Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan

— -- The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 seemingly left this tiny, mountainous republic with few prospects for forging a viable nation.

But Kyrgyzstan has done more than other former Soviet republics to implement reforms, and that effort has encouraged the United States and other Western countries to deliver foreign aid.

Agriculture dominates Kyrgyzstan's economy, and production declined precipitously following the breakup of the Soviet Union. More than one-third of the population of nearly 5 million lives below the poverty level.

Abundant hydroelectric resources provide the government with a valuable export commodity. The country also exports gold and uranium. And Kyrgyzstan's unspoiled alpine valleys are beginning to lure more tourists.

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Kyrgyzstan's popularly elected president, Askar Arkaev, has overseen transfer of many state enterprises to the private sector.

Akaev and his economic program were endorsed in a 1994 referendum and in nationwide elections the following year.

Some 75 percent of the population are Muslim. Another 20 percent are Russian Orthodox. The landlocked country shares borders with China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.