The president, who is head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is head of government. There is a bicameral parliament. Judges of the three high courts are appointed by the president. Medical care is free, but substandard. Kyrgyzstan's standard of living and educational and economic levels are among the lowest of the former Soviet republics.
Education is compulsory, at least officially, for nine years.
There are several institutions of higher education. The Academy of Sciences has about a dozen research institutes, and there are many other research centres. Kyrgyz cultural life has been influenced by a rich tradition of oral literature. Folk legacies have been handed on by the bards, who recite such poems as the long verse epic Manas, expressing the fiercely independent outlook of the Kyrgyz. A leading literary figure is the Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aytmatov.