Picture is taken from Welcome to Kazakhstan web site
Ethnic groups: Kazakh (Qazaq) 46%, Russian 34.7%, Ukrainian 4.9%, German 3.1%, Uzbek 2.3%, Tatar 1.9%, other 7.1% (1996)
Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Languages: Kazakh (Qazaq) (state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66%
Government type: republic
Capital: Astana note: the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998
Independence: 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday: Day of the Republic, 25 October (1990) (date on which Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty)
Constitution: adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Economy-overview: Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, possesses enormous untapped fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also has considerable agricultural potential with its vast steppe lands accommodating both livestock and grain production. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a relatively large machine building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR and the collapse of demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products have resulted in a sharp contraction of the economy since 1991, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97 the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector. The December 1996 signing of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium agreement to build a new pipeline from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea increases prospects for substantially larger oil exports in several years. Kazakhstan's economy turned downward in 1998 with a 2.5% decline in GDP growth due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in Russia. 1999 will also be a difficult year.
In 1991, new country - the Republic of Kazakhstan - appeared on the geopolitical map of the world.
Kazakhstan has a multi-millennia history and culture. One of the central question is the origin of it's native people, Kazakhs, and the development of their statehood, culture, traditions, and relations with other civilisations.
If written sourses are examined, it can be concluded that the Kazakh statehood was completely formed by 1470 when sultans Janibek and Girey organised numerous tribes in the south-eastern areas and combined them into a single 'Kazakh' tribe.
In the beginning ot the 16th century, when Kasymkhan ruled over these lands, the Kazakh khanate strengthened: its borders were expanded and the khanate included the cities of Turkestan, Otrar, Sairam, Sauran, Sygnak, Suzak and Chimkent which were located on the Syr Darya river. Kazakhs became well-known both in Europe and Asia.
The 16th century is a milestone in the Muslim world history. This was the time when a new age began. V. Bartold, an outstanding orientalist, wrote: "In the new history of Islam, the pace of changing dynasties, the general instability of power, and small states where no patriotism could exist came to there opposite - uniting of states which took place there. We see the Muslim empire of Great Mogul in India, then Turkey, Persia...". That was the approximate time when the Kazakh, Bukhar, and Yarken khanates were established in Central Asia. Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyzes, and Karakalpaks, all speaking Turkic languages, claimed their rights in the historic arena.
More Information about Kazakhstan you can find here