Kazakhstan

Astana serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Kazakhstan, positioned in Central Asia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Almaty, Shymkent, Karaganda — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Astana (renamed Nursultan in 2019 and renamed back to Astana in 2022) was built from scratch on the steppe in the 1990s as a grandiose statement of national ambition — a planned capital of futuristic architecture including Norman Foster's Khan Shatyry entertainment centre and the Bayterek tower that serves as both national symbol and observation platform.

With a population of approximately 19.4M, Kazakhstan is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are Kazakh, Russian, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Kazakhstan is reached via the dialling code +7. Kazakhs are navigating the transition from Soviet-era Russification — during which Russian became the dominant language in cities while Kazakh was maintained primarily in rural areas — to a post-independence identity built around the Kazakh language, nomadic heritage revival, and a Turco-Islamic cultural tradition that Soviet education systematically suppressed.

Kazakhstan spans 2,724,900 km², in the Central Asia subregion of Asia. Geographically centred around 48.0°N, 66.9°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Asia convention.

The official currency is the Kazakhstani tenge (₸), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Kazakhstan's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+05:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.

The emblematic dish of Kazakhstan is Beshbarmak. Beshbarmak — boiled horse or lamb with pasta sheets and onion broth, eaten by hand from a communal dish — is Kazakhstan's ceremonial food, its name meaning 'five fingers' in reference to the traditional eating method, and its preparation at weddings, funerals, and the Nauryz new year celebration represents the nomadic hospitality tradition that defines Kazakh social culture.

Football / Boxing holds a special place in the heart of Kazakhstan's national identity. Nomadic sports — kokpar (mounted tug-of-war over a goat carcass, related to Afghan buzkashi), audaryspak (mounted wrestling), and baige (long-distance horse racing) — are promoted by the government as part of Kazakhstan's cultural heritage revival, while boxing and cycling have produced Olympic champions whose global success generates national pride impossible for traditional nomadic sports to achieve.

The highest point in Kazakhstan is Khan Tengri, rising to 6,995 metres above sea level. The Charyn Canyon in southeastern Kazakhstan stretches for 90 kilometres with walls rising 300 metres — often compared to a smaller Grand Canyon — carved by the Charyn River through volcanic rock deposits, its Valley of Castles section producing formations so resembling human architecture that early travellers believed them to be ruins.