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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Kyrgyzstan
Index
Population: In 1994, estimated at 4.46 million; annual
growth rate 1.9 percent; 1994 population density 22.6 people per square
kilometer.
Ethnic Groups: In 1994, 52 percent Kyrgyz, 22 percent
Russian, 13 percent Uzbek, 3 percent Ukrainian, 2 percent German.
Languages: Aggressive post-Soviet campaign to make
Kyrgyz official national language in all commercial and government uses by
1997; Russian still used extensively, and non-Kyrgyz population, most not
Kyrgyz speakers, hostile to forcible Kyrgyzification.
Religion: Dominant religion Sunni Muslim (70 percent),
with heavy influence of tribal religions. Russian population largely
Russian Orthodox.
Education and Literacy: Literacy 97 percent in 1994.
Strong tradition of educating all citizens; ambitious program to
restructure Soviet system hampered by low funding and loss of teachers.
School attendance mandatory through grade nine. Kyrgyz increasingly used
for instruction; transition from Russian hampered by lack of textbooks.
Twenty-six institutions of higher learning.
Health: Transition from Soviet national health system
to public health insurance system slowed by low funding. In 1990s, health
professionals not well-trained; supplies, facilities, and equipment
insufficient, unsanitary. Contaminated water a major health hazard.
Data as of March 1996
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