Thanks to the fundamental changes that occurred in Kyrgyzstan after the October Revolution, the mortality rate in the republic has decreased almost sixfold compared to pre-revolutionary times, which, combined with a high birth rate, has led to a significant natural population growth. As of January 1, 2013, the natural increase in Kyrgyzstan was 20.0 people per 1,000 residents.
Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country, with only one-sixth of its territory located at an altitude of up to 1,700 meters above sea level, yet more than 80% of the republic's population lives in this part of the territory. The population density here reaches 90 people per square kilometer (28 people per square kilometer overall in the republic).
The Osh (26 people per square kilometer) and Talas (14 people per square kilometer) regions are particularly densely populated. In the Issyk-Kul region, the density reaches 9 people per square kilometer. The least populated area is the Inner Tien Shan: in the Naryn region, for example, there are only 5 people per 7 square kilometers.
The majority of the republic's population (61%) lives in rural areas. The lower growth of the urban population in 2012 compared to 2011 is associated with the transformation of 13 urban-type settlements into rural communities.
Kyrgyzstan is a multi-ethnic republic. The indigenous population, the Kyrgyz, makes up 72.4% of the total population. There are also Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Tatars, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Uighurs, Dungans, Germans, and others—around 100 nationalities in total.
Demographic Situation in the Kyrgyz Republic
As of the beginning of 2013, the permanent population of the Kyrgyz Republic was 5 million 663 thousand people, with a current population of 5 million 408 thousand. One-third of the permanent population (34 percent) lived in urban settlements, while two-thirds (66 percent) resided in rural areas.
The population density averaged 28 people per square kilometer. The population growth in Kyrgyzstan is achieved through the excess of births over deaths, despite a negative balance of external migration. In 2012, the population growth rate reached 2.0 percent.
The highest growth rate was observed in Bishkek city—2.3 percent, in Batken and Osh regions—2.2 percent, in Jalal-Abad—2.1 percent, lower in Chui region—1.9 percent, in Talas region and Osh city—1.8 percent, and the lowest in Issyk-Kul and Naryn regions—1.2 percent.
The Kyrgyz Republic has a young population structure: at the beginning of 2013, children and adolescents made up 32 percent of the total population, 61 percent were of working age, and about 7 percent were older than working age.
A gender imbalance is noted in ages over 33, and in ages over 80, the number of women is almost twice that of men. This surplus is primarily due to differences in age-specific mortality rates between men and women. The average age of the population continues to gradually increase and, as of the beginning of 2013, was 27 years for both sexes, 26 years for men, and 28 years for women.
In the age structure of the population of Kyrgyzstan, there are still differences in changes in age groups. For example, in the group younger than working age (1 million 845 thousand people at the beginning of 2013), there is a slight decrease due to the decline in birth rates in the 1990s.
In the dynamics of the population of working age—3 million 440 thousand people at the beginning of 2013—a trend of slight decrease has emerged, partly due to the entry into working age of a smaller group of 16-year-olds born in the mid-1990s compared to the previous period.
As a result of the decrease in the share of the population of working age, the demographic load coefficient has slightly increased, amounting to 646 people at the beginning of 2013 (640 people at the beginning of 2012, 636 people in 2011). This indicator consists of the burden of children and adolescents (536 people) and individuals older than working age (110 people).
The number of individuals older than working age at the beginning of 2013 was 378 thousand people, with the majority being women, as their life expectancy is higher than that of men. Additionally, the retirement age for women is five years earlier. Thus, the share of individuals older than working age among the male population was 4 percent, and among the female population—9 percent. The excess of women in this age group over men amounted to 146 thousand people, or 2.3 times the number of men.
The decline in birth rates in the 1990s led to a reduction in the number of children, which, in turn, leads to demographic aging. According to the UN classification, a country’s population is considered elderly if the share of people over 65 years old exceeds 7 percent. At the beginning of 2013, just over 4 percent of Kyrgyzstanis were in the aforementioned age group, meaning that the process of demographic aging has not yet affected Kyrgyzstan.
As a result of emigration, as well as differences in the level of natural reproduction, changes in the national composition of the population have occurred: the share of Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Dungans, and Tajiks has increased, while the share of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews, Germans, and other nationalities has decreased. However, despite high emigration in the 1990s and early 2000s, representatives of all nationalities historically living in the country have been preserved.
In total, more than 100 nationalities live in the country, the largest of which (as of the beginning of 2013) are Kyrgyz—4 million 99 thousand people (72 percent of the total population), Uzbeks—816 thousand people (14 percent), and Russians—375 thousand people (about 7 percent). The number of Dungans was 63 thousand people (1 percent), while all other nationalities accounted for less than 1 percent, totaling about 6 percent of the country’s population.
