auto-update week 48

central-asia/kg.json

@@ -312,12 +312,6 @@
     "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "0.2% (2020 est.)"
     },
-    "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
-      "text": "9,200 (2020 est.)"
-    },
-    "HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
-      "text": "(2020 est.) <100"
-    },
     "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "16.6% (2016)"
     },
@@ -740,7 +734,8 @@
       },
       "Standard & Poors rating": {
         "text": "NR (2016)"
-      }
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained."
     },
     "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
       "agriculture": {
@@ -1089,7 +1084,7 @@
         "text": "the country&rsquo;s telecom sector (specifically the mobile segment) has likewise been able to prosper; ongoing political tension, increasing repression of the media and information, and continuing problems with corporate governance may be putting a strain on further growth by reducing the country&rsquo;s appeal to much-needed foreign investors; Kyrgyzstan has been reasonably successful in its attempts to liberalize its economy and open up its telecom market to competition; the mobile market has achieved high levels of penetration (140% in 2021) along with a fairly competitive operating environment with four major players; mobile broadband has come along strongly, reaching over 125% penetration in 2019 before falling back slightly during the Covid-19 crisis; slow-to-moderate growth is expected for both segments in coming years, supported by the anticipated rollout of 5G services starting from late 2022 (2022)"
       },
       "domestic": {
-        "text": "fixed-line penetration at nearly 5 per 100 persons remains low and concentrated in urban areas; mobile-cellular subscribership up to over 134 per 100 persons (2019)"
+        "text": "fixed-line penetration at nearly 5 per 100 persons remains low and concentrated in urban areas; mobile-cellular subscribership up to over 130 per 100 persons (2020)"
       },
       "international": {
         "text": "country code - 996; connections with other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States, 9 members post-Soviet Republics in EU) countries by landline or microwave radio relay and with other countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway switch and by satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intersputnik, 1 Intelsat) (2019)"
@@ -1238,14 +1233,6 @@
         "text": "16 (mid-year 2021)"
       }
     },
-    "Trafficking in persons": {
-      "current situation": {
-        "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Kyrgyzstan and Kyrgyzstanis abroad; Kyrgyz men, women, and children are exploited in forced labor in Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and other European countries specifically in agriculture, construction, textiles, domestic service, and childcare; sex traffickers exploit Kyrgyz women and girls domestically and in India, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates; problems with police misconduct and corruption include allegations that police threaten and extort sex trafficking victims and accept bribes from alleged traffickers to drop cases; street children who beg or do domestic work are vulnerable to traffickers"
-      },
-      "tier rating": {
-        "text": "Tier 2 Watch List —<strong> </strong>Kyrgyzstan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government adopted a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) that established formal policies on victim identification and the provision of social services;  the government established an interagency focus group to accelerate implementation of the NRM and improve law enforcement investigations; authorities increased investigations but did not prosecute or convict any traffickers; the government conducted limited training on the NRM; some officials reportedly  dropped charges or tipped off suspects and allowed victims to be pressured or paid to drop charges against alleged traffickers; the government’s written plan, if implemented, would meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, Kyrgyzstan was granted a waiver per the Trafficking Victims Protection Act from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 (2020)"
-      }
-    },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "<p>a prime transshipment location; illegal drugs move from Afghanistan to Russia, and sometimes into Europe</p> <p> </p>"
     }

