauge (2006)

total:

18,500 km

paved:

16,854 km

unpaved:

1,646 km (1999)

males age 18-49:

1,193,529

females age 18-49:

1,219,080 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

871,493

females age 18-49:

1,024,568 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

61,091

females age 18-49:

59,784 (2005 est.)

• Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary delimitation with Kazakhstan;
• disputes in Isfara Valley delay completion of delimitation with Tajikistan;
• delimitation of 130 km of border with Uzbekistan is hampered by serious disputes around enclaves and other areas

• limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy for CIS markets;
• limited government eradication of illicit crops;
• transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia and the rest of Europe;
• major consumer of opiates