Geography : Kazakhstan
Location : Central Asia , northwest of China ; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe .
Area : 2,717,300 sq km total
Land : 2,669,800 sq km
Water : 47,500 sq km
Land boundaries : 12,012 km total
Border countries : China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km
Climate : continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid Natural
Resources : major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium Population : 15,185,844 (July 2005 est.)
Nationality : noun- Kazakhstani(s)
Adjective : Kazakhstani
Religions : Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Languages : Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
Country name : conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy local short form: none
former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
Independence : 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union )
National holiday : Independence Day, 16 December (1991)
Constitution : first post-independence constitution adopted 28 January 1993 ; new constitution adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995.
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