central-asia/kz.json

@@ -316,12 +316,6 @@
     "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "0.3% (2020 est.)"
     },
-    "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
-      "text": "35,000 (2020 est.)"
-    },
-    "HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
-      "text": "(2020 est.) <500"
-    },
     "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "21% (2016)"
     },
@@ -543,7 +537,7 @@
       "note": "<strong>note:</strong> on 17 September 2022, Kazakhstan changed the name of its capital city from Nur-Sultan back to Astana; this was not the first time the city had its name changed; founded in 1830 as Akmoly, it became Akmolinsk in 1832, Tselinograd in 1961, Akmola (Aqmola) in 1992, Astana in 1998, and Nur-Sultan in 2019; the latest name change occurred just three and a half years after the city was renamed to honor a long-serving (28-year) former president, who subsequently fell out of favor"
     },
     "Administrative divisions": {
-      "text": "17 provinces (oblyslar, singular - oblys) and 4 cities* (qalalar, singular - qala); Abay (Semey), Almaty (Qonaev), Almaty*, Aqmola (Kokshetau), Aqtobe, Astana*, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan [West Kazakhstan] (Oral), Bayqongyr*, Mangghystau (Aqtau), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Shyghys Qazaqstan [East Kazakhstan] (Oskemen), Shymkent*, Soltustik Qazaqstan [North Kazakhstan] (Petropavl), Turkistan, Ulytau (Zhezqazghan), Zhambyl (Taraz), Zhetisu (Taldyqorghan)",
+      "text": "17 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 4 cities* (qalalar, singular - qala); Abay (Semey), Almaty (Qonaev), Almaty*, Aqmola (Kokshetau), Aqtobe, Astana*, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan [West Kazakhstan] (Oral), Bayqongyr*, Mangghystau (Aqtau), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Shyghys Qazaqstan [East Kazakhstan] (Oskemen), Shymkent*, Soltustik Qazaqstan [North Kazakhstan] (Petropavl), Turkistan, Ulytau (Zhezqazghan), Zhambyl (Taraz), Zhetisu (Taldyqorghan)",
       "note": "<strong>note:</strong> administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995, the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baikonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baikonur, formerly Leninsk); in 2004, a new agreement extended the lease to 2050"
     },
     "Independence": {
@@ -585,7 +579,7 @@
     },
     "Executive branch": {
       "chief of state": {
-        "text": "President Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (since 20 March 2019); note - Nursultan NAZARBAYEV, who was president since 24 April 1990 (and in power since 22 June 1989 under the Soviet Union), resigned on 20 March 2019; NAZARBAYEV retained the title and powers of \"First President\"; TOKAYEV completed NAZARBAYEV's term, which was shortened due to the early election of 9 June 2019, and then continued as president following his election victory"
+        "text": "President Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (since 20 March 2019)"
       },
       "head of government": {
         "text": "Prime Minister Alikhan SMAILOV (since 11 January 2022); note - Prime Minister Askar MAMIN resigned on 5 January 2022 in the wake of massive protests of his government that began 2 January 2022 following a sudden, steep rise in gasoline prices"
@@ -594,10 +588,10 @@
         "text": "the president appoints ministers after consultations with the Chair of the Security Council; the president has veto power over all appointments except for the ministers of defense, internal affairs, and foreign affairs; however, the president is required to discuss these three offices with the National Security Committee"
       },
       "elections/appointments": {
-        "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held on 9 June 2019 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Mazhilis"
+        "text": "president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (prior to September 2022, the president of Kazakhstan could serve up to two terms of five years each; the legislation was changed in September 2022, reducing the maximum number of terms to one term of seven years); election last held on 20 November 2022 (next to be held in 2029); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Mazhilis"
       },
       "election results": {
-        "text": "2019: Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV elected president; percent of vote - Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (Nur Otan) 71%, Amirzhan KOSANOV (Ult Tagdyry) 16.2%, Daniya YESPAYEVA (Ak Zhol) 5.1%, other 7.7%<br><br>1991: Nursultan NAZARBAYEV elected the first president of Kazakhstan; percent of vote 98.8%, other 1.2%<br> <pre> </pre>"
+        "text": "2022: Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV elected president; percent of vote - Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (Nur Otan) 81.3%, Jiguli DAIRABAEV 3.4%, Qaraqat ABDEN 2.6%, Meiram QAJYKEN 2.5%, Nurian AUESBAEV 2.2%, Saltanat TURSYNBEKOVA 2.1%, other 5.8%<br><br>2019: Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV elected president; percent of vote - Kasym-Zhomart TOKAYEV (Nur Otan) 71%, Amirzhan KOSANOV (Ult Tagdyry) 16.2%, Daniya YESPAYEVA (Ak Zhol) 5.1%, other 7.7%<br><br>1991: Nursultan NAZARBAYEV elected the first president of Kazakhstan; percent of vote 98.8%, other 1.2%<br> <pre> </pre>"
       }
     },
     "Legislative branch": {
@@ -757,7 +751,8 @@
       },
       "Standard & Poors rating": {
         "text": "BBB- (2016)"
-      }
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained."
     },
     "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
       "agriculture": {
@@ -1287,14 +1282,6 @@
         "text": "7,915 (mid-year 2021)"
       }
     },
-    "Trafficking in persons": {
-      "current situation": {
-        "text": "human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Kazakhstan and Kazakhstanis abroad; traffickers lure victims from rural areas to larger cities with fake offers of employment; traffickers coerce or force Kazakhstani men and women into labor in Russia, Bahrain, Brazil, the Republic of Korea, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates; sex traffickers exploit Kazakhstani women and girls in the Middle East, Europe, East Asia, the United States, Central Asian and Eastern European countries and rural areas in Kazakhstan; children are forced to beg and adults and children may be coerced into criminal behavior; traffickers are increasingly using debt-based coercion; traffickers capitalize on tough law enforcement policies on migrants to coerce them to remain and leverage these policies to threaten victims with punishment and deportation if they notify authorities, which fosters a distrust in law enforcement"
-      },
-      "tier rating": {
-        "text": "Tier 2 Watch List —<strong> </strong>Kazakhstan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government adopted amendments increasing criminal penalties for traffickers, including rescinding the provision allowing alleged traffickers to pay a settlement to victims to withdraw their criminal cases; authorities developed victim identification guidelines for diplomatic staff and provided victim identification training to some labor inspectors; the government took initial steps toward improving its annual NGO funding process; the government’s efforts to identify and protect foreign victims increased; foreign victims who did not participate in criminal investigations were ineligible for services and were deported; law enforcement continued to make limited efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict labor trafficking crimes; trafficking convictions decreased for the fourth consecutive year; NGOs reported allegations of police officers’ involvement in human trafficking, but few police or other officials suspected of complicity were investigated or prosecuted (2020)"
-      }
-    },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "<p>synthetic drugs dominate the local illicit drug market, smuggled from Southeast Asia, China, Russia and Europe; however the number of domestic clandestine laboratories producing synthetic drugs continues to increase;  remains a transit country for Afghan heroin destined for Russia and Europe.</p>"
     }

