Kazakhstan

In brief

Kazakhstan is a country in Central Asia. Its capital is Astana. With 20.8 million inhabitants in 2025, it ranks 64th in the world by population, out of the 195 countries recognised by the UN. Its area is 2,724,900 km². Landlocked, it shares land borders with China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

GDP per capita stands at $14,692 (2025), 69th in the world. Life expectancy at birth is 74.5 years (2024). 62% of the population lives in cities.

History of Kazakhstan

A land of steppe nomads crossed by the Silk Roads, the region saw the birth of the Kazakh Khanate in the 15th century. It was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. Under the USSR, collectivisation caused a terrible famine in the early 1930s; the Baikonur Cosmodrome launched Yuri Gagarin in 1961, and hundreds of nuclear tests were carried out near Semipalatinsk. Kazakhstan was the last republic to leave the USSR, on 16 December 1991. Nursultan Nazarbayev led it until 2019 and moved the capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997.

Geography of Kazakhstan

The ninth-largest country in the world and the largest with no ocean access, Kazakhstan is made up of steppes and deserts, bounded in the south-east by the Tian Shan and Altai mountains. It borders the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, which has lost most of its water. Lake Balkhash is half fresh water and half salt water.

Map of Kazakhstan

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Flag of Kazakhstan

The flag of Kazakhstan is blue and yellow. Its official proportions are 1:2 (height to width).

• Blue92%
• Yellow8%

Share of the flag’s surface taken by each colour.

What the flag stands for

Sky blue, with a gold sun of 32 rays above a steppe eagle, and a traditional ornamental pattern along the hoist. Blue evokes the sky and peace; it was adopted in 1992.

Sources: Wikipedia, articles “Kazakhstan” and “Flag of Kazakhstan”.

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Fact file

Economy and society