Worldview

Current environmental issues: Radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and 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

Population: 16,731,303 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 26.73%, 15-64 years: 66.03%, 65 years and over: 7.24%

Infant mortality rate: 59.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 63.29 years

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) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66%

Literacy: 98% (definition: age 15 and over can read and write)

Government type: Republic

Capital: Astana (note: the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998)

Independence: December 16, 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Legal system: Based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Per capita GDP: $5,000 (2000 est.; derived from purchasing power parity calculations)

Population below poverty line: 35% (1999 est.)

Labor force, by occupation: Industry 27%, agriculture 23%, services 50% (1996)

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

Agriculture products: Grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock

Exports - commodities: Oil 40%, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal

Pipelines: Crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992)

Military branches: General Purpose Forces (Army), Air Force, Border Guards, Navy, Republican Guard

International disputes: Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan

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