central-asia/rs.json

@@ -329,12 +329,6 @@
     "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "1.2% (2017 est.)"
     },
-    "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
-      "text": "1 million (2017 est.)"
-    },
-    "HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
-      "text": "NA"
-    },
     "Major infectious diseases": {
       "degree of risk": {
         "text": "intermediate (2020)"
@@ -803,7 +797,8 @@
       },
       "Standard & Poors rating": {
         "text": "BBB- (2018)"
-      }
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained."
     },
     "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
       "agriculture": {

central-asia/ti.json

@@ -308,12 +308,6 @@
     "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "0.2% (2020 est.)"
     },
-    "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
-      "text": "14,000 (2020 est.)"
-    },
-    "HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
-      "text": "(2020 est.) <500"
-    },
     "Major infectious diseases": {
       "degree of risk": {
         "text": "high (2020)"
@@ -732,7 +726,8 @@
       },
       "Standard & Poors rating": {
         "text": "B- (2017)"
-      }
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained."
     },
     "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
       "agriculture": {
@@ -1071,7 +1066,7 @@
         "text": "the nation of Tajikistan has had to struggle through a further two years of economic hardship following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic; the strain on financial resources inevitably means a continuation of the absence of any meaningful investment or development programs for telecommunications infrastructure; the fixed line telephony and fixed broadband markets continue to languish far behind the mobile sector in terms of teledensity and penetration; with only around 6,000 fixed broadband customers (0.07% penetration), there would appear to be massive growth potential but the limited fixed line infrastructure in the country suggests there&rsquo;s little likelihood of that occurring any time soon; the size of Tajikistan&rsquo;s mobile market dwarfs the fixed line segment, with an estimated penetration rate of nearly 120%; with a number of private sector companies active in the mobile market, there been more commitment to investment in network upgrades and expansion; three MNOs have all launched commercial 5G services, initially in areas of the capital city Dushanbe; the move towards higher speed mobile services should further underpin the growth in the nascent mobile broadband market, which is still estimated to be at a relatively low penetration level of 42% (at least relative to most other Asian nations) but is predicted to be a strong compound annual growth rate of more than 8% for at least the next five years (2021)"
       },
       "domestic": {
-        "text": "fixed line availability has not changed significantly since 1998, while mobile cellular subscribership, aided by competition among multiple operators, has expanded; coverage now extends to all major cities and towns; fixed-line over 5 per 100 and mobile-cellular over 111 per 100 (2019)"
+        "text": "fixed line availability has not changed significantly since 1998, while mobile cellular subscribership, aided by competition among multiple operators, has expanded; coverage now extends to all major cities and towns; fixed-line over 5 per 100 and mobile-cellular over 121 per 100 (2020)"
       },
       "international": {
         "text": "country code - 992; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); 3 satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat and 1 Orbita"

