Geography: Location: Central Asia, west of China
Area:
total: 198,500 sq km
land: 191,300 sq km
water: 7,200 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than South Dakota
Land boundaries:
total: 3,878 km
border countries: China 858 km, Kazakhstan 1,051 km, Tajikistan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,099
km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in southwest (Fergana
Valley);
temperate in northern foothill zone
Terrain: peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Kara-Darya 132 m
highest point: Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m
Natural resources: abundant hydroelectric potential; significant deposits of gold and rare
earth
metals; locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline,
mercury, bismuth,
lead, and zinc
Land use:
arable land: 7%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 44%
forests and woodland: 4%
other: 45% (1993 est.)
note: Kyrgyzstan has the world's largest natural growth walnut forest
Irrigated land: 9,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Environment—current issues: 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
People
Population: 4,522,281 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (male 817,229; female 800,248)
15-64 years: 58% (male 1,285,520; female 1,337,259)
65 years and over: 6% (male 104,105; female 177,920) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.37% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 22.03 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 8.65 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -9.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 74.76 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.77 years
male: 59.45 years
female: 68.3 years (1998 est.)
Ethnic groups: Kirghiz 52.4%, Russian 18%, Uzbek 12.9%, Ukrainian 2.5%, German 2.4%,
other 11.8%
Religions: Muslim 75%, Russian Orthodox 20%, other 5%
Languages: Kirghiz (Kyrgyz)—official language, Russian—official language
note: in March 1996, the Kyrgyzstani legislature amended the constitution to make Russian
an
official language, along with Kirghiz, in territories and work places where
Russian-speaking citizens
predominate
Government
Country conventional name:
Government type: republic
National capital: Bishkek
Legal system: based on civil law system
Economy
Economy—overview: Kyrgyzstan is a small, poor, mountainous country with a
predominantly
agricultural economy. Cotton, wool, and meat are the main agricultural products and
exports.
Industrial exports include gold, mercury, uranium, and hydropower. Kyrgyzstan has been one
of
the most progressive countries of the former Soviet Union in carrying out market reforms.
Following a successful stabilization program, which lowered inflation from 88% in 1994 to
15%
for 1997, attention is turning toward stimulating growth. Much of the government's stock
in
enterprises has been sold. Drops in production have been severe since the breakup of the
Soviet
Union in December 1991, but by mid-1995 production began to recover and exports began to
increase. Pensioners, unemployed workers, and government workers with salary arrears
continue
to suffer. Foreign assistance played a substantial role in the country's economic
turnaround in
1996-97.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$9.7 billion (1997 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 10% (1997 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,100 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 47%
industry: 12%
services: 41% (1996 est.)
Inflation rate—consumer price index: 15% (1997 est.)
Labor force:
total: 1.7 million
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 40%, industry and construction 19%, other 41%
(1995
est.)
Unemployment rate: 8% (December 1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $308 million, including capital expenditures of $11 million (1996 est.)
Industries: small machinery, textiles, food processing, cement, shoes, sawn logs,
refrigerators,
furniture, electric motors, gold, rare earth metals
Industrial production growth rate: 10.8% (1996 est.)
Agriculture—products: wool, tobacco, cotton, potatoes, vegetables, grapes, fruits and
berries;
sheep, goats, cattle
Exports:
total value: $506 million (1996)
commodities: cotton, wool, meat, tobacco; gold, mercury, uranium, hydropower; machinery;
shoes
partners: China, UK, FSU
Imports:
total value: $890 million (1996)
commodities: grain, lumber, industrial products, ferrous metals, fuel, machinery,
textiles, footwear
partners: Turkey, Cuba, US, Germany
Currency: 1 Kyrgyzstani som (KGS) = 100 tyiyn
More
information about KYRGYZSTAN
PEOPLE GROUPS OF KYRGYZSTAN
Kurdish Bethany
Parsee - AD2000 profile, Unreached People Group
