Despite nearly seventy years of Soviet industrialization Kyrgyzstan's economy remains primarily agricultural. According to World Bank statistics, agriculture contributed an estimated 44.2 percent to gross domestic product (GDP) in 1997. Grain...

The economy of Kyrgyzstan was severely affected by the collapse of the Soviet trading block. In 1990, some 98% of Kyrgyz exports went to other parts of the Soviet Union. Thus, the nation's economic performance in the early 1990s was worse than any other...

Pres. Askar Akayev's capitalist slant towards 'privatization, low customs barriers' and a stable currency has enabled the development of a commercial banking sector in Kyrgyzstan. The country currently has 18 banks, five of which are foreign-owned in keeping with its thrust to liberalize foreign...

Last December this little country tucked up against China's western border suddenly became an important American ally by providing a base for 2,000 U.S. and allied troops waging the war against terrorism in Afghanistan. It was an abrupt change in status for a new...