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Further Reading

Economy

Kyrgyzstan is one of the poorest countries in the former Soviet Union, and it has suffered badly since the collapse of Communism thanks to a lack of resources and infrastructure. However, the country has had noticable success dismantling Soviet-era central planning, and was the first CIS nation to be accepted into the WTO. The government has also made substantial economic and fiscal policy reforms in an effort to attract foreign investment and to qualify for international aid.

Like most other Central Asian states, Kyrgyzstan has a small amount (6.5%) of arable land, which is heavily dependent upon irrigation to remain usable. Kyrgyzstan's agricultural sector was formerly designed to produce almost exclusively cotton, but currently a widespread switch to food crops is underway. Significant amounts of tobacco are also grown. In 2005, half of the population worked in agriculture and 95% of agricultural output came from small or family-owned farms.

Kyrgyzstan has large deposits of gold, and mining is becoming an increasingly valuable activity, though it puts part of the country's GDP at the whims of global gold prices. Excluding gold mining and processing, the country's industrial sector remains minimally productive since the fall of the USSR, only comprising 16% of GDP in 2005.

Large growth has occurred in the services sector since the fall of Communism as private enterprise was allowed. In 2005, 40% of the population was employed in this sector.

Though the country has only modest fossil fuel deposits, its moutainous terrain and rivers make it ideal for hydropower dams. There is great potential for Kyrgyzstan--with proper infrastructure--to be a net energy exporter.