In the last 15 years, the Kyrgyz Republic has implemented broad systemic reforms to create the foundations of a market economy and to become one of the most liberalized economies among former Soviet Union countries. Some 70 percent of farm land is privately owned as a result of generally equitable land reforms; and the economy is relatively open with a liberalized foreign trade regime and full convertibility of the national currency. Despite limited natural resources, it has achieved an average annual GDP growth rate of around 5 percent since 1996, rising to 7–8 percent in 2007 and 2008. The poverty rate in the Kyrgyz Republic has dropped from over 64 percent in late 1990s to around 35 percent today. Growth reduced extreme poverty even faster: from over 33 percent in 2000 to 7 percent in 2007.

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A Rocky Path to Success - July 2009 (PDF)