KAZAKHSTAN
OVERVIEW
Kazakhstan, also spelled Kazakstan, officially Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakh Qazaqstan Respublikasï, country of Central Asia. It is bounded on the northwest and north by Russia, on the east by China, and on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea, and Turkmenistan; the Caspian Sea bounds Kazakhstan to the southwest. Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia and the ninth largest in the world. Between its most distant points, Kazakhstan measures about 1,820 miles (2,930 kilometres) east to west and 960 miles north to south. While Kazakhstan was not considered by authorities in the former Soviet Union to be a part of Central Asia, it does have physical and cultural geographic characteristics similar to those of the other Central Asian countries. The capital is Astana (formerly Nur-Sultan, Aqmola, and Tselinograd), in the north-central part of the country. Kazakhstan, formerly a constituent (union) republic of the U.S.S.R., declared independence on December 16, 1991.
Kazakhstan’s great mineral resources and arable lands have long aroused the envy of outsiders, and the resulting exploitation has generated environmental and political problems. The forced settlement of the nomadic Kazakhs in the Soviet period, combined with large-scale Slavic in-migration, strikingly altered the Kazakh way of life and led to considerable settlement and urbanization in Kazakhstan. The Kazakhs’ traditional customs uneasily coexist alongside incursions of the modern world.
TRADE / ECONOMY
Kazakhstan possesses abundant natural resources. Its major exports include agricultural products, raw materials, chemical products, and manufactured goods. Privatization of state-owned industries was undertaken during the 1990s. In 1994 Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan formed an economic union, later joined in 1998 by Tajikistan, that enabled free movement of labour and capital among the countries and established coordinated economic policies. The union gradually gave way to what became the Eurasian Economic Union, consisting of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan.
Resources
Among the most important minerals are copper in the central areas and in Aqtöbe (Aktyubinsk) province; lead, zinc, and silver in the Rūdnyy Altai area and the Dzungarian Alatau and Qarataū (Karatau) spurs; tungsten and tin in the Kolbin Ridge and southern Altai; chromite, nickel, and cobalt in the Mugozhar Hills; titanium, manganese, and antimony in the central regions; vanadium in the south; and gold in the north and east. Processing facilities at Aqtaū produce large quantities of uranium mined in the Mangghyshlaq area. Much iron ore comes from Qaraghandy and Qostanay (Kustanay), and coal from the Qaraghandy, Torghay (Turgay), Ekibastuz, and Maykuben basins. In 1993 Kazakhstan finalized a contract with the Chevron Corporation to exploit the reserves of the Tengiz oil field, one of the world’s largest. In the mid-1990s agreements also were sought with foreign investors for the development of oil and natural gas from the Tengiz, Zhusan, Temir, and Kasashyganak wells. The profitability of such ventures rested principally on the establishment of new pipelines.
Kazakhstan’s main export commodities include oil and natural gas, various metals, and chemicals. Its primary export destinations are Italy, China, the Netherlands, and Russia. Imports include machinery, metal and chemical products, and foodstuffs. Russia and China are its main sources of imports.
TOURISM
Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country by area and the largest landlocked country. Tourism is not a major component of the economy. As of 2014, tourism has accounted for 0.3% of Kazakhstan GDP, but the government had plans to increase it to 3% by 2020.[needs update]
According to the World Economic Forum‘s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, travel and tourism industry GDP in Kazakhstan is $3.08 billion or 1.6 percent of total GDP. The WEF ranks Kazakhstan 81st in its 2017 report, which is four positions higher compared to the previous period. Kazakhstan received 6.5 million tourists in 2016.
EDUCATION
The education system in Kazakhstan, which includes a number of distinct levels, has been very instrumental in helping this former member of the now defunct Soviet Union achieve economic and political success. In the following article we will discuss the country’s system of education in great detail, describing the basics associated with each of the aforementioned levels.
The Education System in Kazakhstan
The education system in Kazakhstan is overseen by the Ministry of Education and administered at the local level. Schooling is mandatory for all students between the ages of 6 and 15, although there are several pre-university educational options for students between the ages of 16-18 as well. Below you will find the various levels that make up Kazakhstan’s system of education, beginning with Kindergarten and culminating with the various higher education opportunities available in the country for students seeking advanced degrees and diplomas.
