Kazakhstan General Information

Official Name: Known as The Republic of Kazakhstan (locally known as Qazaqstan Republic).

Capital city: The administrative capital of Kazakhstan is Astana. The capital was moved to Astana in 1997 from Almaty.

Location: Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia, northwest of China, south of Russia and a small portion of the country is located west of the Ural (Zhayyq) River in eastern-most Europe.

Size: The total land and water area of Kazakhstan is 2,724,900 sq km. Total land area is 2,699,700 sq km and the total water area is 25,200 sq km. Kazakhstan is slightly larger than Argentina and four times bigger than France.

Climate: The climate of Kazakhstan is characterized by winter temperatures cold enough to support snow cover each year and a relatively warm summer, with a moderate rainy season occuring mostly in the summer. Kazakhstan is vast in size and the land is very diverse in types of terrain. Kazakhstan has: flatlands, steppes, Tiagas, rock canyons, hills, deltas and deserts.

Population: Kazakhstan has a gross population of approximately 15,399,437 million people and ranks 63rd worldwide. This is comparable to the population of Burkina Faso or Niger.

Life Expectancy at Birth: The total average life expectancy at birth for Kazakhstan is 67.87 years. The life expectancy for males is 62.58 years from birth, while females live longer at an average of 73.47 years from birth.

Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalance of HIV/AIDS in Kazakshstan is 0.1% and is one of the lower ranked countries worldwide. There is an estimated 12,000 people living with the HIV/AIDS virus giving Kazakhstan a ranking of 97 putting Kazakhstasn between Yemen and Equatorial Guinea. There is a less than 500 people per year die in Kazakhstan as a result of HIV/AIDS. In this respect, this is a relativly low mortality. The actions and preventative measures to deal with HIV/AIDS in Kazakhstan cannot be called adequate. The major reason is insufficient public understanding of the vectors causing the spread of HIV/AIDS and the dissociation of the actions of the key agents capable to affect them.

Major Illnesses: The risk of a major infectious disease in Kazakhstan is moderate. Hepatitis, Bird Flu, Tuberculosis, Encephalitis and Yellow fever have been present. It is recommended that all travellers seek medical advice before visiting Kazakhstan.

Ethnic Groups: The major ethnic groups in Kazakhstan are: Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.7%, Uygur 1.4% and other 4.9%. The term Kazakhstani describes all citizens of Kazakhstan, including non-Kazakhs. The word "Kazakh" is used to refer to all people of actual Kazakh descent including those living in China, Afghanistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries.

Languages: Kazakhstan has two main languages spoken for different reasons. Kazakh (Qazaq) 64.4% is the state language, which is spoken for day to day interactions. The other major language is Russian which is used 95% for business and it is designated the language of interethnic communication.

Religion:Kazakhstan is a country with 2 major religions, Islam 47% and Kazakhstann Orthodox Christianity 44%. There are a number of Protestant sects present in the country, with 2% of the population identifying some form of Protestantism as their religion.

Government: Kazakhstan is a republic with an authoritarian rule. Little power lays outside the executive branch with the president influencing much of the legislative process. Kazakhstan is prone to a radical and unexpected legislative changes.

Head of State: TThe Head of State in Kazakhstan is President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev. The President is elected by the popular vote for a five year term.

Head of Government: The Head of Government is the Prime Minister Karim Masimov); First Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev and Deputy Prime Ministers Yerbol Orynbayev and Serik Akhmetov.

Military: The Kazakhstan Armed Forces consist of: Ground Forces, and Air Mobil Forces, Air Defense Forces. The age requirement is 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation is 2 years. Most of the Kazakhstan's military was inherited from the Soviet Armed Forces 'Turkestan Military District'. The Kazakhstan Army has been focused on armored units and it has expanded rapidly since 1990. The Kazakh air force is composed mostly of Soviet-era planes, including 41 Mig-29s, 44 Mig-31s, Su-24s and 60 Su-27s. Kazakhstan has a small navy which it maintains in the Caspian Sea.

Economy: Kazakhstan is the largest territory of the former Soviet republics. Kazakhstan possesses huge fossil fuel reserves ranking Kazakhstan among the top 10 oil-producing nations. This nation is home to plentiful supplies of minerals and metals. Kazakhstan forecast that it will become the world's leading exporter of Uranium by the year 2010. Kazakhstan also is growing in textiles, livestock and grains such as wheat. In 2000 Kazakhstan became the first former Soviet republic to repay all of its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 7 years ahead of schedule. Also in March 2002, the U.S. Department of Commerce granted Kazakhstan market economy status under U.S. trade law. In September 2002 Kazakhstan became the first country in The Commonwealth Of Independent States (CIS) to receive an investment-grade credit rating. Kazakhstan is now considered to be the dominant state in Central Asia.

GDP: The purchasing power parity of Kazakhstan is US$ 176.9 billion this ranks Kazakhstan 57 worldwide between Ireland and Kuwait. Its official growth rate was 10.6% in 2006, however this has decreased significantly in the following years dropping to 8.5 in 2007, and 3% in 2008. This was due in part to the declining oil prices and a softening world economy. The per capita GDP stands at US$11,500 putting Kazakhstan between Panama and Turks and Caicos Islands.