Juan de Nova Island Transportation

Railways: total: NA km; short line going to a jetty

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only

Airports: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1

914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Juan de Nova Island Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Juan de Nova Island Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: claimed by Madagascar

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@Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Introduction

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: developing a
cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the
country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets;
and continuing to strengthen relations with neighboring states and
other foreign powers.

Kazakhstan Geography

Location: Central Asia, northwest of China

Geographic coordinates: 48 00 N, 68 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area: total: 2,717,300 sq km

land: 2,669,800 sq km

water: 47,500 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)