0.3066, (2001), 0.3067 (2000), 0.3044 (1999), 0.3047 (1998), 0.3033 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications Kuwait
Telephones - main lines in use: 412,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 210,000 (1997)
Telephone system: the quality of service is excellent domestic:
trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable,
open wire, and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates
throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones
international: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia;
linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable;
satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean),
1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 1.175 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 13 (plus several satellite channels)
(1997)
Televisions: 875,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .kw
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (2000)
Internet users: 165,000 (2001)
Transportation Kuwait
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 4,450 km paved: 3,590 km unpaved: 860 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km
Ports and harbors: Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah,
Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud
Merchant marine: total: 38 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,274,515
GRT/3,627,835 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied
gas 6, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 19 note: includes some
foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Monaco 1,
Saudi Arabia 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 7 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m:
2 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2001) 1,524
to 2,437 m: 1
Heliports: 3 (2001)
Military Kuwait
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force (including Air Defense Force),
National Police Force, National Guard, Coast Guard
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 812,059 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 486,906
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 18,309
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1,967,300,000 (FY01) note:
Kuwait is changing its fiscal year; the above figure is for July-March
2001; future budget years will be April-March annually
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 5.5% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Kuwait
Disputes - international: in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the
UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security
Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally
ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands, although
the Iraqi Government continues periodic rhetorical challenges
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Kazakhstan
Introduction
Kazakhstan
Background: Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes
who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a
single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century and
Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s
agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to
help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants
(mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the
ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence
has caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include:
the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets;
achieving a sustainable economic growth outside the oil, gas, and mining
sectors; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other
foreign powers.
Geography Kazakhstan
Location: Central Asia, northwest of China
Geographic coordinates: 48 00 N, 68 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 2,717,300 sq km water: 47,500 sq km land: 2,669,800 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than four times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total: 12,012 km border countries: China 1,533 km,
Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan
2,203 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked); note - Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now
split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
Terrain: extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the
plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m highest point:
Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m
Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal,
iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum,
lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: 0% other: 89% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 23,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty
Environment - current issues: radioactive or toxic chemical sites
associated with its former defense industries and test ranges throughout
the country pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution
is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which 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
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km
of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome
People Kazakhstan
Population: 16,741,519 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26% (male 2,212,985; female 2,141,392) 15-64
years: 66.5% (male 5,393,281; female 5,731,288) 65 years and over: 7.5%
(male 434,879; female 827,694) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.1% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 17.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 10.69 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.53 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 58.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 69.01 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.12 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 3,500 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Kazakhstani(s) adjective: Kazakhstani
Ethnic groups: Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%,
Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (1999 census)
Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Languages: Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official,
used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic
communication") 95% (2001 est.)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (1999 est.)
Government Kazakhstan
Country name: Republic of Kazakhstan conventional short form: Socialist
Republic local short form: none
Government type: republic
Capital: Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in
December 1998
Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys)
and 3 cities* (qala, singular - qalasy); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*,
Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy,
Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy*, Mangghystau Oblysy
(Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy,
Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan
Oblysy (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Petropavlovsk), Zhambyl
Oblysy (Taraz) note: administrative divisions have the same names as
their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center
name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan
and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a
period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space
launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk)
Independence: 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday: Republic Day, 25 October (1990)
Constitution: adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first
post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: 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 Imangali TASMAGAMBETOV
(since 28 January 2002)
Council of Ministers appointed by the president election results:
A. NAZARBAYEV 81.7%, Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN 12.1%, Gani KASYMOV 4.7%,
Engels GABBASSOV 1.5% note: President NAZARBAYEV expanded his presidential
powers by decree: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint
and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda at his
discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
election last held 10 January 1999, a year before it was previously
scheduled (next to be held NA 2006); note - President NAZARBAYEV's
previous term was extended to 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30
April 1995; prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by
the president
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (39
seats - previously 47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president;
other members are popularly elected, two from each of the 14 oblasts,
the capital of Astana, and the city of Almaty, to serve six-year
terms) and the Majilis (77 seats; 10 out of the 77 Majilis members are
elected from the winning party's lists; members are popularly elected
to serve five-year terms) election results: note - the election results
are for the old Senate structure; Senate - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - NA; 16 seats up for election in 1999, candidates
nominated by local councils; Majilis - percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - Otan 23, Civic Party 13, Communist Party 3, Agrarian
Party 3, People's Cooperative Party 1, independents 34; note - most
independent candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and
other pro-government institutions elections: Senate - (indirect) last
held 17 September 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005); Majilis -
last held 10 and 24 October and 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council
(7 members)
Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party [Romin MADINOV]; Alash
[Sabet-Kazy AKATAY]; AZAMAT "Citizen" Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat
AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSEITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV,
first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN,
first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [a union of opposition
parties, movements, and NGOs which includes Communists, RNPK, Orleu
"Development" Movement, Pokoleniye "Generation" Pensioners' Movement,
