15,921,00 (1996).

5.9 per sq km.

Astana (formerly called Akmola).

287,000 (1993).

Five times the size of France and half the size of the United States, Kazakhstan is the second largest state in the Commonwealth of Independent States, and is bordered by the Russian Federation to the north and west, the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the southwest, Kyrgyzstan to the south and China to the southeast. 90% of the country is made up of steppe, the sand massives of the Kara Kum and the vast desert of Kizilkum, while in the southeast of the country the mountains of the Tien Shan and the Altai form a great natural frontier with tens of thousands of lakes and rivers. The Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash are the country's largest expanses of water.

Republic. Head of State: President Nursultan A Nasarbajev since 1990. Head of Government: Prime Minister Nurlan Balgymbayev since 1997.

The official language is Kazakh, a Turkic language closely related to Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Turkish. The Government has undertaken to replace the Russian Cyrillic alphabet with the Turkish version of the Roman alphabet. Meanwhile the Cyrillic alphabet is in general use and most people in the cities can speak Russian, whereas country people tend to only speak Kazakh. English is usually spoken by those involved in tourism. Uygur and other regional languages and dialects are also spoken.

Mainly Sunni Muslim. There are Russian Orthodox and Jewish minorities. There are ten independent denominations of Christianity. The Kazakhs do not express their religious feelings fervently – Kazakhstan is an outlying district of the Muslim world and a meeting point of Russian, Chinese and Central Asian civilisations. Islam plays a minor role in policy and there are no significant Islamic political organisations in the country.

Kazakhstan is divided into three time zones: Eastern/Main Zone: GMT + 6 (GMT + 7 from March 28 to October 26). Central Zone: GMT + 5 (GMT + 6 from March 28 to October 26). Western Zone: GMT + 4 (GMT + 5 from March 28 to October 26).

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round 2-pin continental plugs are standard.