The Kyrgyz Republic will be increasingly vulnerable to the risk of unrest, possibly violent, over the forecast period. The opposition will continue to mount public protests, but the authorities will deal robustly with dissent. The Economist Intelligence Unit expects the president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, to benefit from the administrative resources at his disposal to ensure his re-election in the presidential poll to be held in July 2009. Fiscal policy will face challenges over the forecast period, owing to the poor macroeconomic environment. However, financial support from Russia will enable the government to run larger budget deficits than originally planned in 2009-10. We have again revised downwards our forecast for real GDP in 2009, and now expect a contraction of 3%, following growth of 7.6% in 2008. The economy will continue to contract in 2010. Despite further increases in gas import prices, inflationary pressures will abate, owing to lower global prices for food, fuel and other commodities. Despite a downturn in demand for Kyrgyz exports and a fall in remittance inflows, the current-account deficit will narrow as a share of GDP as domestic demand slows. |
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| Key Reports Available for Kyrgyz Republic |
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| Total area | | 198,500 sq km | | Population | | 5.22m (end-2007 official estimate) | | Main towns | | Population in '000 (end-2004 estimates) | | Bishkek (capital): 804 | | Osh: 228 | | Jalalabad: 78 | | Kara Kul: 63 | | Climate | | Continental high mountain | | Languages | | Kyrgyz and Russian are the official languages | | Weights and measures | | Metric system | | Currency | | The som was introduced on May 10th 1993. The average exchange rate in 2007 was Som37.32:US$1; the rate on August 23rd 2008 was Som34.75:US$1 | | Time | | 5 hours ahead of GMT | | Fiscal year | | Calendar year | | Public holidays | | January 1st (New Year); January 7th (Orthodox Christmas); February 23rd (Defenders' Day); March 8th (International Women's Day); March 21st (Noruz); March 24th (National Revolution Day); May 1st (Labour Day); May 5th (Constitution Day); May 9th (Victory Day); August 31st (Independence Day); October 2nd (end of Ramadan); November 7th (Great October Socialist Revolution Day); December 9th (Feast of Sacrifice) | | SOURCE: Country Profile |
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