Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated to the region by the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs back to Kazakhstan. These trends have allowed Kazakhs to become the titular majority again. This dramatic demographic shift has also undermined the previous religious diversity and made the country more than 70 percent Muslim. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states largely due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; managing Islamic revivalism; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness; developing a multiparty parliament and advancing political and social reform; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.

Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural (Zhayyq) River in eastern-most Europe

48 00 N, 68 00 E

Asia

total: 2,724,900 sq km
country comparison to the world: 9
land: 2,699,700 sq km
water: 25,200 sq km

slightly less than four times the size of Texas

total: 12,185 km
border countries: China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,224 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km

0 km (landlocked); note - Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km)

none (landlocked)

continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid

vast flat steppe extending from the Volga in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east and from the plains of western Siberia in the north to oases and deserts of Central Asia in the south

lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m

major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium

arable land: 8.82%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 91.15% (2011)

20,660 sq km (2010)

107.5 cu km (2011)

total: 21.14 cu km/yr (4%/30%/66%)
per capita: 1,304 cu m/yr (2010)

earthquakes in the south; mudslides around Almaty

radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with former defense industries and test ranges scattered throughout the country pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers that flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices

party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome; in January 2004, Kazakhstan and Russia extended the lease to 2050

noun: Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani

Kazakh (Qazaq) 63.1%, Russian 23.7%, Uzbek 2.8%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Uighur 1.4%, Tatar 1.3%, German 1.1%, other 4.5% (2009 census)

Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)

Muslim 70.2%, Christian 26.2% (Russian Orthodox 23.9%, other Christian 2.3%), Buddhist 0.1%, other 0.2%, atheist 2.8%, unspecified 0.5% (2009 Census)

17,736,896 (July 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62

0-14 years: 24.7% (male 2,199,491/female 2,189,036)
15-24 years: 16.9% (male 1,525,851/female 1,475,988)
25-54 years: 42.6% (male 3,666,941/female 3,881,320)
55-64 years: 8.9% (male 691,253/female 894,562)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male 415,903/female 796,551) (2013 est.)

total dependency ratio: 48 %
youth dependency ratio: 38.1 %
elderly dependency ratio: 9.9 %
potential support ratio: 10.1 (2013)

total: 29.5 years
male: 28.1 years
female: 30.9 years (2013 est.)

1.2% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98

20.03 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88

8.43 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85

0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69

urban population: 53.6% of total population (2011)
rate of urbanization: 0.87% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Almaty 1.383 million; ASTANA (capital) 650,000 (2009)

at birth: 0.94 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.77 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

27.6 (2010 est.)

51 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 108

total: 22.32 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 83
male: 25.07 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 19.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)

total population: 69.94 years
country comparison to the world: 151
male: 64.66 years
female: 74.88 years (2013 est.)

2.38 children born/woman (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90

51% (2011)

3.9% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 165

3.84 physicians/1,000 population (2011)

7.6 beds/1,000 population (2009)

0.1% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141

13,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90

fewer than 500 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84

23.7% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 74

4.9% (2006)
country comparison to the world: 89

3.1% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 139

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.7%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.7% (2009 est.)

total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2012)

total number: 59,254
percentage: 2 % (2006 est.)

total: 3.9%
country comparison to the world: 139
male: 2.9%
female: 5.1% (2012)

conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan
conventional short form: Kazakhstan
local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy
local short form: Qazaqstan
former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic

republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch

name: Astana
geographic coordinates: 51 10 N, 71 25 E
time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note: Kazakhstan is divided into two time zones

14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 3 cities* (qalalar, singular - qala); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*, Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy [West Kazakhstan] (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy [Baykonur]*, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy [South Kazakhstan] (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy [East Kazakhstan] (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy [North Kazakhstan] (Petropavlovsk), Zhambyl Oblysy (Taraz)
note: 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 Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonur, formerly Leninsk); in 2004, a new agreement extended the lease to 2050

16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Independence Day, 16 December (1991)

previous 1937, 1978 (preindependence ); latest adopted 28 January 1993, approved by referendum 30 August 1995, effective 5 September 1995; amended 1998, 2007, 2011 (2012)

civil law system influenced by Roman-Germanic law and by the theory and practice of the Russian Federation

