Kazakhstan

National name

Qazaqstan Respublikasy

Government
Republic.

Geography
Kazakhstan lies in the north of the central Asian republics and is bounded by Russia in the north, China in the east, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the south, and the Caspian Sea and part of Turkmenistan in the west. It has almost 1,177 mi (1,894 km) of coastline on the Caspian Sea. The territory is mostly steppe land with hilly plains and plateaus.

Historical Background
Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. Independence in 1991 caused many Russian immigrants to emigrate.

Name

Republic of Kazakhstan

Capital

Astana

Government

Presidential republic -  President Nursultan Nazarbayev -  Prime Minister Karim Massimov

Area

Total 2,724,900 km2 (9th) 1,052,085 sq mi     

Population

2011 estimate 16,455,000[1] (62nd) -  2009 census 16,004,800[1]

GDP (PPP)

2010 estimate - Total $187.697 billion[3]

GDP (nominal)

2010 estimate-Total $126.346 billion[3]

Currency

Tenge (Tenge symbol.svg) (KZT)

Time zone

West/East (UTC+5/6)