VISA REQUIREMENTS
Visa requirements for Kazakhstani citizens were lifted by Turkey (2 April 1992), Mongolia (2 January 1995), Barbados (21 September 1995), Albania (29 June 1998), Samoa (15 December 1998), Ecuador, (15 July 1999), Cook Islands (4 February 2002), Antigua and Barbuda (17 February 2002), Haiti (14 February 2004), Philippines (15 April 2014), Dominica (13 May 2004), Namibia (2 August 2005), Niue (11 February 2007), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (5 March 2007), Serbia (28 May 2012), Hong Kong (26 July 2012), Colombia (2014), Argentina (1 November 2014), South Korea (29 November 2014), Indonesia (September 2015), Brazil (6 September 2016), Costa Rica (December 2016), United Arab Emirates (10 March 2018), Montenegro (15 April 2019),[6] Oman (1 April 2022), Maldives (9 May 2022) and Andorra (5 August 2022)
Visa on arrival were introduced Cambodia (15 November 1995), Palau (2 July 1996), Cape Verde (27 March 1998), Laos (1 July 1998), Lebanon (4 March 1999), Kenya (15 March 1999), Bolivia (30 June 1999), Jordan (19 July 2000), Nicaragua (23 August 2000) Bangladesh (19 March 2001), Comores (1 July 2001), Jamaica (14 March 2002), Macao (11 May 2002), Uganda (9 November 2002), Zambia (15 January 2003), Nepal (16 February 2003), Madagascar (28 September 2003), Mauritius (19 January 2004), Tuvalu (15 October 2006), Mozambique (1 September 2008), Qatar (22 June 2017), Rwanda (1 January 2018) and Saudi Arabia (27 September 2019).
Electronic visas for Kazakhstani citizens were introduced: Australia (Electronic Visitor visa from November 2013), Lesotho (1 May 2017), Djibouti (18 February 2018), India (5 March 2018), Ethiopia (1 June 2018) and Saudi Arabia (27 September 2019).[citation needed]
Following countries have reinstated visa requirements for Kazakhstani citizens: Estonia (1 July 1992), Latvia (1993), Lithuania (1 November 1993),[10] Slovakia (6 May 1994),[11] Hungary (6 November 1996), Bulgaria (1 January 1999), Turkmenistan (19 June 1999), Romania (1 July 2000),[14] Czech Republic (22 October 2000) and Poland (12 January 2001).
IMPORTANT LINKS
here are a variety of websites in Kazakh, Russian and English with information on Kazakhstan. We have listed many of the websites that include an English language version here. If the site does not immediately open into an English language version, look for the “Eng” button. Not all the websites will have everything translated into English, but most have sufficient information to make the sites useful.
News about Kazakhstan and the Region
www.visitkazakhstan.KZ/en (ENG)
Official site of KazInform Information agency
www.newsline.kz (ENG)
Kazakhstan Newsline, a subscription-based source of business information
www.khabar.kz
Official site of Khabar News Agency
www.kazpravda.kz and www.kazpravda.kz/en (ENG)
Official site of the “KazPravda” daily newspaper
General Information
Official Tourism website of the Committee of Tourism Industry
Kazakh Government Websites
www.akorda.kz and www.akorda.kz/en (ENG)
Official site of the President
www.mfa.kz and www.mfa.kz/en/ (ENG)
Official site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
www.mks.gov.kz/rus/ and www.mks.gov.kz/eng/ (ENG)
Official site of the Ministry of Culture and Sport
www.parlam.kz and www.parlam.kz/en (ENG)
Official site of Parliament
www.government.kz and www.government.kz/en/ (ENG)
Official site of the government
www.almaty.kz and www.almaty.gov.kz/page.php?page_id=3894&lang=2 (ENG)
Official site of the city of Almaty
astana.gov.kz/ru/ and astana.gov.kz/en/ (ENG)
Official site of the city of Nur-Sultan
www.expo2017astana.com/ and www.expo2017astana.com/en/ (ENG)
Official site of EXPO 2017 International Specialized Exhibition in Nur-Sultan
Tourism and Leisure
www.restoran.kz and www.restoran.kz/en (ENG)
Restaurant information for Nur-Sultan and Almaty
www.realkz.com and realkz.com/?lang=3 (ENG)
Cities, hotels, restaurants in Kazakhstan
www.kaztour-association.com (RUS)
Kazakhstan Tourist Association
www.centralasia-travel.com/en (ENG)
Central Asia Travel guide
www.eco-tourism.kz and www.eco-tourism.kz/eirc_eng.html (ENG)
Kazakhstan Ecotourism
kazakhstan.travel/ (ENG)
Kazakhstan travel – official touristic website