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: President Nursultan Abishuly NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Serik AKHMETOV (since 24 September 2012); First Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan SAGINTAYEV (since 16 January 2013); Deputy Prime Ministers Gulshara ABDYKHALIKOVA (since 28 November 2013), Aset ISEKESHEV (since 25 September 2012); Bakyt SULTANOV (since 6 November 2013)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 3 April 2011 (next to be held in 2016); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president, with Mazhilis approval; note - constitutional amendments of May 2007 shortened the presidential term from seven years to five years and established a two-consecutive-term limit; NAZARBAYEV has official status as the "First President of Kazakhstan" and is allowed an unlimited amount of terms
note: constitutional amendments of February 2011 moved election date from 2012 to April 2011 but kept five-year term; subsequent election to take place in 2016
election results: Nursultan Abishuly NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan Abishuly NAZARBAYEV 95.5%, other 4.5%

bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 15 members are appointed by the president; 32 members elected by local assemblies; members serve six-year terms, but elections are staggered with half of the members up for re-election every three years) and the Mazhilis (107 seats; 9 out of the 107 Mazhilis members elected by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, a presidentially appointed advisory body designed to represent the country's ethnic minorities; non-appointed members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - (indirect) last held in August 2011 (next to be held in 2014); Mazhilis - last held on 15 January 2012 (next to be held in 2017)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Nur Otan 16; Mazhilis - percent of vote by party - Nur-Otan 81%, Ak Zhol 7.5%, Communist People's Party 7.2%, other 4.3%; seats by party - Nur-Otan 83, Ak Zhol 8, Communist People's Party 7

highest court(s): Supreme Court of the Republic (consists of 44 members); Constitutional Council (consists of 7 members)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges proposed by the president of ther epublic on recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, and confirmed by the Senate; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Council - the president of the republic, the Senate chairperson, the Majilis chairperson each appoints one member for a 3-year term and each appoints one member for a 6-year term; chairperson of the Constitutional Council appointed by the president of the republic for a 6-year term
subordinate courts: regional and local courts

Ak Zhol Party (Bright Path) [Azat PERUASHEV]

Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]

ADB, CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC

chief of mission: Ambassador Kayrat UMAROV (since 14 January 2013)
chancery: 1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488
FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845
consulate(s) general: New York

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John ORDWAY
embassy: Rakhymzhan Koshkarbayev Ave. No 3, Astana 010010
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [7] (7172) 70-21-00
FAX: [7] (7172) 54-09-14

a gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue background; the hoist side displays a national ornamental pattern "koshkar-muiz" (the horns of the ram) in gold; the blue color is of religious significance to the Turkic peoples of the country, and so symbolizes cultural and ethnic unity; it also represents the endless sky as well as water; the sun, a source of life and energy, exemplifies wealth and plenitude; the sun's rays are shaped like grain, which is the basis of abundance and prosperity; the eagle has appeared on the flags of Kazakh tribes for centuries and represents freedom, power, and the flight to the future

golden eagle

name: "Menin Qazaqstanim" (My Kazakhstan)
lyrics/music: Zhumeken NAZHIMEDENOV and Nursultan NAZARBAYEV/Shamshi KALDAYAKOV
note: adopted 2006; President Nursultan NAZARBAYEV played a role in revising the lyrics

Kazakhstan, geographically the largest of the former Soviet republics, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves and plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals, such as uranium, copper, and zinc. It also has a large agricultural sector featuring livestock and grain. In 2002 Kazakhstan became the first country in the former Soviet Union to receive an investment-grade credit rating. Extractive industries have been and will continue to be the engine of Kazakhstan's growth, although the country is aggressively pursuing diversification strategies. Landlocked, with restricted access to the high seas, Kazakhstan relies on its neighbors to export its products, especially oil and grain. Although its Caspian Sea ports, pipelines, and rail lines carrying oil have been upgraded, civil aviation and roadways continue to need attention. Telecoms are improving, but require considerable investment, as does the information technology base. Supply and distribution of electricity can be erratic because of regional dependencies, but the country is moving forward with plans to improve reliability of electricity and gas supply to its population. At the end of 2007, global financial markets froze up and the loss of capital inflows to Kazakhstani banks caused a credit crunch. The subsequent and sharp fall of oil and commodity prices in 2008 aggravated the economic situation, and Kazakhstan plunged into recession. While the global financial crisis took a significant toll on Kazakhstan's economy, it has rebounded well, helped by prudent government measures. GDP increased 7.5% year-on-year in 2011, and 5.0% in 2012. Rising commodity prices have helped the recovery. Despite solid macroeconomic indicators, the government realizes that its economy suffers from an overreliance on oil and extractive industries, the so-called "Dutch disease." In response, Kazakhstan has embarked on an ambitious diversification program, aimed at developing targeted sectors like transport, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, petrochemicals and food processing. In 2010 Kazakhstan joined the Belarus-Kazakhstan-Russia Customs Union in an effort to boost foreign investment and improve trade relationships and is planning to accede to the World Trade Organization in 2013.

$228.7 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

$199.9 billion (2012 est.)

