Kazakhstan

"Qazaqstan" redirects here. For the Kazakh state television broadcaster, see Qazaqstan (TV channel).

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 / 51.167°N 71.433°E / 51.167; 71.433
Largest cityAlmaty
43°16′39″N 76°53′45″E / 43.27750°N 76.89583°E / 43.27750; 76.89583
Official languages
Ethnic groups
(2024)[2][3]
Religion
(2021)[4][5]
Demonym(s)Kazakh
Kazakhstani[c]
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic under an authoritarian government[7][8]
• President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Oljas Bektenov
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
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
• 2024 estimate
20,075,271[9] (62nd)
• Density
7/km2 (18.1/sq mi) (236th)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $830.610 billion[10] (39th)
• Per capita
Increase $41,366[10] (50th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $292.553 billion[10] (48th)
• Per capita
Increase $16,570[10] (66th)
Gini (2018)Negative increase 27.8[11]
low inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.802[12]
very high (67th)
CurrencyTenge (₸) (KZT)
Time zoneUTC+5 (West / East)
Drives onright
ISO 3166 codeKZ
Internet TLD

Kazakhstan,[d] officially the Republic of Kazakhstan,[e] is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a small portion of its territory in Eastern Europe.[f] 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, while the largest city and leading cultural and commercial hub is Almaty. Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country. It has a population of 20 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometre (16 people/sq mi).[15] Ethnic Kazakhs constitute a majority, while ethnic Russians form a significant minority. Officially secular, Kazakhstan is a Muslim-majority country with a sizeable Christian community.

Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era. In antiquity, various nomadic Iranian peoples such as the Saka, Massagetae, and Scythians dominated the territory, with the Achaemenid Persian Empire expanding towards the southern region. Turkic nomads entered the region from as early as the sixth century. In the 13th century, the area was subjugated by the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. Following the disintegration of the Golden Horde in the 15th century, the Kazakh Khanate was established over an area roughly corresponding with modern Kazakhstan. By the 18th century, the Kazakh Khanate had fragmented into three jüz (tribal divisions), which were gradually absorbed and conquered by the Russian Empire; by the mid-19th century, all of Kazakhstan was nominally under Russian rule.[16] Following the 1917 Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War, the territory was reorganized several times. In 1936, its modern borders were established with the formation of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was the last constituent republic of the Soviet Union to declare independence in 1991 during its dissolution.

Kazakhstan dominates Central Asia both economically and politically, accounting for 60 percent of the region's GDP, primarily through its oil and gas industry; it also has vast mineral resources.[17] Kazakhstan also has the highest Human Development Index ranking in the region. It is a unitary constitutional republic;[18] however, its government is authoritarian.[19][20] Nevertheless, there have been incremental efforts at democratization and political reform since the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2019, who had led the country since independence. 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.

  1. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Article 7". Akorda.kz. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Б-18-07-Г (англ) Т4". stat.gov.kz.
  3. ^ Kazakhstan population by ethnic groups
  4. ^ "2021 жылғы Қазақстан Республикасы халқының ұлттық санағының қорытындылары" [Results of the 2021 Population Census of the Republic of Kazakhstan] (in Kazakh). Agency of Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan National Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  5. ^ Viktorova, Polina (30 November 2022). "How the Number of Believers Changed in Kazakhstan". CABAR.asia. The Institute for War & Peace Reporting. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  6. ^ Schneider, Johann F.; Larsen, Knud S.; Krumov, Krum; Vazow, Grigorii (2013). Advances in International Psychology: Research Approaches and Personal Dispositions, Socialization Processes and Organizational Behavior. Kassel university press GmbH. p. 164. ISBN 978-3-86219-454-4. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine". Democracy Index 2022. The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2023. p. 50. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Official website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan". Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Kazakhstan's population hits the mark of 20 mln". inform.kz. 16 November 2023. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Chile)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024. Cite error: The named reference "IMFWEO.CL" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  13. ^ Porter, Malcolm; Lye, Keith (2008). Asia. Cherrytree Books. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-84234-461-3. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  14. ^ World Factbook. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency. 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021. Kazakhstan: Geography
  15. ^ "Kazakhstan's population reaches 20 million. President Tokayev congratulates his fellow citizens". kursiv.kz. 16 November 2023. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  16. ^ Galiev, Anuar (1998). "Traditional Institutions in Modern Kazakhstan". Src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  17. ^ Zarakhovich, Yuri (27 September 2006). "Kazakhstan Comes on Strong". Time. Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Kazakhstan/Qazaqstan Constitution". Parliament of Kazakhstan. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference index2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference index2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).