Kazakhstan

C

Natural Resources

The mineral wealth of Kazakhstan, including chromite, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, manganese, silver, and tungsten, made it a main source of supply for the former Soviet Union. Oil and gas reserves in the area have recently begun to be exploited, and it was estimated at the end of 1996 that 0.8 per cent of the world reserves of oil and 1.3 per cent of natural gas reserves were in Kazakhstan.

D

Plants and Animals

The desert and semi-desert areas support a vegetation cover of white and black wormwood, fescue, and sand sedge and, in the northern steppe zone, groves of birch and aspen are common. In the steppe zone mixed grass vegetation predominates, with pine forests being found along river banks. The steppes and forests support a diverse population of hares, hamsters, Siberian polecats, brown bears, snow leopards, lynx, wild boar, roe deer, and wolverine, while Caspian deer, musk deer, mountain goats, and the rare and protected Saiga antelope inhabit the desert and mountain areas.

E

Environmental Concerns

Kazakhstan faces potentially severe health and environmental problems from the legacy of the Cold War. High levels of radiation have resulted from the dismantling of nuclear weapons factories, and from years of above-ground and below-ground nuclear testing. The former Soviet nuclear testing site near Semey is still heavily contaminated. Industrial pollution is also heavy in many cities.

The Aral Sea continues to suffer from the effects of run-off that is polluted by fertilizers and pesticides, and falling water levels caused by over-extraction of water for irrigation purposes have caused severe problems for fisheries projects. In the period from 1961 to 1974 the average surface area of the Aral Sea was 61,836 sq km (23,701 sq mi), but by the period from 1974 to 1985 the average had declined to 51,110 sq km (19,733 sq mi). Kazakhstan, along with neighbours Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan, has formed the Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (Ifas). Plans are advancing to build a dam separating two sections of the sea, in order to preserve the northern part at the expense of the southern part. In late 2003 Kazakhstan was one of five Caspian Sea nations to sign a framework treaty aimed at reducing the amount of sewage and waste emptied into the sea.

III

Population

With a population of 15,340,533 (2008 estimate), Kazakhstan is unique among the republics of the former USSR in terms of ethnic composition. Kazakhs are the only official ethnic group in the former USSR who constitute a minority—less than 50 per cent of the total population—in their own country. They are still, however, the single largest ethnic group in Kazakhstan, with 46 per cent of the total population. Russians, the next largest group, constitute 34.8 per cent. Population density is 5.7 people per sq km (15 per sq mi).

A

Population Characteristics

Until recently, Russians outnumbered Kazakhs in the republic. Beginning in the 19th century, large-scale immigration boosted the number of Russians and other Slavic peoples, while the number of Kazakhs declined as a result of attacks by Russian settlers and forced collectivization under Stalin. Higher birth rates among Kazakhs eventually led to the greater percentage of Kazakhs in the country. Large numbers of Germans (3.6 per cent of the total) and Ukrainians (5.1 per cent) also reside in the republic.