Interesting Facts About Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a large country located in both Asia and Europe. It was a part of the Soviet Union (USSR) and became independent after the USSR collapsed in 1991. The following are some fun facts about the country Kazakhstan.
Interesting Facts About Kazakhstan
- The official name of Kazakhstan is the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since 1997, the capital city is Astana, which is the second largest city of the country with a population of about 710,000. The largest city, and former capital, is Almaty, which has a population of about 1.3 million. The whole country has an estimated population of 16.4 million people.
- Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world and the largest landlocked country in the world. It is also one of the 5 countries that lies in both Europe and Asia. A country that is situated in two continents is known as a transcontinental country. Approximately 96% of the population live in the Asian part of the country.
- The official language of the country is Kazakh, but Russian is also spoken by most of the population.
- The currency of the country is the Tenge, which replaced the Soviet ruble after the collapse of the USSR.
- There are 14 provinces in Kazakhstan that are divided into smaller districts. The smallest province called Baikonur is leased to the Russians until 2050 for their space program. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is the oldest and largest launch facility on the planet.
- Religion is very important to the Kazakh people. About 70% of the people are Muslim and 27% identify themselves as Christians. Only 2.8% of the population list themselves as non-believers.
- Kazakhstan has a very good schooling system. It is compulsory to attend school to the secondary level. This has led to an impressive adult literacy rate of 99.5%.
- The largest industries in the country are crude oil and natural gas production. Agriculture also makes up a considerable part of the economy.
- The most popular sport in the country is football (soccer), but ice hockey, cycling, boxing and equestrian and also very popular.
- Even though the country is landlocked they still have a small navy. This is based on the Caspian Sea.
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