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Central Asia

Kazakhstan

Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural (Oral) River in easternmost Europe.

Muslim population69.3%of the population
Population20.6 millionpeople (current)
CapitalAstanaUTC+5
Currency469 = $1Tenge (KZT) (2024)

Country basics

Kazakhstan is a landlocked Central Asian republic and the ninth-largest country by land area.

Kazakhstan is a republic with Astana as its capital and Kazakh and Russian in official use, stretching from the Caspian Sea to China. The tenge is the currency, and crude oil, uranium, metals and grain lead its export earnings.

Official name
Republic of Kazakhstan
Region
Asia · Central Asia
Government
Unitary presidential republic under an authoritarian government
Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city
UTC+05:00; UTC+06:00
Driving side
Right
Phone code
+7
Currency
Kazakhstani tenge (KZT, ₸)
Member of
UN
Website
https://www.gov.kz

Faith and language

Religions
Muslim 69.3%, Christian 17.2% (Orthodox 17%, other 0.2%), Buddhism 0.1%, other 0.1%, non-believers 2.3%, unspecified 11%
Languages
Kazakh; Russian

People and cities

Population
20.6 million (current)
Median ageHalf the population is younger than this
32.1 years (2025)
Living in cities
58.2% (2023)
Largest cities
Almaty 1.987 million · Nur-Sultan (capital) 1.291 million · Shimkent 1.155 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget
469 tenge (KZT) per US dollar (2024)
Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)
$35,900 (2024)
InflationHow much prices rose over the year
8.8% (2024)
Unemployment
4.8% (2024)
Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending
50.4% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy
73.3 years (2024)
Doctors
3.75 per 1,000 people (2023)
Hospital beds
6.7 per 1,000 people (2020)
Electricity
100% of people (2022)
Internet users
93% of people (2023)

Land and climate

Climate
Continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
SizeSlightly less than four times the size of Texas
2,724,900 sq km
Natural hazards
Earthquakes in the south; mudslides around Almaty
National holiday
Independence Day, 16 December (1991)