)

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: Zhengis Shingy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m

Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas,
coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper,
molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 11%
permanent pastures: 57%
forests and woodland: 4%
other: 16% (1996 est.)

Irrigated land: 22,000 sq km (1996 est.)

Natural hazards: earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty

Environment--current issues: radioactive or toxic chemical sites
associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are
found throughout the country and pose health risks for humans and
animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the
two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted
for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer
of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then
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 faulty irrigation practices

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

Geography--note: landlocked

People

Population: 16,824,825 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 2,432,519; female 2,359,375)
15-64 years: 65% (male 5,279,877; female 5,580,271)
65 years and over: 7% (male 392,934; female 779,849) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.09% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 17.16 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 10.34 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 58.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)