Kazakhstan | Facts & Information

Updated January 10, 2023 | Infoplease Staff

Infoplease has everything you need to know about Kazakhstan. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about Kazakhstan's geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion, and languages. If that's not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags.

Facts & Figures

  • Official Name: Republic of Kazakhstan

    President: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2019)

    Prime Minister: Alihan Smaiylov (2022)

    Land area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km); total area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km)

    Population (2022 est.): 19,332,410 (growth rate: 1.05%); birth rate: 18.51/1000; infant mortality rate: 8.9/1000; life expectancy: 71.37

    Capital (2020 est.): Astana 1,136,008

    Largest city: Almaty 2,147,233 million

    Monetary unit: Tenge

    National name: Qazaqstan Respublikasy

    Current government officials

    Languages: Kazak (Qazaq, state language) 64%; Russian (official, used in everyday business) 95% (2001 est.)

    Ethnicity/race: Kazakh (Qazaq) 70.4%, Russian 15.5%, Uzbek 3.2%, Ukrainian 2.0%, Uighur 1.5%, German 1.2%, Tatar 1.1%, other 5.1% (2021)

    Religions: Islam 69.3%, Russian Orthodox 17.2%, other 0.2%, no religion/response 13.3%

    National Holiday: Independence Day, December 16

    Literacy rate: 99.7% (2009 est.)

    Currency: Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP $190.8 billion (2021); $10,041 (2021). Real growth rate: 4%. Inflation: 16% (2022 average). Unemployment: 4.9%. Arable land: 10.9%. Agriculture: grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock. Labor force: 9.247 million; industry 20.98%, agriculture 14,86%, services 64.16% (2019). Industries: oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and steel; tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials. Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium. Exports: $60.62 billion (2022 est.): oil and oil products, natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat, and coal. Imports: $46.03 billion (2022 est.): machinery and equipment, metal products, foodstuffs. Major trading partners: China, Italy, Russia, Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Switzerland, and Austria (2022 ).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 3.275 million (2019); mobile cellular: 24.29 million (2019). Broadcast media: state owns nearly all radio and TV transmission facilities and operates national TV and radio networks; nearly all nationwide TV networks are wholly or partly owned by the government; some former state-owned media outlets have been privatized and are controlled by the former press secretary Berik Uali, who heads the Khabar Agency that runs multiple TV and radio stations; a number of privately-owned TV stations; households with satellite dishes have access to foreign media; a small number of commercial radio stations operating along with state-run radio stations (2008). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 67,464 (2012). Internet users: 15.47 million (2021).

    Transportation: Railways: total: 16,060 km (2022). Roadways: total: 97,418 km; paved: 87,140 km; unpaved: 10,278 km (2020). Waterways: 4,000 km (on the Ertis (Irtysh) River (80%) and Syr Darya (Syrdariya) River) (2022). Ports and terminals: Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk). Airports: 175 (2022).

    Major sources and definitions

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