Irrigated land: 40,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment—current issues: drying up of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from agricultural chemicals, including DDT
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer
Protection
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography—note: along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two
doubly landlocked countries in the world
People
Population: 24,102,473 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 37% (male 4,556,973; female 4,413,617)
15-64 years: 58% (male 6,938,090; female 7,068,839)
65 years and over: 5% (male 443,604; female 681,350) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.32% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 23.43 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)