» General facts
General information
Kyrgyzstan takes place in Central Asia; and it borders on Kazakhstan on the north, Uzbekistan on the west, Tadjikistan on the south and China on its East and South-East. The former Republic of the Soviet Union withdrew from the USSR in 1991 and since then it is a democratic Parliamentary Republic. The country's population reaches about 6 million inhabitants and occupies an area of 198.500 km2 and Bishkek, (formerly named Frunze), is the capital with more that 1 million inhabitants.
Longitude
Bishkek - 74 (East which is similar to New Delhi).
Latitude
Bishkek - 42 (North which is similar to Istanbul, Madrid, New York.
Elevation
Highest point is a Victory Peak (7437 m)
Lowest point is the Laikal district in the Ferghana Valley (401 m)
Average is 2750 m
Bishkek is at 750 m
93% of Kyrgyzstan is higher than 1500 m above sea level, and 41%- above 3000m.
Area
The total area of Kyrgyzstan makes up 198,500 sq. km (76641 sq. miles)
it can be similar to England and can be equal to Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Length from East to West makes 925 km and from North to South- 453 km
The total length of Kyrgyzstan's borders reaches to 4508 km.
Neighborhood Countries
China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan.
Population
over five million people
density 24 per sq. km
38% making urban, 62% - rural
51% - female, 49% - male
Nearly every sixth of the population lives in Bishkek.
The Kyrgyz make up just over 50% of the population among the other 70 nationalities. The main ones are:
The Russians make 17% of the population, Uzbeks-13%, Ukrainians, Germans and Tartars.
40% of the population is under 14 years old and 8% is over 60 years old.
Soon after receiving independence there was an extensive emigration of ethnic Russians and Germans in response to the increased number of unemployed and growing Kyrgyz nationalism.
Religion (Kyrgyzstan is a Unitarian country but most common religions include Islam (of Sunni branch), and Russian Orthodox.
Languages
The Kyrgyz language is considered to be a state language. The official is Russian (in common use especially in Bishkek area).
Life Expectancy
1995 statistics: men live at average to 63.9 and women up to 72.6
Parliament:
The Kyrgyz Parliament ("Jogorku Kenesh") is a single chamber made of 120 members.
(Since Independence - the formation of the Jogorku Kenesh has been altered several times - sometime with a single chamber and at other times with two: the Legislative Assembly (Lower House, 60 members) and the Assembly of People's Representatives (Upper House, 45 members))
Parliament is elected by a popular vote every 5 years.
National symbols
include National Flag and Emblem.
Administrative structure:
The Republic has 8 administrative districts and seven regions (named "oblasts"):
Chu Oblast,
Issyk-Kul Oblast,
Talas Oblast,
Naryn Oblast,
Osh Oblast,
Djalal-Abad Oblast,
Batken Oblast,
and the capital district of Bishkek.
The oblasts are subdivided into 39 counties (named rayons). Bishkek has 4 counties. Therefore rayons consist of 429 local communities (Ail okmotu).
Membership of international organizations:
United Nations (and its specialized agencies such as UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNHCR), IOM, WHO, FAO, ILO; CIS, GIS, Central Asian Economic Community, ECO, World Bank, IMF, EBRD, IDB, ICAO, OECD, OSCE, Intelsat, WTO - World Trade Organization, WTO World Tourism Organization, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
