Country · Asia
Kazakhstan
Republic of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a country in Central Asia. About 18.3 million people live there, in an area of 2 724 900 square kilometres. Its capital city is Astana.
Picture credit: Маргарита москалюк (CC BY 3.0) · Elias Shahidi (CC BY 3.0) · Михаил Сычёв (CC BY 3.0) · Денис Гришкин (CC BY 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan lies in Central Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 5 343 km from the equator.
Kazakhstan is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 5 countries: China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
How big is Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan covers 2 724 900 square kilometres.
That is about 7.6 times the size of Germany.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 9th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 6.7 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Kazakhstan?
About 18.3 million people live in Kazakhstan.
That is the 62nd biggest population in the world.
People here speak Kazakh and Russian.
They pay with the Kazakhstani tenge (₸).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 63 years.
The land of Kazakhstan
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 5 neighbours to get here.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Kazakhstan different?
Websites from here often end in .kz.
Kazakhstan and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 2 live in Kazakhstan.
It takes up about 2 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 3rd of 46 by size, and 23rd by population.
Kazakhstan and its neighbours
Russia, its largest neighbour, is about 6.3 times bigger.
Russia has more people: 144.5 million against 18.3 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 4 live wild in Kazakhstan: Bactrian camel, Horse, Beluga sturgeon and Common pheasant. The highest mountain in the country is Khan Tengri, at 7 010 metres. The longest river in the country is the Irtysh. The largest lake in the country is Caspian Sea.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Kazakhstan compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 3.4 times as big as Kazakhstan: 9 372 610 km² against 2 724 900 km². See both on one map
- Kazakhstan is about 11 times as big as the United Kingdom: 2 724 900 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Kazakhstan?
The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Kazakhstan?
About 18.3 million people live in Kazakhstan, which makes it the 62nd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan borders China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — 5 neighbours in total.
How big is Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan covers 2 724 900 square kilometres, making it the 9th largest country in the world. That is about 7.6 times the size of Germany.
What is the highest mountain in Kazakhstan?
The highest mountain in Kazakhstan is Khan Tengri, 7 010 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Kazakhstan?
The longest river in Kazakhstan is the Irtysh. Of its 4 248 kilometres, about 1 700 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Kazakhstan?
The largest lake in Kazakhstan is Caspian Sea. The whole lake covers about 371 000 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Kazakhstan in?
Kazakhstan is in Asia, in the part called Central Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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