Kazakhstan - Facts & Stats
Facts & Stats (http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/facts_stats.htm) | History (http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/135/country_guide/Central-Asia/Kazakhstan.html) | Culture (http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/kazakhstan/kazakhstan26.html) | Geography (http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/geography.htm) | Religion (http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/religion.htm) | Current Events (http://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/kazakhstan/) | Links & Resources (http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/links_resources.htm)
Kazakhstan National Anthem - PDF* (http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/kazakhstan_anthem.pdf) Kazakhstan National Anthem - mp3 (http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/kazakhstan_anthem.mp3) |
Location:
Central Asia, northwest of China
Country Name:
Conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan
Conventional short form: Kazakhstan
Local short form: None
Former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
Local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy
Nationality:
Kazakhstani(s)
adjective: Kazakhstani
Capital:
Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998
Flag Description:
The flag of Kazakhstan is sky blue and features a stylized golden eagle soaring beneath a gold sun with 32 rays in the center; on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in gold. The blue represents the sky, and the sun and the eagle stand for the lofty aspirations of the Kazakh people. The eagle is of a species known locally as the berkut, or steppe eagle. http://www.studentsguild.com/servlet/NFrmFindFlag?lstCountry=Kazakhstan (http://www.studentsguild.com/servlet/NFrmFindFlag?lstCountry=Kazakhstan)
Government Type:
Republic
Administrative Divisions:
14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 3 cities* (qala,
singular - qalasy); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*, Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy*, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Petropavlovsk), Zhambyl Oblysy (Taraz)
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk)
Independence:
December 16, 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Language:
Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
Ethnic Groups:
Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (1999 census)
Religion:
Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Population:
16,741,519 (July 2002 est.)
Population Growth Rate:
0.1% (2002 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 26% (male 2,212,985; female 2,141,392)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 5,393,281; female 5,731,288)
65 years and over: 7.5% (male 434,879; female 827,694) (2002 est.)
Life Expectancy:
Male: 58 years; female: 69 years (2002 est.)
|
Literacy rate:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98.4%
Male: 99.1%
Female: 97.7% (1999 est.)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP):
$98.1 billion (2001 est.)
Currency:
Tenge (KZT; 151.14KZT=1USD)
Area:
1,049,155 sq. miles (about four times the size of Texas)
Climate:
Continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
Terrain:
Extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia
Natural Resources:
Major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese,
chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
