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Kazakstan
The Economy
Although Kazakstan has the potential to be a wealthy nation,
since independence it has suffered consistent and precipitous
economic decline. Reporting problems and incompatibility of data
make precise measurement of the republic's economic shrinkage
difficult, but it is generally accepted that, by the mid-1990s,
GDP had dropped to about half of what it was in 1990 (see table
6, Appendix). Despite the presence of rich deposits of natural
resources, the republic's industrial sector was developed in the
Soviet period only in specific areas such as metal processing,
chemicals, textiles, and food processing. The semiarid condition
of much of Kazakstan's territory does not preclude the export
of wheat, meat, and some vegetables.
Data as of March 1996
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