Total Population: 15,484,200

Annual growth rate: 1.1%

Density: 6 inhabitant/km²

Urban population: 57.7%

Population of main cities including suburbs: Almaty (1,300,000); Astana (550,000); Symkent (530,000); Qaragandy (450,000); Taraz (360,000).

Ethnic Origins: Kazakhs (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russians 30%, Ukrainians 3.7%, Uzbeks 2.5%, Germans 2.4%, Tatars 1.7%, Uighurs 1.4%, others 4.9% (1999 figures )

Official Language: Kazakh is the State language and Russian is the language for intercommunity communication.

Other languages spoken: English is still rather less spoken.

Business language: Russian

Religion: Muslims 47% ; Orthodox Christians 44.2% ; Protestants 1.9% ; Others 6.9%.

Type of State: Republic based on a Parliamentary democracy with a strong presidential system.

Type of economy: Kazakhstan, where the use of oil income will not cease to grow in the next decades, has been studying the problem of «Dutch Disease » since the beginning of 1990. In 1997, President N. Nazarbaev launched the «Kazakhstan 2030» strategy, defining a development model which is meant to be suitable. It includes a liberalisation of the economy with privatisation of small and medium enterprises, liberalisation of prices in January 1992, opening of foreign trade, introduction of a national currency and restriction on offer of cash to fight against inflation. This liberalisation was accompanied by weak economic growth till 2000, a landmark and exceptional year for Kazakhstan. The core problem of Kazakhstan from now on is of economic governance and management of income. .

HDI*: 0,807/1

HDI (world rank): 71st/177

Telephone code:
To call from Kazakhstan, dial 810
To call in Kazakhstan, dial 7 and the city code.

Internet suffix: .kz

Telephone lines: 22.0 per 100 inhabitants

Internet users: 12.3 per 100 inhabitants