Kazakhstan

The Republic of Kazakhstan is situated largely in Central Asia, although a small part of the country lies west of the Ural River and is thus in Europe. The world's largest landlocked country, and the ninth-largest country in the world, Kazakhstan has borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea.

Kazakhstan has become the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60% of the region's GDP, primarily through its oil and gas industry. The country has vast mineral resources.

Kazakhstan has a population of 17.5 million people, of which 825,000 live in the capital, Astana. It is populated by 131 ethnicities, including Kazakhs (who make up 63 percent of the population), Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars, and Uyghurs.