Wikijunior:Asia/Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is a country where the nomads roam freely on their homeland. In fact, the word "Kazakh" means "a free and independent nomad" in ancient Turkish. It is also known as the largest landlocked country (29 million km2) in the world.

Nur-Sultan previously known as Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. Tenge is the currency of Kazakhstan.

Where is Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan is bordering Russia to north, southwest to  Uzbekistan, southeast to  Kyrgyzstan and  China and to the east of  Mongolia.

How many people live in Kazakhstan?
According to 2018 census, there are estimated 18.2 million people lived in Kazakhstan. The people lives in Kazakhstan identifies themselves as Kazakhs. The ethnic Kazakhs are 63% of the population. Due to the proximity to Russia, there are about 23% of population which considered themselves as ethnic Russians. The rest of 14% consists of minority ethnic such as Tatars, Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Belarusians, Uyghurs, Azerbaijanis, Poles, and Lithuanians.

What are the most common languages in Kazakhstan?
Kazakh language, spoken by 65% of the population, has the status of the "state" language, while Russian, which is spoken by almost all of populations

What is the most common religion in Kazakhstan?
The most common religion practiced in Kazakhstan are Islam (70%) followed by Eastern Orthodox Christianity (26%). The balance 4% population are practicing Roman Catholic,Protestant Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Baha'i Faith, and other beliefs.

What is the sport of Kazakhstan?


In Kazakh language kyz kuu literally means "catch the girl". This national game is regarded as a piece of fun than serious competition.

Two horse riders (a man and a woman) participate in it. To start the competition, a female rider stands at a certain distance behind a horseman. She starts riding at full speed and, as soon as she reaches him, male rider moves. Both race towards the finishing line. Along the race, the female rider whips the male until she is caught. If the male catches the female he is then rewarded with a kiss.

If the man wins he has the right to kiss the girl.

What are some important sites?
Tamgaly-Tas - It literally means ‘written rocks’ as the rocks here are inscribed with beautiful images of Tibetan scriptures and Buddha. The site is marked with thousands of rock paintings and carvings dating from the Bronze Age onward. The carvings shows the hunting scenes and animal figures, Buddha, Buddhist mantras in Sanskrit and pictures of important Buddhist teachers.