Kazakhstan Facts For Kids

Kazakhstan is a very large country in the middle of the land between Europe and Asia. Its full name is the Republic of Kazakhstan. Because it sits far from the open ocean, people call it a landlocked country, but it does have a long shore on the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The capital city is Astana, a modern city with tall buildings, while Almaty is the biggest city and a center for culture and business. Kazakhstan is known for wide open spaces and many different peoples and languages.

Kazakhstan lies mostly on a huge grassy plain called the steppe. This flat land stretches for miles and was long used by people who raised animals and rode horses. A small part of Kazakhstan reaches into Eastern Europe, but most of it is in Central Asia.

The country has an extreme continental climate, which means summers can be very hot and winters very cold. The capital, Astana, is one of the coldest capitals in the world. Rain and snow are not the same everywhere: some places are fairly dry, and winters are often especially dry.

Kazakhstan has many important natural resources under its land. It is one of the world’s big producers of oil and gas, with many oil fields, especially near the Caspian Sea. The country also mines minerals and gold, and it produces diamonds. Because of these resources, Kazakhstan trades a lot of oil, gas, and minerals with other countries.

There are refineries in several cities where oil is turned into fuel and products. Money from energy and mining makes up a large part of Kazakhstan’s industry and has brought investment from other countries. The government has also worked to be more open about how resource money is managed.

In the 1400s, after the big empire called the Golden Horde broke apart, leaders named Janibek Khan and Kerei Khan helped form the Kazakh Khanate. A khanate is a land ruled by a khan, like a king. The new Khanate brought many nomadic groups together and built the first steps of a Kazakh state.

Under strong leaders such as Kasym Khan, the Khanate grew across the steppe and became powerful. Later, when Kasym’s sons divided the land, the people split into three groups often called the Great, Middle, and Little Hordes. These changes shaped how the Kazakh lands were organized for a long time.

Independence came at the end of 1991 when Kazakhstan said it would be its own country. Before that, it had been part of the Soviet Union. On 16 December 1991 Kazakhstan declared full independence, and this changed how the country made decisions. Because leaders in Kazakhstan were no longer guided by Moscow, they began building their own government, laws, and economy.

This time was a big turning point. People and leaders worked to create new schools, businesses, and connections with other countries. The move away from the Soviet system took time and many new ideas were tried as Kazakhstan found its own path.

Government in Kazakhstan has changed since independence. The country’s first long-time leader was Nursultan Nazarbayev, who helped set up many new rules and economic changes. Kazakhstan moved from a planned economy—where the state decided most things—to a market economy, where businesses and people make many choices. “Privatization” meant some state companies were sold to private owners.

Oil became very important and helped the economy grow. In 1997 the capital moved from Almaty to Astana (it was briefly renamed Nur-Sultan). Leaders and elections have often stayed close to the government’s plans, and in 2019 a new president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, took office and later led some important security choices.

Green Economy Plan is Kazakhstan’s plan, started in 2013, to use more clean energy in the future. It aims for up to half of the country’s energy to come from renewables—energy from wind, sun, small rivers (small hydro), and biogas—by the year 2050. Renewables are important because they do not run out and make less pollution than fossil fuels.

The plan also sets prices to help wind, small hydro, and biogas projects get started. Leaders expect the switch will create new jobs and help the economy grow, while keeping oil as one part of the country’s energy mix.