Part 411

Imports: $439 million (1995) commodities: grain, lumber, industrial products, ferrous metals, fuel, machinery, textiles, footwear partners: Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, China, and UK

External debt: $480 million (of which $115 million to Russia) (1995 est.)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $56 million (1993) note: commitments, 1992-95, $1,695 million ($390 million disbursements)

Currency: introduced national currency, the som (10 May 1993)

Exchange rates: soms per US$1 - 11.2 (yearend 1995), 10.6 (yearend 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation --------------

Railways: total: 370 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 370 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways: total: 28,400 km paved: 22,400 km unpaved: 6,000 km (1990)

Pipelines: natural gas 200 km

Ports: Balykchy (Ysyk-Kol or Rybach'ye)

Airports: total: 54 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 9 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 32 (1994 est.)

Communications --------------

Telephones: 342,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: poorly developed; about 100,000 unsatisfied applications for household telephones domestic: principally microwave radio relay international: connections with other CIS countries by landline or microwave radio relay and with other countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway switch and by satellite; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik and 1 Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note -1 state-run radio broadcast station

Radios: 825,000 (radio receiver systems with multiple speakers for program diffusion 748,000)

Television broadcast stations: 1 note: receives Turkish broadcasts

Televisions: 875,000

Defense -------

Branches: Army, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops), Civil Defense

Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 1,096,985 males fit for military service: 890,901 males reach military age (18) annually: 44,159 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 151 million soms, NA% of GDP (1995); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

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@Laos ----

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Location: 18 00 N, 105 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand

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