Kazakhstan

In the Indo-European language, Kazakhstan means the “land of the Kazakhs,” with “Kazakhs” referring to the descendants of ethnic Kazakhs. Kazakhstan is (a) one of the six independent Turkic states, (b) the largest landlocked country on planet earth, (c) the world’s 9th largest but not densely populated country, and (d) five times as big as France but greater than Western Europe. It borders part of the Caspian Sea, which is the biggest lake in the world, the Aral Sea, the world’s fourth largest lake, and the countries of Russia, China, Kyrgystan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. With a population consisting of 63% ethnic Kazakhs and 23% ethnic Russians, the country has 131 nationalities, including Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek and Tatar. Its highest point is the Khan Tengri Mountain in Tian Shan range near the Kyrgystan border, which is more than 7,000 meters in height, and its lowest is the bottom of the Karagiye depression in Mangystan province, which is 132 meters below sea level. Many of its mountain peaks and ranges, including Altay and Tian Shan, are covered with snow the whole year, and have hundreds of rivers and lakes that border on the Caspian Sea.

Kazakhstan is the first former Soviet republic to chair the 56-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that promotes cooperation among the member countries on economic and security issues. The country’s mineral resources serve as a come-on for many Western companies to seek investment opportunities in the Central Asian territory that was once a Russian colony.