- Kazakhstanian flag
Kazakhstan, officially named the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of northern and central Eurasia. A portion of its territory west of the Ural River is located in eastern-most Europe. Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world by area, but its semi-desert (steppe) landscape makes it the 57th country in population with 2-3 people per square mile. The capital is Astana. Administratively, Kazakhstan is divided into 14 provinces and 3 cities.
The national currency is the Tenge (KZT).
Climate - continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid.
History - Kazakhstan peoples, since the earliest Stone Age, reflect the nomadic pastoralism for which the region's climate and terrain are best suited. Humans first domesticated the horse in these lands. The Kazakhs emerged from a mixture of tribes living in the region around the 15th century. In the 18th century, the Russian Empire began its epic expansion and added Kazakhstan to its conquered territories.
Economy & Industry - Kazakhstan possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves and plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and on a growing machine-building sector. Kazakhstan also has a large agricultural industry based upon livestock and grain. Its booming energy sector, combined with economic reforms, good harvests, and foreign investment give this country a chance to double its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2008 and triple it by 2015.
Country comparison
| Kazakhstan | USA | |
| Population | 15,285 million | 301 million |
| Land Mass | 1,042,891 sq. ml | 3,536,227 sq.ml |
| Average Annual Income | $9,400 | $43,800 |
| Life Expectancy | 67 years | 78 years |
| Access to Safe Water | 86% | 100% |
| Adequate to Sanitation | 72% | 100% |
| Under Mortality Rate | 27 deaths/1000 live births | 6.4 deaths/1000 live births |
The People of Kazakhstan
The population of Kazakhstan is ethnically quite diverse: representatives of 130 nationalities live here. Kazakhs do not constitute a majority of Kazakhstan's population, but they do make up a plurality: with 53 percent of the population, they are the single largest ethnic group. The next largest ethnic group in Kazakhstan is Russians.
Religion - Kazakhstan is officially a secular state. The Kazakhs are primarily Muslims, but Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism are also represented.
Language - Kazakhstan is a bilingual country: the Kazakh language, spoken by 64.4% of the population, has the status of the "state" language, while Russian is declared the "official" language.
Health Conditions - Poor environmental quality, caused by radioactive or toxic sites associated with former defense industries and test ranges throughout the country, poses health risks for humans and animals. Industrial pollution is severe in some cities as well. Evidence suggests that salts, pesticides, and residues of chemical fertilizers are also adversely affecting human life around the former Aral Sea; infant mortality in the region approaches 10 percent, compared with a 1991 national rate of 2.7 percent.
The Children of Kazakhstan
About 100,000 children in Kazakhstan are orphans who have experienced the lost of family, home, innocence, identity, status, self-worth, and security. Another significant problem is that of children with disabilities, because of the lack of assistive devices and social services to address their needs.
Culture of Kazakhstan
Kazakh culture began to develop in the 13th century with considerable influence from its nomadic lifestyle and Sunni Muslim traditions. The Russian conquest wreaked havoc on Kazakh traditional culture by rendering impossible the nomadic customs upon which the culture was based. However, many individual elements survived this loss of the lifestyle as a whole.
Pastimes - There are mountains in the south of Kazakhstan, and skiing is a popular winter and spring pastime. Hunting and boxing are also common pastimes. Horse-riding is a traditional sport, and there are a variety of games played on horse-back including "wrestling on horseback" and "pick up the coin" which is performed while galloping at full-speed.
Festivals & Holidays - The national holiday, since 1991, is Independence Day on December 16. Many festivals feature a traditional horse race. As many as 200 participants, mostly young boys riding bareback, will race their horses around a mile track in the middle of the steppe for about 30 laps. Click here to find more Kazakhstani holidays on Earth Calendar.
Kazakh Cuisine- Kazakhstan's food and traditions are a reflection of the country's unique ethnic and religious composition. With people of more than 100 ethnic groups practicing 46 different religious teachings, one can only imagine a wide variety of cuisine art and cultural rituals that form the rich mosaic of our everyday life. People of all ethnicities come to enjoy the traditional Kazakh dish 'beshbarmak'.
Statistics and information from CIA WORLD FACTBOOK, WIKIPEDIA, and UNICEF.
