Kazakhstan

Full name of country: Republic of Kazakhstan

Region: Central Asia

Population: 20,260,006 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Kazakhstani(s) (noun), Kazakhstani (adjective)

Land area: 2,699,700 sq km (1,042,360 sq miles)

Water area: 25,200 sq km (9,730 sq miles)

Capital: Astana

National anthem: "Menin Qazaqstanim" (My Kazakhstan), by Zhumeken Nazhimedenov and Nursultan Nazarbayev/Shamshi Kaldayakov

National holiday: Independence Day, December 16 (1991)

Population growth: 0.86% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC +6

Flag: The flag of Kazakhstan is sky blue, with a thirty-two-rayed gold sun in the center above a golden steppe eagle, wings outspread. The hoist side features a Kazakh ornamental pattern called “koshkar-muiz.”

Independence: December 16, 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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

The Republic of Kazakhstan, the largest country in Central Asia, is bordered by China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Dominated by Russia for several centuries, the country gained its independence in 1991. Since that time, Kazakhstan has dealt with issues of national identity while struggling to make the transition to a market economy. The country's immense natural resources have the potential to further transform Kazakh society.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: The population of Kazakhstan was in flux during the 1990s, as many Russians and other non-Kazakhs left the newly independent republic and ethnic Kazakhs from Mongolia and elsewhere in the Soviet Union settled in Kazakhstan. The current population is relatively young and showing slight growth. Life expectancy at birth was estimated in 2024 to be 69 years for men and 77.9 years for women.  Kazakhstan's HDI value for 2022 is 0.802— which put the country in the Very High human development category—positioning it at 67 out of 193 countries and territories.

Because large portions of the country are inhospitable, the average population density is only about seven persons per square kilometer. Approximately 58.2 percent of the population is clustered in urban areas, such as Almaty (population 1.99 million), the capital Astana (1.29 million; formerly known as Akmola and Nur-Sultan), and Shimkent (1.16 million) (2023 estimates).

When the country was part of the Soviet Union from 1920 to 1991, Kazakhstan became the only Central Asian republic in which the native population was outnumbered by Russians. Today, Kazakhs (or Qazaqs) account for 69.6 percent of the population, and Russians still make up a sizable minority, at 17.9 percent of the total. Much smaller ethnic groups include Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Uighurs, Tatars, and Germans (2022 estimates).

Kazakh, a western Turkic language of the Altaic family, is understood by well over three-fourths of the population and is still written in a modified Cyrillic script. Russian, the language of interethnic communication, was understood by over ninety percent of the population. A significant percentage of the population is trilingual in Kazakh, Russian, and English. The various minorities also generally speak their native languages.

Most Kazakhstani people practice Islam, which was introduced to the region in the sixteenth century. While during the Soviet era religious practice was severely discouraged, there has been renewed interest in Islam since independence, though not to the same degree as elsewhere in Central Asia. Moreover, the secular government controls religious expression and forbids political parties to have a religious basis. Christianity, mostly Russian Orthodox, is practiced by a much smaller but still significant portion of the population.

Native People: The ancestors of the Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol peoples, first arrived in what is now Kazakhstan in the eighth century. By the beginning of the twentieth century, their nomadic lifestyle had largely been disrupted by the great number of Russians who began settling the region in the sixteenth century and had conquered all of Central Asia by the late nineteenth century. Since 1991, the Kazakhs have renewed efforts to forge a national identity and attempting to reverse the influences that the Russians had on their culture and lifestyle.

Education: Education in Kazakhstan is free and compulsory through the twelfth grade, and enrollment is high among school-age children. Schools suffer from shortages of funding, resources, and teachers. The literacy rate was 99.8 percent in 2018.

Since independence, the system has undergone significant changes, especially in the curriculum. In addition to the normal subjects, Kazakh history and culture are now stressed.

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty is one of the largest universities in Kazakhstan. Karagandy State University was founded in 1972. Additionally there are numerous institutes that specialize in engineering, economics, medicine, agriculture, business, and other fields.

Health Care: Kazakhstan's health care system underwent serious decline beginning in the 1980s. The government has struggled to reverse this decline, with mixed results, and has been unable to provide basic universal health coverage as guaranteed in the constitution. Equipment and medicines are often in short supply, especially in rural areas.

As a result of the diminished care, environmental degradation and diminished vaccinations, the population suffers from a host of illnesses and diseases, many of them preventable. These include anemia, tuberculosis, bubonic plague, hepatitis, and diphtheria.

