ntal to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in
southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone

Terrain:
peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins encompass
entire nation

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Kara-Daryya (Karadar'ya) 132 m
highest point: Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m

Natural resources:
abundant hydropower; significant deposits of gold and rare earth
metals; locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas; other
deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc

Land use:
arable land: 7.3%
permanent crops: 0.35%
other: 92.35%
note: Kyrgyzstan has the world's largest natural growth walnut
forest (2001)

Irrigated land:
10,740 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
water pollution; many people get their water directly from
contaminated streams and wells; as a result, water-borne diseases
are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation
practices

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone
Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
landlocked; entirely mountainous, dominated by the Tien Shan range;
many tall peaks, glaciers, and high-altitude lakes

People Kyrgyzstan

Population:
5,146,281 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.6% (male 827,751/female 796,029)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 1,571,476/female 1,632,506)
65 years and over: 6.2% (male 123,992/female 194,527) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 23.39 years
male: 22.52 years
female: 24.27 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.29% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
22.48 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
7.13 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
-2.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 35.64 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 40.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 30.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.16 years
male: 64.16 years
female: 72.38