Country name: Republic of Kazakhstan
Location: Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe
Area: 2,717,300 sq km
Population: 15,233,244 (July 2006 est.)
Capital: Astana
Language: Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the “language of interethnic communication”) 95% (2001 est.)
Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
Government type: republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Legal system: based on civil law system
Currency: tenge (KZT)
Republic of Kazakhstan is big country situated in Central Asia with a total area covered of 2,720,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 15,480,000 people according to recent estimated done in 2007. The country shared borders with 5 other countries: with China to the east, with Russia to the North, and with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan to the South. It also borders with Caspian Sea to the West. It is the 9th largest country in the world and the largest in Central Asia. The capital city of the country is Astana. The country’s relief is mostly flat terrain, with deserts around Caspian Sea and to the South as well. The climate of the country is continental with temperatures greatly varying in different regions of the country. The country experiences hot summers that are followed by very cold winters. Precipitation is not common for the country and it usually occurs in the central and northern part of Kazakhstan.
The history of Kazakhstan can be traced back to the 13th century when Mongol and Turkic tribes occupied the lands of nowadays Kazakhstan. They never formed a nation and this resulted in Russia overtaking the lands in the 18th century. Consequently, Kazakhstan became a part of the USSR in 1930s. The country was attractive to immigrants because of its huge natural resources of gas, coal and petroleum. Cooper, silver and zinc are very important minerals that are also significant part of the rich natural resources of the country. Due to high immigration, the country’s native population was outnumbered by Russians and other minorities. Eventually, when the country gained independence in 1991, many of the immigrants left the country. However the population is still comprised of a large portion of Russians which counts to about one third of the whole population. Kazaks comprise more than half of the population. The rest consists of Ukrainians, Germans and others.
Religion in Kazakhstan is influenced by the diverse population of the nation. Kazaks are Muslim people that speak Kazakh language. Around half of the population is Muslim and the other half is Russian Orthodox. The official language is Russian, this is the language that is mostly used during formal meetings and business conferences while Kazakh language is the language of the state.
Kazakhstan is a republic with strict presidential rule. Its currency is called Tenge (KZT). 1 US dollar can be exchanged for 120 KZT, while 1 Euro can be exchanged for 191 KZT.
The economy of Kazakhstan relies heavily on this vast amounts of natural resources that are being exported to other countries. Although the industry comprises of one fifth of labour force occupied it played a major role in processing the natural resources and exporting them. After its independence from Russia, the demand for products coming from Kazakhstan declined which resulted in a slight downturn in the economy of the country. However, the country quickly recovered from this shutter and followed reforms that boosted the economy. Such reforms were the transformation of state-owned enterprises into private, the increase Foreign Direct Investment( FDI), and also good harvests. Agriculture occupies one fourth of the labour force. The country produces rice, potatoes, cereal crops, vegetables and a lot of fruits as well. However, the northeastern part of the country is not used for developing agriculture since the soil has been contaminated due to testing of nuclear weapons by the Soviet Union. The country experiences GDP growth of more than 8% per year, which of course resulted in increased inflation. The country’s main policy has been to reduce the dependence on foreign investment in the oil sector since Kazakhstan wants to develop its own potential and to employ its own citizens.
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