Kazakhstan

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Kazakhstan's Information


Capital	Astana
Languages	Kazakh (official, Qazaq) 74% (understand spoken language), Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 94.4% (understand spoken language) (2009 est.)
Ethnic Groups	Kazakh (Qazaq) 63.1%, Russian 23.7%, Uzbek 2.9%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Uighur 1.4%, Tatar 1.3%, German 1.1%, other 4.4% (2009 est.)
Religion	Muslim 70.2%, Christian 26.2% (mainly Russian Orthodox), other 0.2%, atheist 2.8%, unspecified 0.5% (2009 est.)
Government	Presidential republic
Independance	16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Area	2,724,900.00 km²
Water Area	25,200.00 km²
Land Area	2,699,700.00 km²
Population	18,360,353.00 Most of the country displays a low population density, particularly the interior; population clusters appear in urban agglomerations in the far northern and southern portions of the country
Location	Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural (Zhayyq) River in easternmost Europe
No. Bordering Countries	5
Bordering Countries	China 1,765 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,212 km, Russia 7,644 km, Turkmenistan 413 km, Uzbekistan 2,330 km
GDP(PPP)	$469,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$25,700.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are China, Russia, and France.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are oil natural gas, ferrous metals, and chemicals.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are Russia, China, and Germany.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include machinery and equipment, metal products, and foodstuffs.
Climate	Continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
Terrain	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

Where is Kazakhstan?

Located in Central Asia, Kazakhstan has a 13,364.00 km border with China (1,765 km), Kyrgyzstan (1,212 km), Russia (7,644 km), Turkmenistan (413 km) and Uzbekistan (2,330 km). Kyrgzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary delimitation with Kazakhstan.

The capital city of Kazakhstan is Astana. It has been the capital of the country since 1998. Initially, the country capital was situated in a city called Almaty. The capital of the state was moved from Almaty to Astana because of vast limitations that faced Almaty. Astana was made the capital by the exercise of the presidential decree as stated in the country's constitution. The advantages of crowning Astana as the capital included its geographical location, i.e., the city can expand without facing many geographic and physical barriers. Astana houses more than 128,000 businesses which range from small to large businesses enterprises. The design of the city was made by an expert called Nursultan Nazarbayev. The designer combined the traditional structural models from both the west and east worlds.

Geography

Kazakhstan has a mean elevation of 387 m above sea level.

It has a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. Its terrain is vast, with flat steppes, mountains, and plains.

Population

Kazakhstan has a population of 18,360,353 making it the 62nd largest in the world. The majority of the population lives in the far northern and southern portions of the country.

Kazakh is the official language, as is Russian. The major ethnic group is Kazakh, followed by Russian. The majority of the population is Muslim, with a significant Christian minority.

The official language of Kazakhstan is Kazakh. Russian is also widely spoken. Other languages spoken in the country include German, which is spoken by 958,000 people, and tajki Tatar who has 328,000 speakers. Other minority languages include Dungan, Ili Turki, English and the Sinte Romani. The Kazakh language belongs to a branch of Kipchak and Turkic languages. The linguistic family of the Kipchak and Turkik share the same origin as the Nogai and Kyrgyz. Kazakh is spoken in an area spanning the state of Kazakhstan, as well as parts of Russia and Kyrgyzstan. The writing system is an adoption of the Kazakh alphabet which also includes the Latin and Cyrillic scripting as well as Arabic and Kazakh Braille.

Government

Kazakhstan is an independent country. It gained independence with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Its constitution was last ratified in 1995.

Kazakhstan is an independent country located in central Asia. Its government comprises of the executive, judiciary and the representatives. For each of the leaders to occupy an office in Kazakhstan, they have to go through a very tough election process where the citizen vote and decide the kind of leaders they wish to lead them. According to Kazakhstan's electoral laws and regulations, the president can only operate in office for two terms of five years.

Economy

Factoring in Purchasing Power Parity, Kazakhstan's GDP is $469,000,000,000.00 (USD) with $25,700.00 (USD) per capita. This makes it the 41st largest economy and its citizens the 70th richest in the world. The currency of Kazakhstan is the Tenge (KZT).

Its major export partners are China, Russia, and France. Its main exports are oil natural gas, ferrous metals, and chemicals. Its major import partners are Russia, China, and Germany. Its major imports include machinery and equipment, metal products, and foodstuffs.

Flag

The national flag of the independent state of Kazakhstan contains a golden sun on it, with 32 rays emanating from the sun. The blue background represents the ancient Russian art, tradition and cultural practices of the inhabitants of the region who were known as the Khanate people. The rays emanating from the sun is a representation of the steppes of grain which are considered to be a symbol of abundance and prosperity. The designer of Kazakhstan's flag was Shaken Onlasynovich Niyazbekov, an artist and designer who sent a proposal to design the nation's flag. He was chosen among 600 contestants who had applied for the project.