production:
11.6 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
14.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
11.01 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
8.696 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.8 trillion cu m (1 January 2004)

Current account balance:
$-39.02 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$18.47 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
oil and oil products 58%, ferrous metals 24%, chemicals 5%,
machinery 3%, grain, wool, meat, coal (2001)

Exports - partners:
Russia 15.1%, Bermuda 13.8%, Germany 11%, China 9.9%, France 6.6%,
Italy 4% (2004)

Imports:
$13.07 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment 41%, metal products 28%, foodstuffs 8%
(2001)

Imports - partners:
Russia 34.6%, China 15.4%, Germany 8.2%, France 5.7%, Ukraine 4.6%
(2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$14.35 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$26.03 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$74.2 million in US assistance programs, 1992-2000 (FY2004)

Currency (code):
tenge (KZT)

Currency code:
KZT

Exchange rates:
tenge per US dollar - 136.04 (2004), 149.58 (2003), 153.28 (2002),
146.74 (2001), 142.13 (2000)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Kazakhstan

Telephones - main lines in use:
2,081,900 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.027 million (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: service is poor; equipment antiquated
domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile
cellular systems are available in most of Kazakhstan
international: country code - 7; international traffic with other
former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave
radio relay and 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 hosts:
21,984 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
10 (with their own international channels) (2001)

Internet users:
250,000 (2002)

Transportation Kazakhstan

Railways:
total: 13,700 km
broad gauge: 13,700 km 1.520-m gauge (3,700 km e