Food: Kazakhstan's cuisine is heavy on meat and grains, while lighter on vegetables. Beshbarmak, the national dish, consists of boiled horse meat or lamb in a broth with noodles. Horse meat is also used to make sausages, which can be served in slices with noodles or shaved onto salads.

Another mainstay is plov, the rice, meat, and dried fruit dish eaten throughout Central Asia. Russian food, such as meat-stuffed dumplings and sweet or savory pancakes, is eaten in the cities. Popular drinks include tea, kumis (fermented mare's milk), and shubat (fermented camel's milk).

Arts & Entertainment: Kazakhstan's most distinct cultural traditions derive from the country's nomadic past. Traditional crafts, such as colorful embroidered clothes, wool and felt carpets with intricate designs, jewelry, and yurts (the traditional nomadic tent), are often functional.

Early Kazakh literature took the form of oral poems and epics which preserve ancient history and legends. These were delivered by bards and often sung accompanied by drums and an instrument resembling the mandolin, called a dombra.

The father of Kazakh literature, who first made Kazakh a literary language, is the poet, philosopher, translator, and nationalist Abai Ibragim Kunanbaiuli (1845–1904). During the Soviet era, many writers and intellectuals were purged or otherwise suffered under the official requirements of Socialist Realism.

Several unique sports have enjoyed renewed practice in Kazakhstan. Kokpar is played throughout Central Asia. It entails teams of horse riders who move a salt-filled goat carcass along the field as they attempt to score a goal. In another traditional sport, men who hunt on horseback with trained eagles and falcons are known as berkutchi.

Holidays: Holidays in Kazakhstan are a mixture of the sacred and the secular. The most widely celebrated Islamic holidays are Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, and Eid al-Fatr, the holiday which marks its end. Eid al-Adha celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. Both of these holidays involve familial gatherings, large feasts and, in the case of Eid al-Adha, almsgiving.

Nowruz, celebrated over the course of two days in the third week of March, is a celebration of spring and a welcoming of the new year. The holiday entails the preparation of special dishes for men and for women as well as sporting and musical events.

Men show their appreciation of women on Women's Day (March 8) by presenting them with flowers and attending to the housework. The Unity of Kazakh People Day is celebrated on May 1, and victory against Nazi Germany in World War II (1939–45) is commemorated on May 9. Kazakhs celebrate their independence from the Soviet Union on December 16.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Kazakhstan's vast area makes it the ninth largest country in the world. It is predominantly flat, but its elevation ranges from nearly 7,000 meters (22,966 feet) in the eastern mountains to 132 meters (433 feet) below sea level in the southwestern Karagiye Depression.

Mountains cover 12 percent of the country. A spur of the Tian Shan range in the southeast contains the country's highest peak, Khan Tengri, rising to 6,995 meters (22,949 feet). The Altay Mountains are found along the eastern border, and the Ural Mountains extend into northern Kazakhstan from Russia.

Grassy rolling plains, with few trees, account for just over 9 percent of the terrain, mostly in the west and the north. Desert and semidesert, 44 percent and 33 percent of the terrain respectively, dominate the western and southern portions of the country. The Kyzylkum and the Moyunkum Deserts, in the south, are barren regions of shifting sand dunes. Other regions in the south are dominated by salt- or clay-beds.

Kazakhstan has several large rivers and numerous smaller ones, many of which originate in the Altay and Tian Shan Mountains. Like the Syr Darya and the Ural River, they empty into either the Caspian or Aral Sea; others disappear into the steppes and deserts. The Tobyl, Esil, and Ertis flow through Kazakhstan and then north into Russia. Smaller rivers dry up during the hottest months.

Kazakhstan shares the Caspian and Aral Seas with neighboring countries. Lake Balkhash, located in the east of the country, is a shallow saltwater body that receives fresh water from rivers such as the Ili. A dam on this river has significantly reduced the water level of the lake.

Natural Resources:Kazakhstan has a wealth of mineral resources, including gold, nickel, copper, uranium, iron ore, bauxite, manganese, chromium, tungsten, and coal. In addition, large reserves of oil and natural gas have been exploited near or in the Caspian Sea.

