Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked, mountainous, lower middle income country with an economy dominated by minerals extraction, agriculture, and reliance on remittances from citizens working abroad. Cotton, wool, and meat are the main agricultural products, although only cotton is exported in any quantity. Other exports include gold, mercury, uranium, natural gas, and - in some years - electricity. The country has sought to attract foreign investment to expand its export base, including construction of hydroelectric dams, but a difficult investment climate and an ongoing legal battle with a Canadian firm over the joint ownership structure of the nation’s largest gold mine deter potential investors. Remittances from Kyrgyz migrant workers, predominantly in Russia and Kazakhstan, are equivalent to more than one-quarter of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP.
Following independence, Kyrgyzstan rapidly implemented market reforms, such as improving the regulatory system and instituting land reform. In 1998, Kyrgyzstan was the first Commonwealth of Independent States country to be accepted into the World Trade Organization. The government has privatized much of its ownership shares in public enterprises. Despite these reforms, the country suffered a severe drop in production in the early 1990s and has again faced slow growth in recent years as the global financial crisis and declining oil prices have dampened economies across Central Asia. The Kyrgyz government remains dependent on foreign donor support to finance its annual budget deficit of approximately 3 to 5% of GDP.
Kyrgyz leaders hope the country’s August 2015 accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will bolster trade and investment, but slowing economies in Russia and China and low commodity prices continue to hamper economic growth. Large-scale trade and investment pledged by Kyrgyz leaders has been slow to develop. Many Kyrgyz entrepreneurs and politicians complain that non-tariff measures imposed by other EAEU member states are hurting certain sectors of the Kyrgyz economy, such as meat and dairy production, in which they have comparative advantage. Since acceding to the EAEU, the Kyrgyz Republic has continued harmonizing its laws and regulations to meet EAEU standards, though many local entrepreneurs believe this process as disjointed and incomplete. Kyrgyzstan’s economic development continues to be hampered by corruption, lack of administrative transparency, lack of diversity in domestic industries, and difficulty attracting foreign aid and investment.
4.6% (2017 est.)
4.3% (2016 est.)
3.9% (2015 est.)
1.1% (2019 est.)
1.5% (2018 est.)
3.1% (2017 est.)
Moody's rating: B2 (2015)
Standard & Poors rating: NR (2016)
$33.918 billion (2019 est.)
$32.455 billion (2018 est.)
$31.28 billion (2017 est.)
note: data are in 2010 dollars
$8.442 billion (2019 est.)
$5,253 (2019 est.)
$5,133 (2018 est.)
$5,047 (2017 est.)
note: data are in 2010 dollars
19.5% of GDP (2019 est.)
26.6% of GDP (2018 est.)
26.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
agriculture: 14.6% (2017 est.)
industry: 31.2% (2017 est.)
services: 54.2% (2017 est.)
household consumption: 85.4% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 18.9% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 33.2% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 1.8% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 39.7% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -79% (2017 est.)
Overall score: 67.8 (2020)
Starting a Business score: 93 (2020)
Trading score: 74.7 (2020)
Enforcement score: 50.4 (2020)
milk, potatoes, sugar beet, maize, wheat, barley, tomatoes, watermelons, onions, carrots/turnips
small machinery, textiles, food processing, cement, shoes, lumber, refrigerators, furniture, electric motors, gold, rare earth metals
10.9% (2017 est.)
2.841 million (2017 est.)
agriculture: 48%
industry: 12.5%
services: 39.5% (2005 est.)
3.18% (2019 est.)
2.59% (2018 est.)
20.1% (2019 est.)
27.7 (2018 est.)
29 (2001)
lowest 10%: 4.4%
highest 10%: 22.9% (2014 est.)
revenues: 2.169 billion (2017 est.)
expenditures: 2.409 billion (2017 est.)
28.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
-3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
56% of GDP (2017 est.)
55.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
calendar year
-$306 million (2017 est.)
-$792 million (2016 est.)
$2.742 billion (2019 est.)
$2.288 billion (2018 est.)
$2.352 billion (2017 est.)
United Kingdom 56%, Kazakhstan 13%, Russia 13%, Uzbekistan 5% (2019)
gold, precious metals, various beans, refined petroleum, scrap copper (2019)
$5.477 billion (2019 est.)
$5.32 billion (2018 est.)
$4.953 billion (2017 est.)
China 53%, Russia 17%, Kazakhstan 7%, Uzbekistan 7%, Turkey 5% (2019)
refined petroleum, footwear, clothing and apparel, broadcasting equipment, walnuts (2019)
$2.177 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.97 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$8.372 billion (2019 est.)
$8.066 billion (2018 est.)
soms (KGS) per US dollar -
68.35 (2017 est.)
69.914 (2016 est.)
69.914 (2015 est.)
64.462 (2014 est.)
53.654 (2013 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Kyrgyzstan on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kyrgyzstan 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kyrgyzstan 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 16 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.