Labor Movement, Association of Independent Mass Media of Central Asia, and
the Tabighat "Nature" Ecological Movement]; Labor and Worker's Movement
[Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu "Development" Movement [Seidakhmet
KUTTYKADAM]; Otan "Fatherland" [Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners
Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress
of Kazakhstan of NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative
Party of Kazakhstan [Umirzak SARSENOV]; Republican People's Party of
Kazakhstan or RNPK [Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN]; Socialist Party [Petr SVOIK];
United Democratic Party (a new party not yet registered) [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA];
Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan [Galymzhan ZHAKIYANOV, Uraz ZHANDOSOV,
Nurzhan SUBKHANBERDIN, Mukhtar ABLYAZOV, Zhanat YERTLESOVA, Bulat ABILOV,
cofounders]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy
ZHOVTIS, executive director]
International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD,
ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS
(associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM
(observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Kanat B. SAUDABAYEV chancery: 1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC
20036 consulate(s): New York FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845 telephone: [1]
(202) 232-5488
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Larry C. NAPPER embassy: 99/97A Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of
Kazakhstan 480091 mailing address: American Embassy Almaty, Department
of State, Washington, DC 20521-7030 telephone: (3272) 63-38-83, 50-76-24
Flag description: sky blue background representing the endless sky and a
gold sun with 32 rays soaring above a golden steppe eagle in the center;
on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in gold
Economy Kazakhstan
Economy - overview: Kazakhstan, the largest of the former Soviet
republics in territory, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil
fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and
metals. It also is a large agricultural - livestock and grain -
producer. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction
and processing of these natural resources and also on a growing
machine-building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors,
agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR
in December 1991 and the collapse in demand for Kazakhstan's traditional
heavy industry products resulted in a short-term contraction of the
economy, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97,
the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization
quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private
sector. Kazakhstan has enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 thanks
largely to its booming energy sector, but also to economic reform, good
harvests, and foreign investment. The opening of the Caspian Consortium
pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to the
Black Sea, substantially raises export capacity. Astana has embarked
upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from
overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $98.1 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 12.2% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10% industry: 30% services:
60% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 26% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 27.3% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 35.4 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 8.4 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50%
(2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 10% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $4.2 billion expenditures: $5.1 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc,
copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and
steel, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors,
construction materials
Industrial production growth rate: 11.4% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 48.692 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 86.4% hydro: 13.6%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 48.336 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 50 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 3.102 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool,
livestock
Exports: $10.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: oil and oil products 52.8%, ferrous metals 12.9%,
machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal (2000)
Exports - partners: Russia 19.5%, China 7.3%, Germany 6.2% (2000)
Imports: $8.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and parts 29.5%, energy and fuels 11.3%,
electrical equipment 8.8%, vehicles 8.7%, ferrous metals 6.4% (2000)
Imports - partners: Russia 48.7%, Germany 6.6%, US 5.5% (2000)
Debt - external: $11.6 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $610 million in US assistance programs,
1992-2000
Currency: tenge (KZT)
Currency code: KZT
Exchange rates: tenge per US dollar - 151.14 (January 2002), 146.74
(2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Kazakhstan
Telephones - main lines in use: 1.92 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 400,000 (2001)
Telephone system: service is poor; equipment antiquated domestic: are
available in most of Kazakhstan international: international traffic
with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and
microwave radio relay; with other countries by satellite and by the
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; satellite earth stations -
2 Intelsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998)
Radios: 6.47 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998)
Televisions: 3.88 million (1997)
Internet country code: .kz
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10 (with their own international
channels) (2001)
Internet users: 85,000 (2001)
Transportation Kazakhstan
Railways: total: 13,601 km in common carrier service; does not
include industrial lines broad gauge: 13,601 km 1.520-m gauge (3,661 km
electrified) (2001)
Highways: total: 189,000 km paved: 108,100 km (includes some all-weather
gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 80,900 km (these roads are made of
unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Waterways: 3,900 km note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis
(Irtysh) rivers
Pipelines: crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas
3,480 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen
(Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk)
Merchant marine: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,064 GRT/646
DWT note: United States 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: roll on/roll off 1
Airports: 449 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 28 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047
m: 14 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: Military
Kazakhstan
Military branches: Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Naval
Force, Border Service, Republican Guard
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 4,545,168 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 3,629,219
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 163,628
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $173 million (Ministry of Defense
expenditures) (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (Ministry of Defense
expenditures) (FY01)
Transnational Issues Kazakhstan
Disputes - international: Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China and
Russia to delimit its large open borders to control population migration,
illegal activities, and trade; signed bilateral agreement with Russia
delimiting the Caspian Sea seabed, but littoral states are far from
any multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes
- Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors
while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally
agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; border largely delimited with
Uzbekistan, but unresolved dispute remains over sovereignty of two border
villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited
water resources and the regional environmental degradation caused by
the shrinking of the Aral Sea; disputes with Kyrgyzstan over providing
water and hydropower to Kazakhstan
Illicit drugs: significant illicit cultivation of cannabis and limited
cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrone); limited
government eradication program; cannabis consumed largely in the CIS; used
as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Russia, North America, and
Western Europe from Southwest Asia; developing heroin addiction problem
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Laos
Introduction
Laos
Background: In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the
government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to
Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private
enterprise, an easing of foreign investment laws, and the admission into
ASEAN in 1997.
Geography Laos
Location: Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
Geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 236,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km land: 230,800 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Utah
Land boundaries: total: 5,083 km border countries: Burma 235 km,
Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season
(December to April)
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mekong River 70 m highest point:
Phou Bia 2,817 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 0% other: 96% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,640 sq km note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km;
dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: floods, droughts
Environment - current issues: unexploded ordnance; deforestation;
soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to
potable water
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and
thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary
with Thailand
People Laos
Population: 5,777,180 (July 2002 est.)