Kyrgyzstan

Geography

Location: Central Asia, west of China. Area: 198,500 sq. km. Principal cities: Bishkek and Osh. Tourist attractions: Ala-Archa Canyon, Lake Issyk-Kul and Osh. Time zone: GMT + 6 hours.

People

Population: 5,284,149 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 1.354% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.96 male(s)/fe-male (2007 est.). Religions: Muslim, Russian Orthodox, others. Languages: Kyrgyz (official), Russian (official). Literacy rate: Total 97%, Male 99%, Female 96% (1989 est.). Infant mortality rate: 33.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 68.81 years, Male 64.8 years, Female 73.02 years (2007 est.).

Government

Currency Capital: Bishkek. National anthem: National anthem of the Kyrgyz Republie. Government type: Republic. Inde­pendence: 31 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union). Legal system: Based on civil law system. Executive branch: Chief of state: Acting President Kurwanbek Bakiyev (since 24 March 2005). Head of government: Acting Prime Minister Almaz Atambayev (since 30 March 2007). Elections and election results: The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The elections were last held on 10 July 2005 and the next election is scheduled for 2010. Legislative branch: Uni­cameral supreme council or Jorgorku Kenesh (75 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms). Judicial branch: Supreme court (the Supreme Council appoints the judges for 10-year terms on the recommendation of the president). There is a constitutional court a higher court of arbitration, and local courts.

Economy 

 Currency: Kyrgyzstani som.GDP Purchasing power parity—$10.73 billion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 2.7% (2006 est.)- GDP—per Capita: Purchasing power parity—$2,100 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 6.4% (2006 est.). Exports: $701.8 million f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $1,177 billion f.o.b. (2006 est). External debt: $2,483 billion (2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 470 km. Roads: 18,500 km. Airports: Manas International Air­port. Telephones: 394,800 (2002). Mobile cellular: 53.100 (2002). Internet users: 152,000 (2002). Internet country code: .kg, ISD code: 996.