Kazakhstan
Updated: Sep 30, 2022
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Country Name
Kazakhstan, or officially the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Location
Kazakhstan is a transcontinental country located in Eurasia, between Europe and Asia, primarily located in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world and the ninth largest country in the world, Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also joins a large part of the Caspian Sea.
Capital
Nur-Sultan.
Reason Of Naming
The word Kazakhstan is divided into two parts: the first part is “Kazakh”, derived from a Turkish meaning or independence. What is called in the Russian language "a settlement", as in the Slavic language it is called a state, while in the Indo-Iranian it is a "place". The word means "land of independence or land of freedom".
Flag
The current flag was adopted on 4 June 1992. The main feature of the flag is its light blue color. The center of the flag has a golden sun with 32 rays.
The sun's rays are shaped like wheat grain. Flying nearby under the sun is the soaring golden eagle. The eagle appears to be protecting the sun.
The hoist side of the flag consists of a national ornamental pattern, the pattern is referred to as the “koshkar-muiz” meaning the horn of the ram, the ornamental pattern is also gold in color.
The light blue color represents the endless sky and water, it also represents
the cultural and ethnic unity of the people of Kazakhstan such as the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Uyghurs, Tatars, and Russian and Mongol people.
The light blue color is also a symbol of peace and the indivisibility of Kazakhstan as a country. The color of the sky also implies purity, honesty, integrity, freedom, fidelity, and infinity. The blue color is also a religious symbol of the Turkic people. The golden color represents life and energy,
The sun symbolizes time and progress besides wealth and plenitude,
The wheat ray area is a symbol of abundance and prosperity, The golden eagle symbolizes the state’s power and its astuteness. It’s also a symbol of the state’s sovereignty and independence. The eagle also represents independence, freedom, and the Kazakhstan people's flight to the future.
Language
Kazakhstan is officially a bilingual nation.
Kazakh and Russian are spoken widely in the country, Kazakh is a part of the Kipchak family of Turkish languages and has the status of "state" language, whereas Russian, which is spoken by most Kazakhs, is declared an "official" language and is used routinely in business, government, and inter-ethnic communication, although Kazakh is slowly replacing it.
Education across Kazakhstan is conducted in either Kazakh, Russian, or both.
Other minority languages spoken in Kazakhstan include Uzbek, Ukrainian, Uyghur, Kyrgyz, and Tatar.
English as well as Turkish, have gained popularity among younger people since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Religion
Islam is the highest religion in the country, followed by Christianity and other minority religions.
Islam is practiced by up to 70.2% of the entire country’s population. The Sunni Islams are the dominant group, but Shia Muslims and the Ahmadi can also be found.
Christianity is the second largest religion in Kazakhstan, with 26.3% of the total population practicing it. Most Christians in Kazakhstan are Eastern Orthodox, and to a lesser extent, Roman Catholic.
Other minority religions that are practiced in the country are; Irreligion, Protestant Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Baha'i Faith, and Other Beliefs
Other minority religion practiced in Kazakhstan includes neo-Paganism, Tengrism, Shamanism, Animism, and other Folk Beliefs.
Currency
Tenge (₸) (KZT).
Time Zone
Kazakhstan has 2 time zones;
+05:00 GMT. (West areas)
+06:00 GMT. (East Areas).
Government Regime
Unitary dominant-party presidential constitutional republic.
Climate
Kazakhstan has an "extreme" continental climate, with warm summers and freezing winters. Indeed, Nursultan is the second coldest capital city in the world after Ulaanbaatar. In the north, the temperature can reach -50 °C (-58 °F) in winter and 40 °C (104 °F) in summer, while in the south, it can go from -35 °C (-31 °F) in winter to 45 °C (113 °F) in summer. The clash between different air masses can give rise to strong winds and dust storms, especially in spring and in the south, while in winter, the northern wind can cause snow storms Snow is quite common in the long winter months, but it's often light and not abundant. There are approximately a hundred days of snowfall each year on the plains of the far north, about 60 days in the central region, and about 20 days in the southernmost part. The average temperature in January is -6 °C (21 °F) on the northern coast, it reaches 0 °C (32 °F) on the east coast, and slightly exceeds 0 °C (32 °F) near the border with Turkmenistan. There is also a small portion in the south-central part of the country, near the border with Uzbekistan, where the average in January is around freezing as well. Since no month can be safe from either the cold or the heat, it's hard to find the best time to visit Kazakhstan. In the north and Astana, in summer, from June to August, the average temperature is pleasantly warm, but you cannot rule out a few heat waves with peaks around 40 °C (104 °F). Around mid-April and mid-September, the weather is acceptable throughout the country.