| Kazakhstan |
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| Geography |
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Five times the size of France and half the size of the United States, Kazakhstan is the largest state in Central Asia.
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| Area |
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2,717,300 sq. km
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| Population |
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17,000,000
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| People |
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41,9% Kazak
37,0% Russian
5,2% Ukrainian
4,7% German
2,0% Tatar
2,1% Uzbek
7,1% Other
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| Languages |
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The official language is Kazak, a Turkic language closely related to Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Turkish. The Cyrillic alphabet is in general use and most people in the cities can speak Russian, whereas country people tend only to speak Kazak. English is usually spoken by those involved in tourism. Uygur and other regional languages and dialects are also spoken.
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| Religion |
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Mainly Sunni Muslim. There are Russian Orthodox and Jewish minorities. There are ten independent denominations of Christianity. The Kazaks do not express their religious fervently - Kazakhstan is an outlying district of the Muslim world and a meeting point of Russian, Chinese and Central Asian civilisations. Islam plays a minor role in policy and there are no significant Islamic political organisations in the country.
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| Climate |
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Considering that Kazakhstan has some of the highest peaks within the CIS it is a rather dry region. Winters are cold but spring comes earlier than in the far north.
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| Head of UNESCO Office |
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Mr. J. Sequeira,
UNESCO Almaty Office
67, Tole Bi street
480091 Almaty
Kazakhstan
Tel: (7.3272) 58.26.37/38/39/40/41/42
Fax: (7.3272) 69.58.63
E-mail: j.sequeira@unesco.org; almaty@unesco.org; uhata@unesco.org
Diplomatic Pouch: Mondays at 11:00
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