One of the most detrimental legacies of the Soviet era was the extreme environmental degradation that occurred due to the emphasis on increased agricultural productivity. This brought about several problems: overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, pollution of lakes and rivers, and diversion of water leading to the Aral Sea, which lost over 60 percent of its volume. As a result, sand heavily laden with salt and chemicals is frequently blown across the terrain, further contributing to the salinization and erosion of the soil. Pollution from the heavy metal industry affects the air in urban areas.

One of the worst problems in Kazakhstan is radiation pollution. Between 1949 and 1989, areas of Kazakhstan were used to test atomic and hydrogen bombs, both underground and above-ground. Near the town of Semipalatinsk (Semey), more than 500 nuclear explosions occurred. The people living near these areas are afflicted with a variety of health disorders, such as birth defects, leukemia, radiation poisoning, and suppressed immune systems.

Plants & Animals: The forests, steppe, and deserts support distinct populations of animal and plant life. In the forests of the east and southeast grow juniper, pine, cedar, larch, and spruce trees. These forests in turn provide habitats for several types of eagle, bear, weasel, deer, the Pamir argali, wolves, boar, lynx, deer, and the elusive and endangered snow leopard. Boar and deer are also attracted to the edges of rivers and lakes, with their cover of poplar and elms trees.

The Kazakh Steppe supports hearty grasses and plants, many of which serve medicinal purposes. The saiga antelope, listed as vulnerable, as well as badgers, foxes, wild horses, and wolves are supported by the steppe. The desert regions have little growth aside from drought-resistant shrubs, but there is a wide variety of animal life, particularly rodents and reptiles. Among the country's 500 species of birds are falcons, vultures, and hawks.

Climate: Lacking the influence of ocean currents, Kazakhstan's continental climate makes for hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Across most of the country, precipitation is low and sunny days are frequent. In the winter, the average is around –3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit) in the north and 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit) in the south. During the summer, the average is near 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) in the north and 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) in the south. Moreover, temperatures can vary widely over short periods.

The exception to these general trends is the eastern mountain region, which on average receives 150 centimeters (60 inches) of precipitation annually, mostly in the form of snow. The highest peaks are snowcapped throughout the year.

Kazakhstan also experiences intense dust storms from the desert, summer thunderstorms which often cause flash floods, mudslides, and in the south, earthquakes.

Economy

Kazakhstan has a developing economy. Although hyperinflation ensued immediately following independence, market restructuring and foreign investment stabilized the economy. In 2023 the estimated gross domestic product (real GDP, purchasing power parity) was US$705.52 billion, or $35,500 per capita. The labor force numbered 9.587 million that year, and unemployment was estimated at 4.85 percent at that time.

Industry: Industry accounts for a significant portion of Kazakhstan's GDP and employment. The industrial sector is dominated by the extraction and processing of oil, natural gas and minerals. Increased foreign investment, improved technology, and new pipelines have expanded these industries, but the government is eager to diversify the economy. As a result, there has been a greater emphasis on light and heavy industry; motors, agricultural equipment, construction materials, and textiles are all manufactured in the country.

Agriculture: Agriculture accounts for a small portion of Kazakhstan’s GDP but employs a significant percentage of the population. Less than ten percent of the country’s land is arable, and large irrigation projects are necessary to support crops. Wheat, grown in the north, is the major cash crop. Cotton and rice are cultivated in the south and are also important commodities. Sheep, horses, and camels are the main livestock.

Tourism: The tourism industry in Kazakhstan is relatively young, but growing rapidly. Each year there is a remarkable increase in the number of tourists and, thus, in revenue. An estimated 7.7 million people visited the country in 2017, and tourism contributed about 5.7 percent of the country's GDP. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted most international travel to Kazakhstan and severely impacted the industry, which also struggled due to political instability during the early 2020s.

Ecotourism is the largest draw, given Kazakhstan's vast, diverse landscapes. The natural zones are protected by reserves which offer animal viewing, trekking, and other forms of adventure travel. Aksu-Ahabagly, Kurgaldzhino, Markarol, and Ustyurt are a few of the reserves.

Cultural attractions include fine examples of Islamic architecture such as the Arystanbab Mosque and the mausoleums of Khoja Akhmed Yasavi and Aisha-Bibi. Kazakh archaeology, art, and culture are showcased at the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh State Art Museum in city of Almaty.

Government

Starting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Kazakhstan gradually fell under the control of the Russian Empire. Kazakhstan's affairs were dominated throughout most of the twentieth century by the Soviet Union, which absorbed it as an autonomous republic in 1922. Since independence in 1991, the government has presided over a period of stability and moderate reform. However, it is still dominated by former Soviet officials who have successfully concentrated authoritarian power in the executive branch, in a pattern resembling other Central Asian republics.

