cover image

Kazakhstan

Country straddling Central Asia and Eastern Europe / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:

Can you list the top facts and stats about Kazakhstan?

Summarize this article for a 10 years old

SHOW ALL QUESTIONS

Kazakhstan,[lower-alpha 3] officially the Republic of Kazakhstan,[lower-alpha 4] is a transcontinental landlocked country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe.[lower-alpha 5] It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, with a coastline along the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Astana, known as Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022. Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, was the country's capital until 1997. Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area and the world's largest landlocked country. It has a population of 19 million people and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometre (15 people per square mile). Ethnic Kazakhs constitute a majority of the population, while ethnic Russians form a significant minority. Officially secular, Kazakhstan is a Muslim-majority country, although ethnic Russians in the country form a sizeable Christian community.

Quick facts: Republic of Kazakhstan.mw-parser-output .plai...
Republic of Kazakhstan
  • Қазақстан Республикасы (Kazakh)
    Qazaqstan Respublikasy
  • Республика Казахстан (Russian)
    Respublika Kazakhstan
Anthem: 
Менің Қазақстаным (Kazakh)
Menıñ Qazaqstanym
"My Kazakhstan"
Location of Kazakhstan
CapitalAstana
51°10′N 71°26′E
Largest cityAlmaty
43°16′39″N 76°53′45″E
Official languages
Ethnic groups
(2021)[1]
Religion
(2021)[1][2]
Demonym(s)Kazakhstani[lower-alpha 1]
GovernmentUnitary dominant-party presidential republic
 President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Älihan Smaiylov
LegislatureParliament
Senate
Majilis
Formation
1465
13 December 1917
26 August 1920
19 June 1925
5 December 1936
 Declaration of sovereignty
25 October 1990
 Reconstituted as the Republic of Kazakhstan
10 December 1991
 Independence from the USSR
16 December 1991
26 December 1991
30 August 1995
Area
 Total
2,724,900 km2 (1,052,100 sq mi) (9th)
 Water (%)
1.7
Population
 2022 estimate
19,398,331[4] (64th)
 Density
7/km2 (18.1/sq mi) (236th)
GDP (PPP)2022 estimate
 Total
Increase $596.666 billion[5] (41st)
 Per capita
Increase $30,827[5] (53rd)
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
 Total
Increase $224.338 billion[5] (55th)
 Per capita
Increase $11,591[5] (69th)
Gini (2018)Negative increase 27.8[6]
low
HDI (2021)Decrease 0.811[7]
very high · 56th
CurrencyTenge (₸) (KZT)
Time zoneUTC+5 / +6 (West / East)
Date formatyyyy.dd.mm[lower-alpha 2]
Driving sideright
Calling code+7 (6xx / 7xx)
ISO 3166 codeKZ
Internet TLD
Close

The territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic groups and empires. In antiquity, the ancient Iranian nomadic Scythians inhabited the land, and the Achaemenid Persian Empire expanded towards the southern territory of the modern country. Turkic nomads, who trace their ancestry to many Turkic states such as the First Turkic Khaganate and the Second Turkic Khaganate, have inhabited the country from as early as the 6th century. In the 13th century, the territory was subjugated by the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. In the 15th century, as a result of disintegration of Golden Horde, the Kazakh Khanate was established on much of the lands that would later form the territory of modern Kazakhstan.

By the 18th century, Kazakh Khanate disintegrated into three jüz which were absorbed and conquered by the Russian Empire; by the mid-19th century, the Russians nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire and liberated all of the slaves that the Kazakhs had captured in 1859.[10] Following the 1917 Russian Revolution and subsequent outbreak of the Russian Civil War, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganized several times. In 1936, it was established as the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union from 1988 to 1991. Human rights organizations have described the Kazakh government as authoritarian, and regularly describe Kazakhstan's human rights situation as poor.

The country dominates Central Asia economically and politically, generating 60 percent of the region's GDP, primarily through its oil and gas industry; it also has vast mineral resources.[11] It is de jure a democratic, unitary, constitutional republic;[12] however, it is de facto an authoritarian regime[13][14] with no free elections.[15] It has the highest Human Development Index ranking in the region. Kazakhstan is a member state of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Commonwealth of Independent States, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Eurasian Economic Union, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Organization of Turkic States, and International Organization of Turkic Culture.