Since the early 2000s, there has been an increase in birth rates in the country, primarily due to the increase in the number of women aged 20-29, who account for almost 65 percent of the children born in a year. Additionally, the increase in the number of marriages has significantly influenced the rise in birth rates.
In recent years, the fertility rate of women has increased from 2.8 children in 2008 to 3.2 children in 2012. Traditionally, the highest number of infants is born to women aged 20 to 30, but in recent years, there has been an increase in birth rates among both younger and older women.
Thus, in Kyrgyzstan, unlike many CIS countries where birth rates have dropped to the level of simple reproduction (to ensure simple reproduction, this indicator should not be lower than 2.1), extended reproduction of the population is ensured.
Another important component affecting the natural population growth is mortality. In 2012, the overall mortality rate was 6.5 deaths per 1,000 population.
However, as mentioned earlier, the population of Kyrgyzstan is demographically young. In this regard, in global practice, to ensure comparability of mortality levels in countries with different age structures, the standardized mortality rate is calculated (Table 2.40). According to these calculations, the mortality level of the population of Kyrgyzstan remains about 1.5 times higher than the average European level.
The greatest impact on the overall mortality of the population of Kyrgyzstan comes from deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system, which annually account for more than half of all deaths (18,570 deaths, or 51 percent of the total number of deaths in 2012) (Tables 4.1 and 4.2). The overwhelming majority of the deceased (14,297 deaths, or 77 percent of those who died from cardiovascular diseases) are individuals older than working age. Diseases of the circulatory system are also the leading causes of death among the working-age population (4,258 deaths, or 33 percent of the total number of deaths in the working-age group).
Significant causes of death include unnatural causes (injuries, poisonings, and some other consequences of external causes—3,470 deaths, or 10 percent of the total number of deaths in 2012). A quarter of these are due to traffic accidents. Mortality from unnatural causes is more prevalent among the working-age population (2,740 deaths, or 79 percent of the total number of deaths in 2012), and here male mortality exceeded female mortality by more than three times.
The third leading cause of overall mortality is neoplasms (oncological diseases—3,330 deaths, or 9 percent of the total number of deaths in 2012), which have maintained a high level, as in most CIS countries, for many years.
Following this in the structure of causes of death are diseases of the respiratory organs (2,536 deaths, or 7 percent of the total number of deaths in 2012). The highest mortality from these diseases was recorded in the Naryn region.
Mortality from certain infectious and parasitic diseases (977 deaths, or 3 percent of the total number of deaths in 2012) is typically male. The overwhelming majority of those who died from these causes were diagnosed with tuberculosis (606 deaths, or 62 percent of the number of deaths from this class of causes). Three-quarters of those who died from tuberculosis were men, and about 90 percent of them were of working age.
Maternal mortality remains high. In 2012, 76 women died from complications of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, or 49 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Infant mortality, despite a noticeable reduction in recent years, remains significantly higher than in the most economically developed countries.
In Kyrgyzstan, in 2012, 3,091 children under one year old died from various diseases, poisonings, and injuries, or 20.0 children per 1,000 live births. The main causes of infant mortality are diseases and conditions arising in the perinatal (postnatal) period: in 2012, 1,959 children under one year old died (63 percent of the total number of deaths of children under one year). Following this are respiratory diseases—425 child deaths and congenital anomalies (birth defects)—420 deaths (each accounting for 14 percent of the total number of deaths of children under one year), then some infectious and parasitic diseases—145 child deaths (5 percent of the total number of deaths of children under one year), of which 107 children died from intestinal infections, as well as accidents—76 children (3 percent of the total number of deaths of children under one year).
The higher mortality rate in Kyrgyzstan compared to the most economically developed countries negatively affects the expected life expectancy at birth—70 years for both sexes in 2012. The expected life expectancy for men is 8 years lower than for women.
Migration has a significant impact on the overall population size of the country. From 2008 to 2012, the negative net migration outflow from the country amounted to 165 thousand people. The peak of migration during this period occurred in 2010, when the April-June events took place in the country. In the following years, there was a significant decrease in the volume of migration.
This situation may be explained by the termination of a bilateral intergovernmental agreement on simplified citizenship acquisition between Kyrgyzstan and Russia (to which a large portion of emigrants were directed). A negative migration balance was noted with all CIS countries, except Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The main countries of emigration for the population of Kyrgyzstan are Russia and Kazakhstan.
Interregional population movements continue to be directed towards Bishkek city and Chui region, while other regions continue to lose population.
The demographic processes occurring in recent years in the Kyrgyz Republic are characterized by fairly high rates of population growth. A high birth rate and a stable mortality rate remain. The external migration balance remains negative, but its magnitude has significantly decreased in recent years.
