action 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. The
Caspian Pipeline Consortium agreement to build a new pipeline from
western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea increases
prospects for substantially larger oil exports in several years.
Kazakhstan's economy again turned downward in 1998 with a 2% decline
in GDP due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in
Russia. The recovery of international oil prices in 1999, combined
with a well-timed tenge devaluation and a bumper grain harvest,
pulled the economy out of recession in 2000. 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 - $85.6 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 10.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%

industry: 30%

services: 60% (1999 est.)

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

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%:
2.7%

highest 10%: 26.3% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13.4% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 8.8 million (1997)

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

Unemployment rate: 13.7% (1998 est.)

Budget: revenues: $3.1 billion

expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1999 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 14.9% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 44.36 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 87.12%

hydro: 12.65%

nuclear: 0.23%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 44.132 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 200 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 3.077 billion kWh (1999)

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

Exports: $8.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: oil 40%, ferrous and nonferrous metal