central-asia/tx.json

@@ -313,12 +313,6 @@
     "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "NA"
     },
-    "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
-      "text": "NA"
-    },
-    "HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
-      "text": "NA"
-    },
     "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "18.6% (2016)"
     },
@@ -1048,7 +1042,7 @@
         "text": "the nation of Turkmenistan, which rivals only North Korea for its isolationism, continues to keep its telecom sector along with the broader populace under tight control; the country inched up just one point off the bottom of the world rankings for press and internet freedom in the most recent report from Reporters Without Borders; most social networks in the country are blocked, although locals do have access to the government-developed platform released in 2019; all internet users, however, need to identify themselves before logging on, and strict censorship over what can be viewed is in force; the end result is that Turkmenistan has one of the lowest penetration rates for internet access in the world (2022)"
       },
       "domestic": {
-        "text": "fixed-line nearly 12 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 163 per 100 persons; first telecommunication satellite was launched in 2015 (2019)"
+        "text": "fixed-line nearly 12 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 155 per 100 persons; first telecommunication satellite was launched in 2015 (2020)"
       },
       "international": {
         "text": "country code - 993; linked by fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; an exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat (2018)"

central-asia/uz.json

@@ -307,12 +307,6 @@
     "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "0.2% (2020 est.)"
     },
-    "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
-      "text": "58,000 (2020 est.)"
-    },
-    "HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
-      "text": "(2020 est.) <1,000"
-    },
     "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
       "text": "16.6% (2016)"
     },
@@ -720,7 +714,8 @@
       },
       "Standard & Poors rating": {
         "text": "BB- (2018)"
-      }
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note: </strong>The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained."
     },
     "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
       "agriculture": {
@@ -1224,14 +1219,6 @@
         "text": "59,136 (mid-year 2021)"
       }
     },
-    "Trafficking in persons": {
-      "current situation": {
-        "text": "Uzbekistan is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking; adults are victims of government-organized forced labor during Uzbekistan&rsquo;s annual cotton harvest; local officials in some instances force teachers, students (including children), private businesses employees, and others to work in construction and other forms of non-cotton agriculture and to clean parks, streets, and buildings; traffickers exploit Uzbek women and children in sex trafficking in the Middle East, Eurasia, and Asia, and internally in brothels, clubs, and private residences; traffickers subject Uzbek men, and to a lesser extent women, to forced labor in Kazakhstan, Russia, Moldova, Turkey, and in other Asian, Middle Eastern, and European countries in the construction, oil and gas, agricultural, retail, and food sectors"
-      },
-      "tier rating": {
-        "text": "Tier 2 Watch List &mdash; Uzbekistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; government efforts included addressing the use of forced adult labor during the cotton harvest by increasing pay to laborers and improving working conditions for voluntary workers and ceasing the forced use of students, teachers, and health care workers; third-party monitors were allowed access to the harvest to view changes; the government created a National Commission on Trafficking chaired by the regional governor in every area of the country; however, reports continued of corrupt officials requiring public sector employees to pick cotton or pay for a replacement worker with extorted penalties paid to them; fewer cases of traffickers were investigated and prosecuted, fewer victims of trafficking were identified, and fewer convictions carried a prison sentence; authorities conducted no investigations against corrupt officials extorting money during the cotton harvest (2020)"
-      }
-    },
     "Illicit drugs": {
       "text": "<p>transit country for Afghan opium and heroin destined for Russia and the European Union; also transit country for hashish, cannabis products, New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), and synthetic drugs; cannabis and poppy are cultivated in small amounts for personal use and local sale</p>"
     }