republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
parliamentary republic
Independence date
16 December 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Religions
Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 Census)
Languages
Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
tenge (KZT) per US dollar - 120.25 (2008 est.), 122.55 (2007), 126.09 (2006), 132.88 (2005), 136.04 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
13
0
Location
Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Area
2,724,900 km sq
12,189 km sq
Coastline
0 km
2,528 km
Climate
continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April
