n 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

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km
of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome

People Kazakhstan

Population: 16,741,519 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 26% (male 2,212,985; female 2,141,392) 15-64
years: 66.5% (male 5,393,281; female 5,731,288) 65 years and over: 7.5%
(male 434,879; female 827,694) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.1% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 17.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 10.69 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.53 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 58.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 69.01 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.12 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 3,500 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

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) 64.4%, Russian (official,
used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic
communication") 95% (2001 est.)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (1999 est.)

Government Kazakhstan

Country name: Republic of Kazakhstan conventional short form: Socialist
Republic local short form: none

Government type: republic

Capital: Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in
December 1998

Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (oblys