Republic of Kazakhstan

Capital: Astana (formerly Akmola, Tselinograd)

Flag: Light blue with a yellow sun and soaring eagle in the center and a yellow vertical ornamentation in the hoist.

Anthem: National Anthem of Kazakstan.

Monetary unit: The tenge (t), issued in 15 November 1993, is the national currency, replacing the ruble (r). There is a coin, the tyin. One hundred tyin equal one tenge. t1 = $0.00749 (or $1 = t133.44; as of 2005), but exchange rates fluctuate widely.

Weights and measures: The metric system is in force.

Holidays: New Year, 31 December–1 January; International Women's Day, 8 March; Nauryz (Kazak New Year), 28 March; Solidarity Day, 1 May; Victory Day, 9 May; Independence Day, 25 October.

Time: 5 pm = noon GMT.

Location, size, and extent

Kazakhstan is located in southern Asia between Russia and Uzbekistan, bordering on the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, with a total area of 2,717,300 sq km (1,049,155 sq mi). Kazakhstan shares boundaries with Russia on the n and w, China on the e, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan on the s, and the Caspian Sea on the w. Kazakhstan's boundary length totals 12,012 km (7,464 mi). Its capital city, Astana, is located in the north-central part of the country.

Kazakhstan is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe. The ninth largest country in the world by land area, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres is larger than Western Europe. With 17 million people Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre. Kazakhstan declared itself an independent country on December 16, 1991, the last Soviet republic to do so.

Religions: Christian 49%, Muslim 47%, other 4%

Adult literacy rate: 99.5%

GDP - per capita (nominal): 12,021$ (2012 est.)

average monthly salary: 810$

unemployment rate: 5.2% (2011 est.)

population below poverty line: 8.2% (2009)

HDI: 0.754 ( high human development) (2013)

Economy of Kazakhstan

The Kazakhstan economy is extremely well-endowed with large tracts of arable land and rich reserves of coal, oil, and rare metals. Animal herding was the mainstay of the nomadic Kazakh population before their incorporation into the Soviet Union; wool production remained an important agricultural product, along with grains and meat.

Like other countries of the former USSR, Kazakhstan faced serious economic dislocation after 1991, resulting from the disruption of trade with other post-Soviet republics, an end to the flow of official revenues from the Soviet central government, the decline in state production orders, and the need for sudden currency adjustments. Estimated GDP fell by 8.5% in 1991, 14% in 1992, 15.3% in 1993, and 25% in 1994. Overall output was estimated to have shrunk by one-third between 1990–93. Positive if weak growth returned in 1996, when real GDP increased 1.1%, followed by an increase of 1.7% in 1997. Recovery was then arrested briefly by the effects of the Russian financial crisis, as real GDP declined 1.9% in 1998, but growth resumed in 1999 with a rise in real GDP of 2.7%. Economic and fiscal reforms in 1999 and a rise in world energy prices helped spur growth to 9.6% in 2000, and to an estimated 12.6% in 2001. Meanwhile significant progress was made in bringing inflation under control. After independence, inflation reached a staggering 2,000% in 1993, declining to 35% in 1994 and 1995, and to 28.6% in 1996. In 1998, in the recession accompanying the Russian financial crisis, inflation fell to 1.9%. With growth in 1999, inflation grew to 8.3% and 13.2% in 2000. However, prudent monetary policies instituted in 1999 helped reduce inflation to an estimated 6.6% in 2001. Fiscal reforms helped to transform a general government deficit equal to 5% of GDP in 1999 to a surplus equal to 2.9% of GDP in 2001. Registered unemployment was only 3.3% in 2001, although according to US State Department and CIA estimates, actual unemployment ranged between 10% and 30%.

A revitalized energy sector supported by substantial foreign investment has been the main factor in the economy's strong performance, but economic reforms and good harvests have also been important elements. Privatization legislation adopted since 1992 has promoted the rapid transfer of small shops and services to the private sector, although large-scale privatization has gone much slower. In 1996, the government concluded an agreement for the 1,580-km (990-mi) Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline to run from the western Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea. The CPC was officially opened on 27 November 2001. Foreign investment in Kazakhstan's oil industry has helped boost production, with prospects of the country becoming one the world's largest producers at 3.5 million barrels per day by 2015. Such optimistic predictions rest largely on three major oil and gas fields—Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Kashagan—the last of which was hailed by analysts as the world's largest oil discovery in 30 years. An oil pipeline between Kazakhstan and China was being built in the mid-2000s, with the second of three segments completed in December 2004. The pipeline was expected to reach from the Caspian oilfields to the Chinese border, and was expected to be completed around 2010. In January 2001, the president decreed the establishment of the National Fund for the purpose of protecting the economy from the effects of swings in the price of oil and other commodities. In February 2002, the president decreed the formation of a new national energy company, KazMunaiGaz, formed through the merger of Kazakoil, the state oil company, and TransNefteGaz, the state oil and gas transport company. The main purposes of KazMunaiGaz are to ensure a single state policy on energy issues, and to better compete with foreign energy companies.

Kazakhstan enjoyed strong economic growth in 2005, benefiting from record export prices for its energy, minerals, and agricultural exports. The real GDP growth rate stood at 9% in 2005, following a 9.2% expansion in 2004 and 9.5% growth in 2003, but continued growth in imports in 2006–07 was forecast to lessen the rate of economic expansion. Nevertheless, the growth rate was expected to average just over 8% in 2006, potentially rising to 8.4% in 2007. High producer price inflation and sustained inflows of hard currency were expected to keep annual average consumer price inflation close to 7% in 2006, although it was projected to ease in 2007 as producer costs rose less steeply following lower energy prices. In 2005, agriculture accounted for 7.8% of GDP, with industry contributing 40.4% and services 51.8%. Oil now accounts for more than half of industrial output. The agricultural sector is inefficient and labor-intensive: it is the largest single employer in the country but an increasingly irrelevant exporter. In 2002, agriculture provided 35% of total employment. Due to the growth of the oil sector and the likely real appreciation of the currency, in the long term the agricultural sector will need to be subsidized if it is to survive.