About Kazakhstan
Located in Central Asia, Kazakhstan was colonized by Russia in the 18th century and has a history filled with territorial strife. Despite all this, however, Kazakhstan is turning into a major international destination for foreign investment and travel, and with some of the largest reserves of natural gas and oil in the world, people are continuing to travel to the country in increasing numbers every year.
Whenever you travel or relocate to a new country, it is often important to have some background information on your destination. As such we have provided a general outline of Kazakhstan below. Please be advised that the information contained on this page may be liable to change without prior warning, and as such you should consult an expert for more details.
Official Name: Republic of Kazakhstan, formerly known as the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
Capital: The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana locate in the north east of the country. Almaty, however, has the largest urban population in Kazakhstan and is home to almost 700,000 people.
Location : Located in Western Asia, Kazakhstan is bordered by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Kazakhstan has a number of port cities located on the Caspian Sea, and with this is able to access vital Mediterranean trade.
Size: Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world occupying a total area of 2,717,300 square kilometers. In comparative terms this makes Kazakhstan slightly smaller than the US state of Texas.
Climate: The climate throughout Kazakhstan is typically defined as semi-arid. The country experiences extremely hot summers and cold winters, and daily temperature fluctuations of 25 degrees Celsius are not uncommon.
Population: With a total estimated population of 15,340,000 Kazakhstan has the 63rd largest population on earth, however is one of the least densely populated countries in the world.
Life expectancy at birth: The average life expectancy for a Kazakh is 67.55 years at birth. This is the 150th longest life expectancy in the world and just slightly ahead of the global average of 66.12 years.
Major illnesses: There are a number of major disease risks in Kazakhstan including threats from Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Encephalitis, and Hemorrhagic fever.
Ethnic Groups: Kazakhstan has an extremely diverse population with a plethora of smaller ethnicities making up a significant portion of Kazakh society. 53.4% of the individuals living in the country claim Kazakh, or Qazaq, decent, 30% are from Russia, 3.7% are Uzbeki, 2.4% German, 1.7 Tatar, 1.4% Uygur, and a further 4.9% that are undeclared or don’t know.
Languages: The state language of Kazakhstan is Kazakh, or Qazaq, which is spoken by 64.4% of the population. Russian, which is also the official language used in day to day business, is spoken by 95% of the Kazakh population.
Religion: There are a number of religions practiced in Kazakhstan, in order of prevalence throughout the country these are; Islam (47%), Russian Orthodox (44%), Protestant (2%), and others, including tribal religions (7%).
Government: Despite the country’s claim of being a republic, Kazakhstan is actually home to an authoritarian regime. Very little power exists outside of the executive branch of the government and as such the country is prone to fairly radical, and unexpected, legislative changes.
Head of State: President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV holds almost all the official power in the country, and is often seen as the supreme leader.
Economy : Kazakhstan possesses the fourth largest oil and natural gas fields in the world and as such the nation has a massive potential wealth. However, after the collapse of the USSR and the separation of Kazakhstan from the rest of the Soviet Union most of the nations heavy industries collapsed leaving the country in a severe recession.
In recent years the Kazakh government has taken steps to increase privatization and institute reforms promoting private business ventures throughout the count, and this has seen the economic fortunes of the nation reverse from the state that they were in immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union. Currently, Kazakhstan is seeing larger amounts of foreign investment than ever before in its history and this is, in turn, allowing the country to fully develop.
GDP: With a purchasing power parity of US$ 161.5 billion and an actual GDP of US$ 102.5 billion, Kazakhstan has the 56th highest GDP in the world with large amounts of upward potential.
For more information about Kazakhstan, the international health insurance plans that we can offer there, or to receive a free quote, please contact one of our expert advisers today.