Kyrgyzstan
May 5th 2010 02:18
Kyrgyzstan (pronounced KUR-gi-stahn) is a country in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. The mountainous region of the Tian Shan covers over 80% of the country (Kyrgyzstan is occasionally referred to as "the Switzerland of Central Asia", as a result), with the remainder made up of valleys and basins.
Kyrgyzstan is divided into seven provinces administered by appointed governors.
Each province comprises a number of districts, administered by government-appointed officials. Rural communities, consisting of up to 20 small settlements, have their own elected mayors and councils.
Agriculture accounts for about on third of GDP and about half of employment. Kyrgyzstan's terrain is mountainous, which accommodates livestock raising, the largest agricultural activity, so the resulting wool, meat and dairy products are major commodities. Main crops include wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, vegetables, and fruit. As the prices of imported agrichemicals and petroleum are so high, much farming is being done by hand and by horse, as it was generations ago.
Kyrgyzstan's population is estimated at 5.2 million in 2007. The country is rural: only about one-third of Kyrgyzstan's population live in urban areas.
The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz, a Turkic people, who comprise 70% of the population. The country has two official languages, Russian and Kyrgyz.
*Source of first two images.
**This article and images are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. They use material from the Wikipedia articles for Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek and Osh.
Each province comprises a number of districts, administered by government-appointed officials. Rural communities, consisting of up to 20 small settlements, have their own elected mayors and councils.
Agriculture accounts for about on third of GDP and about half of employment. Kyrgyzstan's terrain is mountainous, which accommodates livestock raising, the largest agricultural activity, so the resulting wool, meat and dairy products are major commodities. Main crops include wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, vegetables, and fruit. As the prices of imported agrichemicals and petroleum are so high, much farming is being done by hand and by horse, as it was generations ago.
Bishkek's central Ala Too Square, with the Erkindik (Freedom) Monument. Seen from a window in the National Museum.
Kyrgyzstan's population is estimated at 5.2 million in 2007. The country is rural: only about one-third of Kyrgyzstan's population live in urban areas.
The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz, a Turkic people, who comprise 70% of the population. The country has two official languages, Russian and Kyrgyz.
*Source of first two images.
**This article and images are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. They use material from the Wikipedia articles for Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek and Osh.
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