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Geography, agriculture and the economy

Geography

The Kyrgyz Republic is a mountainous country in Central Asia with an area of almost 200,000 m2. Almost 90 per cent of its territory is at altitudes higher than 1,500 m above sea level. It has a population of about 5.1 million people (2005) and an annual population growth rate of about 1 per cent. The country is the smallest of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia.

The climate is dry throughout the year, with hot summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall at higher altitudes. Pastures cover more than 86 per cent of the country’s agricultural land. They are a major economic resource for the country, and livestock breeding is the source of livelihood for a large part of its population.

Agriculture

Agriculture makes a crucial contribution to food security and consumer price stability, and is a leading source of exports.

The livestock sector accounts for about 50 per cent of agriculture’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP). The animals, mainly sheep, graze on pastures that are classified according to altitude into three categories: winter, spring-autumn and summer pastures. 

The poor state of the pastures, particularly the crucial winter pastures, is the result of fragmented administrative control and mismanagement over several decades. The quality of pastures deteriorates over time because of changes in grasses and legumes and other plant species, as productive and palatable species gradually give way to thorny bushes and weeds. A change in management practices is essential for pasture rehabilitation.

Economy

Since independence in 1991, the country has focused on restructuring the economy to halt the rapid contraction that followed the break-up of the Soviet Union. Efforts included measures to combat inflation during the shift towards a free market. In the 1990s the country pursued a market reform program, drawing on support from Western and international donors. In recent years the country’s economy has stabilized and shown strong growth as a result of the stable macro-environment and fast-growing neighboring markets.

The agricultural sector and a growing services sector are mainstays of the Kyrgyz economy. Agriculture currently represents about 34 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). 

The country was a major wool producer for markets in the former Soviet Union, but wool exports are now marginal. Gold, agricultural products and hydropower are major exports, but as the growth base broadens, non-gold sectors and services are gaining an larger share of the country’s GDP.