Kyrgyzstan - Country Information

Kyrgyzstan info

Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan is one of the world's six independent Turkic states, located in Central Asia, Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordering Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The country is almost completely mountainous, it is located at the juncture of two great Central Asian mountain systems (the Tian-Shan and the Pamir). The mountainous region of the Tian Shan covers over 80% of the country. Thus less than 8% of the land is cultivated. Issyk-Kul Lake in the north-eastern Tian Shan is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second largest mountain lake in the world.

Kyrgyzstan is 5.2 million (2007 estimate). The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz, who comprise 69% of the population (2007 estimate). Other ethnic groups include Russians, Uzbeks, Tatars, Uyghurs, Tajiks, Kazakhs, and Ukrainians and other smaller ethnic minorities. Kyrgyz as the country's state language, although Russian continues to be used widely. Islam is the dominant religion of Kyrgyzstan. The other faiths practiced in Kyrgyzstan include Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic.

Kyrgyzstan's natural resources include significant deposits of gold and other minerals. Also present are deposits of coal, uranium, mercury, antimony, nepheline, bismuth, lead, and zinc. Exploitable but small reserves of oil and natural gas also exist. The country's fast-flowing rivers provide hydroelectric power.

Kyrgyzstan became part of the Russian Empire in the late 1800s. In 1924 it was incorporated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as an autonomous region, and in 1936 it became one of the 15 constituent republics of the USSR, officially called the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). The republic was also commonly known as Kirgizia under Soviet rule, and Russians continue to call it that today. Kyrgyzstan became independent from the USSR in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1993 the republic ratified its first post-Soviet constitution that defined the form of government as a democratic republic.

Kyrgyzstan was the second poorest country in the former Soviet Union, and is today, the second poorest country in Central Asia. The Kyrgyz economy was severely affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting loss of its vast market. Nowadays remittances of around 800,000 Kyrgyz migrants working in Russia represent 40% of Kyrgyzstan's GDP. Agriculture is an important sector of the economy in Kyrgyzstan. Agricultural processing is one of the most attractive sectors for foreign investment. Kyrgyzstan is rich in mineral resources but has negligible petroleum and natural gas reserves; it imports petroleum and gas. Metallurgy is an important industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment in this field. The government has actively encouraged foreign involvement in extracting and processing gold. The country's plentiful water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export large quantities of hydroelectric energy.

One of the most popular tourist destination points in Kyrgyzstan is Issyk Kul Lake and ski base of Toguz Bulak.

More about Kyrgyzstan at Wikipedia

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