Kazakhstan

Dominated by russia during much of its history, the Republic of Kazakhstan has struggled to develop a national identity after the exodus of large numbers of Russian immigrants following independence in 1991. Today, Kazakhs make up 53.4 per cent of the ethnic mix in Kazakhstan, while remaining Russians and Ukrainians constitute one-third of the population. The Kazakh economy has traditionally been dependent on oil, gas, and mining. In 2001, the Caspian Consortium pipeline stretching from Tengiz, Kazakhstan, to the Black Sea, provided a means of substantially increasing Kazakh oil exports. The government is currently negotiating with China to build an additional pipeline.

The government is now attempting to diversify the economy, in which one-fifth the workforce is involved in agriculture. Extensive natural resources include iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, and uranium. With a per capita income of $8,800, Kazakhstan ranks 81st of 232 nations in world incomes. Some 19 percent of the people live below the national poverty line. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Reports rank Kazakhstan 80th in the world in overall quality-of-life issues.

Kazakhstan borders two sections of the Aral Sea (663 miles) and the Caspian Sea (1,174 miles). With a total area of 1,049,150 square miles, the country supports a population of 15,186,000. The continental climate in some areas leads to cold winters and hot summers. Elsewhere, the climate is arid and semiarid. Kazakhstan extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains, with the plains in western Siberia giving way to oases and desert in Central Asia. Elevations vary from 433 to 22,949 feet. Southern Kazakhstan is subject to earthquakes, and mudslides are common in the Almaty area.

Kazakhstan's main river, the Syr Darya, was diverted from its course during the Soviet era to irrigate the desert. This river, along with the Amu Darya in Uzbekistan, flows toward the Aral Sea bordering the country in the south, leaving this historically vast freshwater body with almost no inflow. As a result, the Aral Sea is drying up, and is now half its original size, leaving large deposits of chemical pesticides and natural salts that turn into noxious dust storms when they are picked up by the wind. Coupled with chemical and biological warfare waste deposits, the area represents an ecological disaster on an enormous scale. Conversely, the sea level at the Caspian Sea on Kazakhstan's western border, which is also heavily polluted, is steadily rising.

As in many former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan was left with a legacy of toxic chemical sites created by the defense industry. Radiation residue from test ranges places all life forms at great health risk. Fourteen percent of Kazakhs lack access to safe drinking water, and 28 percent lack access to improved sanitation. In urban areas, where 55.9 percent of the population reside, industrial pollution is widespread. The country produces 0.5 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Kazakhstan's two main rivers, which were diverted from their course toward the Aral Sea, are also drying up. Conversely, the sea level at the Caspian Sea, which is also heavily polluted, is steadily rising.

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