Kazakhstan

Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence in 1991 caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states combined largely due to the country's vast natural resources and a recent history of political stability. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; achieving a sustainable economic growth; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's competitiveness; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.

Economical characteristics

• Currency: Tenge (ISO code: KZT)
• Central bank discount rate: 7% (31 December 2009)
• Commercial banks lending rate: NA%
• Stock of money (M1): $16.12 billion (31 December 2008)
• Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $35.76 billion (31 December 2008)

Statistics

Statistic / Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (million USD)	16 871	18 292	22 153	24 637	30 834	43 152	57 124	81 004	104 853	133 442
Govt. debt (% of GDP)	26.626	21.618	17.657	15.356	13.218		7.046	5.937	5.322	6.327
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)	8.565	11.326	11.443	13.234	13.936	15.145	21.316	16.796	13.977	13.351
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)	14.182	13.722	13.568	12.691	13.887	14.071	18.216	14.622	14.148	14.754
Debt to revenue (years)	3.109	1.909	1.543	1.160	0.948		0.331	0.354	0.381	0.474

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

External links

• Kazakhstan on Wikipedia
• Central bank of Kazakhstan
• Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
• BBC country profile