Country Comments

Since 2010 Kyrgyzstan has averaged three children per mother. With minimal emigration its population has been growing by over 100,000 additional citizens a year and burdening a natural environment already exceeding its carrying capacity.

Agriculture accounts for about 40% of total employment and over one-third of GDP. However, more than 40% of agricultural land is degraded and over 85% of land is exposed to erosion, posing serious threats to food security and agricultural production. Air and water pollution are problematic due to mining and toxic waste.

For nearly two decades, the United Nations Population Fund fully subsidized birth control pills in Kyrgyzstan. UNFPA ended funding for contraceptives in 2015, and supplies slowly dwindled by 2017. For women in rural communities, limited access to reproductive health services also poses a serious problem. Even in areas where women enjoy regular, affordable access to contraception, education about sexual health in Kyrgyzstan is generally lacking. (1)

(1) https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/kyrgyzstans-persistent-urban-rural-divide-in-reproductive-health/