Kazakhstan

basics Official Name: Republic of Kazakhstan Capital: Astana Population: 15.29 million Languages: Russian (official), Kazakh (state language) Literacy: Male: [100%]; Female: [99%] Independence Day: Dec. 16, 1991 Currency: Tenge 1 U.S. dollar = 147.63 Kazakhstani Tenge Religion: Islam 47% Russian Orthodox 44%

Government Government Type: Republic President: Nursultan Nazarbayev Prime Minister: Karim Masimov

Almaty Largest city with 1.3 million people Began as the Almaty settlement in the 3rd century BC. In 1854 it was a fort for Russian Empire. The city was named Vernyi and later Alma-Ata

Karaganda Named for the cara-gana bush Coal mining town During World War II, the Germans evacuated a large coal industry to Karaganda

Astana December 10, 1997 was renamed to Akmola Also became the capital of Kazakhstan May 6, 1998 it was renamed to Astana Baiterek Tower

history The first Kazakhs were nomads who live in yurts and raised sheep, horses and goats Under Mongol rule in the 13th century Conquered by Russia in the 18th century Became part of the Kirgiz Autonomous “Independent” Republic formed by the Soviets in 1920 In 1925 name changed to Kazakh ASSR

History continued Soviets made the Kazakhs settle on large farms Encouraged the settlement of large numbers of Russians Much of Kazakhstan was used as a nuclear weapons testing area Became independent in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed 1/3 of the government’s operations were eliminated in 1997 And the capital was moved from Almaty to Astana

Geography Area: 1.05 million square miles 9th largest country in the world It is the largest landlocked country About 4 times the size of Texas It is bordered by China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

Climate and land use Cold winters and hot summers like here Much of the country has little rainfall When the Soviet Union was in power they irrigated much of the land

Land use continued Kazakhstan is a large producer of coal, oil, and natural gas Mining is one of the biggest causes of Kazakhstan's economic growth They mine iron ore, Lead, zinc, copper, gold, silver, etc.

Jobs and work force Work force distribution: Agriculture: 28.2% Industry: 18.2% Other: 53.6% Kazakhstan produces a lot of wheat, cotton, and livestock

Military The Kazakhstan Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Mobile Forces, Air Defense Forces About 8 million men and women fit for military service Compared to the United States 145 million

Current events Kazakhstan is bidding on the 2014 Winter Olympics. If they win the Olympics will most likely be in Almaty. Kazakhstan has 15% of the world's uranium resources India and Kazakhstan recently signed an agreement for peaceful use of nuclear energy Another current event is the shrinking Aral Sea

Focus- The Aral sea In the first half of the 20th century it was the 4th largest lake in the world In 1960 the Soviet Union started irrigating water to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan from sources of the Aral Sea Problems: leaving behind endless plains where water used to be hotter summers and colder winters destroying local fishing industries massive, disease spreading dust storms

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/photo_gallery/kz/photo_gallery_B1_kz_4.html http://www.daggarjon.com/Currency_Kazakhstan.php http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=kazakhstan&qs=n&sk=&sc=8-10&form=QBIR&adlt=strict http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=kazakhstan+mining+sites&view=detail&id=5A6E86FAD581A81C476DE26ADE1F763D6647DD1F&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR&adlt=strict http://aboutkazakhstan.com/about-kazakhstan-economy/agriculture# http://img5.cache.netease.com/sports/2009/10/28/200910281930519d4b8.jpg http://aboutkazakhstan.com/images/kazakhstan-president-ministries-buildings.jpg http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cara-gana+bush&view=detail&id=158C41A1B548E6A6F993B3A77E155AF2C800BB3D&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=yurts&qs=n&sk=&form=QBIR http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=astana+kazakhstan&qs=n&sk=&sc=6-17&form=QBIR#x0y436 Photos: http://www.advantour.com/kazakhstan/karaganda.htm http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3947-south-aral-sea-gone-in-15-years.html http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/kazakhstan/index.html http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/Kazakhstan.htm http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1069331.html http://www.kazakhstan.com/v/city_info/ http://www.advantour.com/kazakhstan/index.htm http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0107674.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kz.html Facts: Created by: Cody Thomas Cody S. Thomas