Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a central Asian country that was annexed to Russia in 1876, became a Soviet Republic in 1936, and achieved independence in 1991. The population is about 5.4 million, with a median age of 24.4 years; almost 30 percent of the population 14 years of age or younger. The people are predominantly Kyrgyz (64.9 percent), Uzbeck (13.8 percent), and Russian (12.5 percent), and primarily Muslim (75 percent) or Russian Orthodox (20 percent). The population growth rate is 1.4 percent with 23.3 births per 1,000 population, 7.0 deaths per 1,000, and net migration of minus 2.6 per 1,000; both the population growth rate and birth rate are among the highest in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics. The total fertility rate, an estimate of ...