Kazakhstan is a presidential republic. Its second post-independence constitution, adopted in 1995, effectively broadened presidential powers. However, constitutional amendments in 2007 shortened the presidential term from seven to five years and implemented a two-consecutive-term limit. The president is elected by popular vote and is responsible for appointing the prime minister, who serves as the head of government and is approved by the lower house of the legislative branch. The prime minister in turn chooses the Council of Ministers, pending presidential approval. Once elected, the president must resign from their political party. The presidency was held by Nursultan Nazarbayev from 1990 to his resignation in 2019, after which he retained some powers as "First President" and chair of the security council. In June 2019, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Nazarbayev's chosen successor, was elected as the new president of Kazakhstan in what many observers considered an unfair election.

The bicameral legislature is composed of the Senate and the Majilis (or Mazhilis). Of the forty-seven Senate seats, the president appoints fifteen; the remainder are filled by votes from the province-level assemblies. The Senate term is six years. The Majilis has 107 seats, 98 of which are filled by popular vote and the remaining 9 of which are selected by the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, a 350-member body appointed by the president to represent the interests of the country’s ethnic minorities. The term for a member of the Majilis is five years.

The Supreme Court of the Republic is Kazakhstan's highest court. Its forty-four members are confirmed by the Senate from presidential nominations and serve for until the age of seventy. The Constitutional Council is responsible for interpreting the constitution. The president, the chair of the Senate, and the chair of the Majilis each appoints one member to the Constitutional Council for a three-year term and each appoints one member to a six-year terms. The chair of the Constitutional Council is appointed by the president to a six-year term.

Kazakhstan is divided into fourteen provinces and four cities. Maslikhat, or councils, are responsible for administrative duties at the level of local government, though their powers are curtailed by the national government. The heads of each council are appointed by the president.

A variety of political parties, representing a wide spectrum of interests, have sprung up since independence. The Nur Otan Democratic People's Party, the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan, the National Social Democratic Party, the Birlik (Unity) Party, Auyl National Patriotic Party, and the Ak Zhol Democratic Party are among those that have had success.

Despite its authoritarian nature, the government of Kazakhstan has faced periodic challenges to its power. For example, in late December 2021 and early January 2022, massive protests began in response to the government's decision to raise fuel prices. The protests in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, soon escalated into violence, and President Tokayev requested military assistance from Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Russian military helped end most of the violence by January 7; by then, an estimated 225 people had been killed and around four thousand had been arrested. In response to the protests, Tokayev announced major changes to his government, including the removal of former president Nazarbayev from his position as chairperson of the security council, and promised other reforms. While these actions solidified Tokayev's power, the scale of the protests raised questions about the stability of Kazakhstan's authoritarian government.

Interesting Facts

• A yurt, the nomadic tent of Kazakhstan, takes less than an hour to erect.
• The Baikonur Cosmodrome, located in south-central Kazakhstan, was the launch site of the first artificial satellite in 1957 and the first manned orbital flight in 1961. It later served as the origin for launches to the International Space Station.
• Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky lived in exile for a time in Semey (formerly Semipalatinsk) in the 1850s, and while there began work on his famous novel The Brothers Karamazov; the house where he lived became the Dostoyevsky Literary Museum.
• Kazakhstan's capital city has undergone many name changes; it was founded as Akmoly in 1830 and went through three other names before being called Astana in 1998. In 2019 it was renamed again, to Nur-Sultan, in honor of outgoing president Nursultan Nazarbayev. In 2022 it was once again renamed Astana.

Bibliography

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Human Development Insights, United Nations Development Programme, 13 Mar. 2024, hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Kassymova, Didar, et al. Historical Dictionary of Kazakhstan. Scarecrow, 2012.

"Kazakh Capital Renamed Again as Ex-Leader's Legacy Fades." Reuters, 16 Sep. 2023, www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kazakh-capital-renamed-again-ex-leaders-legacy-fades-2022-09-16/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.

"Kazakhstan." Human Development Reports, 2024, United Nations Development Programme, hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/KAZ. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

"Kazakhstan." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2 Jan. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kazakhstan/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Robbins, Christopher. In Search of Kazakhstan: The Land That Disappeared. Profile Books, 2012.