The Republic of Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in terms of surface area in the world (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.). Kazakhstan shares its northern border of 6,477 kilometres with Russia and borders China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the south. It is a landlocked country, although it does have access to the Aral and Caspian Seas and several rivers flow through its territory. Kazakhstan’s terrain is varied, with mountainous peaks of the Tien-Shan range in the south to vast Siberian steppe in the north. The country has significant deposits of gas, oil, coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, uranium and gold (US Department of State 2009). Despite agriculture playing a significant role in the Kazakh economy, only 8% of the land is arable (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.).
The management of nuclear waste is an environment issue of particular significance. According to official sources, there are more than 230 million tons of left-over radioactive materials in Kazakhstan (CNS 2010). In addition, nuclear tests such as the 470 hosted at the Semilpalatinsk during the Soviet era, have been detrimental to the inhabitants, flora, and fauna of the surrounding areas (World Nuclear Association 2011).
Kazakhstan has a continental climate with very cold winters and hot summers, although there are great variations between sub-regions. The population settlement in the country is much dispersed and depends on the historical settlement (and re-settlement) patterns. The Belarusians, Russians and Ukrainians settlements are common in the north of the country – its farming heartland, while the Kazakhs and other nomadic tribes occupy the south of Kazakhstan. The urban areas of Kazakhstan are still home to more Russians than Kazakhs. In fact, about three-fifths of Kazakh families live in rural areas (Britannica 2011).
UN sources estimate the population of Kazakhstan at 16 million in 2010. Almost a quarter of the total population is under the age of 14, which has put a large strain on the Kazakh education system. Life expectancy is relatively low with only 8% of the population older than 65 years of age. In fact, the average lifespan of men is estimated at 62 years (for 2010-2015 period), while the figure is at 72 years for women. Low life expectancy for men can be attributed to a high death rate caused by alcoholism. The sex ratio in Kazakhstan puts 0.92 males per female (UN DESA n.d.).
While Kazakhstan is a multi-cultural country, two ethnic groups are dominant: the Kazakhs and the Russians. At the time of independence in 1991, Russians represented the overwhelming majority of the population, which had justified the designation of official language status to Russian along with Kazakh (UNESCO 2008). However, there has been significant exodus of the ethnic Russians from Kazakhstan since the early 90s. According to the 2009 census, Kazakhs constitutes approximately 63% and Russians 24% of the population. Other ethnic groups include Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Uyghurs, Germans and Tatars (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.).
Kazakhstan’s endowment with fossil fuels and other natural resources has shaped the course of its economic transition from state to market economy. It was the first Central Asian state to open up its oil and gas sectors to investment from Western firms. As a consequence, Kazakhstan was the first former Soviet country to receive an investment-grade credit rating (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.). The fruits of economic liberalisation policies had been borne as early as 1999, when Kazakhstan’s GDP growth of 2.7% surpassed that of other high middle-income nations. In fact, its economy grew at an average rate of 10% annually between 2000 and 2008. While the 2008/9 drop in commodity prices dramatically curtailed growth, the Kazakh economy rebounded in 2010 with a rate of 7% - significantly above the world average of 4% (World Bank 2010). Barring a dramatic decline in oil prices, strong growth is expected for 2011 (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.).
The positive economic climate with macroeconomic and fiscal stability has contributed to a gradual and constant decrease in the unemployment rate from 10% in 2000 to 5.8% in 2010 (UNECE 2011). Steady growth and low unemployment have helped Kazakhstan flourish as a regional migration hub. It both receives inflows of migrant workers from the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and sends migrants to the Russian Federation (IOM 2011).
In recent years, Kazakhstan has embarked on an ambitious diversification programme aimed at developing transport, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, petrochemicals and food processing industries to forefend ‘Dutch disease’ which refers to an overreliance on oil and extractive industries (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.). Agriculture is another significant sector of its economy; agricultural activities in Kazakhstan are mainly limited to raising livestock and harvesting grain (World Bank 2010). Although the sector’s contribution to GDP has declined from 29% in 1992 to 5.4% in 2010, the Republic continue to export around 3 million tons of wheat a year. Kazakhstan’s main trade partners are Russia, China and Germany (FAO n.d.).
Kazakhstan became a sovereign nation in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan is a republic with a presidential system of government with little power outside the executive (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.). Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was the First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party at the time of independence, was elected president in 1991 and re-elected in 1999, 2005 and 2011 (UNESCO 2008). Presidential elections used to take place every 5 years until 2007, when a new law establishing a 7-year presidential term came into force. A President can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. However, Nazarbayev, and only he, is allowed to run for the Office of the Presidency indefinitely. Kazakhstan also has a bicameral parliament with a Majilis and a Senate. The members of Majilis are elected by a presidentially appointed body. As for the members of the Senate, 15 are appointed by the President, while the rest are elected by local assemblies (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.).
Kazakhstan is divided into 14 provinces (oblast’) and 3 city-districts (qualalar) for the administration of Almaty, the capital city of Astana, and the Russian-run city of Baykonur. In 1995, Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Moscow would lease the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Baykonur. In 2004, a new agreement extended the lease to 2050. Each province is divided into districts and headed by a governor (Akim), appointed by the President. District governors are in turn appointed by the provincial Akims (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.).
Despite achieving commendable economic progress, Kazakhstan still faces several development challenges. Disparities in poverty and gender, as well as transnational security challenges and political freedoms are the pressing issues in Kazakhstan. The Human Development Index places the Republic 80th in the world – a significantly inferior position to countries with comparable income levels (World Bank 2010). Steady economic growth has helped Astana implement a successful poverty reduction programme that offered microcredit loans to businesses in rural areas. In 2009, 8.2% of the population were living below the state-mandated poverty line, down from 34.6% in 1996 (ADB n.d.(a), UNESCAP n.d.). However, inequalities between regions still persist. Although no new international statistics are available on rural poverty, in 2011 the rate was almost 20% higher for rural areas than for urban ones. Disparities between urbanized and rural regions are continuing to grow. The lack of infrastructure and the sheer size of Kazakhstan’s territory serve as obstacles on the path of bridging this gap (UNESCO 2008).
Gender issues are also becoming more prominent. There is a growing divide in the labour market, where women represent 66% of the labour force, but earn 38% less on average than men (UNECE n.d.). Horizontal segregation, the division of jobs between genders, remains the main cause of these disparities as women in Kazakhstan tend to work in fields that have significantly lower salaries. The concentration of women in these lower paying sectors is increasing, which could lead to severe gender imbalances in the future (UNESCO 2008).
In terms of transnational security, Kazakhstan serves as a transit route for drug trafficking between Europe and Southwest Asia. Cultivation of opium poppies and ephedra is also widespread. Finally, while having achieved high economic standards, the political rights and freedoms of Kazakhstan’s citizens are limited. Kazakhstan's political development has been marked by the government's moves to control political space and shield itself from public scrutiny and competition from rivals in the national political arena (Human Rights Watch 2005).