5.1% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64

$13,500 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

23.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55

household consumption: 45.5%
government consumption: 11.6%
investment in fixed capital: 21.1%
investment in inventories: 2.5%
exports of goods and services: 48.4%
imports of goods and services: -29%

agriculture: 5.2%
industry: 37.9%
services: 56.9% (2011 est.)

grain (mostly spring wheat and barley), potatoes, vegetables, melons; livestock

oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, uranium, iron and steel; tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials

1.5% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 114

8.983 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54

agriculture: 25.8%
industry: 11.9%
services: 62.3% (2012 est.)

5.3% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 49

5.3% (2011 est.)

lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 23.7% (2011 est.)

28.9 (2011)
country comparison to the world: 119

revenues: $39.19 billion
expenditures: $44.96 billion (2012 est.)

19.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 168

-2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119

13.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140

calendar year

5.1% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 148

5.5% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 33

6.6% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 133

$25.82 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63

$70.36 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63

$83.08 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 56

$35.6 billion (31 December 2012)
country comparison to the world: 53

$640.5 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 45

$86.93 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44

oil and oil products, natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat, coal

China 19.3%, Italy 18.1%, Netherlands 8.8%, France 6.6%, Switzerland 5.8%, Austria 5.8% (2012)

$49.08 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 56

machinery and equipment, metal products, foodstuffs

China 28%, Ukraine 10.9%, Germany 8.5%, US 7.9% (2012)

$28.28 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 53

$133.5 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40

$111.5 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 38

$25.53 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44

tenge (KZT) per US dollar -

90.53 billion kWh (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36

88.11 billion kWh (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 33

1.8 billion kWh (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42

3.7 billion kWh (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42

18.73 million kW (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39

88.2% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120

11.8% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 190

1.606 million bbl/day (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18

1.406 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12

119,600 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46

30 billion bbl (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 11

288,600 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44

244,200 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 52

149,800 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 38

94,430 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 52

20.2 billion cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31

10.2 billion cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 45

9.7 billion cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26

10.7 billion cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29

2.407 trillion cu m (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 14

195.4 million Mt (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30

4.34 million (2012)
country comparison to the world: 40

28.731 million (2012)
country comparison to the world: 37

general assessment: inherited an outdated telecommunications network from the Soviet era requiring modernization
domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; number of fixed-line connections is gradually increasing and fixed-line teledensity now roughly 25 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage has increased rapidly and the subscriber base now exceeds 140 per 100 persons
international: country code - 7; international traffic with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay and with other countries by satellite and by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (2008)

state owns nearly all radio and TV transmission facilities and operates national TV and radio networks; nearly all nationwide TV networks are wholly or partly owned by the government; some former state-owned media outlets have been privatized; households with satellite dishes have access to foreign media; a small number of commercial radio stations operate along with state-run radio stations; recent legislation requires all media outlets to register with the government and all TV providers to broadcast in digital format by 2015 (2008)

.kz

67,464 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 90

5.299 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 44

96 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 60

total: 63
over 3,047 m: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 8 (2013)

total: 33
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m:

3 (2013)

condensate 658 km; gas 12,432 km; oil 11,313 km; refined products 1,095 km; water 1,465 km (2013)

total: 15,333 km
country comparison to the world: 18
broad gauge: 15,333 km 1.520-m gauge (4,000 km electrified) (2012)

total: 97,418 km
country comparison to the world: 46
paved: 87,140 km
unpaved: 10,278 km (2012)

4,000 km (on the Ertis (Irtysh) River (80%) and Syr Darya (Syrdariya) River) (2010)
country comparison to the world: 27

total: 11
country comparison to the world: 111
by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 1, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 3 (Austria 1, Ireland 1, Turkey 1) (2010)

major seaport(s): Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev)
river port(s): Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) (Irtysh River)

Kazakhstan Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Mobile Forces, Air Defense Forces (2013)

18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation is 2 years, but Kazakhstan may be transitioning to a contract force; 19 is the legal minimum age for voluntary service; military cadets in intermediate (ages 15-17) and higher (ages 17-21) education institutes are classified as military service personnel (2012)

males age 16-49: 4,163,629
females age 16-49: 4,179,051 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49: 2,909,999
females age 16-49: 3,528,169 (2010 est.)

male: 125,322
female: 119,541 (2010 est.)

1.21% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 255

Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary delimitation with Kazakhstan; field demarcation of the boundaries commenced with Uzbekistan in 2004 and with Turkmenistan in 2005; ongoing demarcation with Russia began in 2007; demarcation with China was completed in 2002; creation of a seabed boundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains under discussion; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea

stateless persons: 6,935 (2012)