President: The presidency rotates every eight months between a Serb, a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and a Croat. Prime minister: Vjekoslav Bevanda
President: Nursultan Nazarbayev
Population
3,879,296
17,522,010
Life Expectancy
78.960 years
69.630 years
Capital City
Sarajevo
Astana
Largest city
Sarajevo (population: 696,731)
Almaty (population: 2,000,900)
Human Development Index
0.802
0.807
GDP per capita
$8,200 US
$13,200 US
Literacy Rate
96.7%
99.5%
Corruption Perception Index
3.2
2.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
12.3%
12.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Alijan Ibragimov ($1.2bn US)
Unemployment Rate
43.300%
5.400%
Death Penalty
Political System
emerging federal democratic republic
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Independence date
1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence completed 1 March 1992; independence declared 3 March 1992)
16 December 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Religions
Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 14%
Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Languages
Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
konvertibilna markas (BAM) per US dollar - 1.3083 (2008 est.), 1.4419 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5727 (2005), 1.5752 (2004) note: the convertible mark is pegged to the euro
tenge (KZT) per US dollar - 120.25 (2008 est.), 122.55 (2007), 126.09 (2006), 132.88 (2005), 136.04 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.400%
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
13
Location
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe
Area
51,197 km sq
2,724,900 km sq
Coastline
20 km
0 km
Climate
hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast
continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
