The Republic of Kazakhstan or Kazakhstan also spelled Kazakstan, is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Asia. A portion of its territory west of the Ural River is located in eastern-most Europe. It has borders with Russia, the People's Republic of China, and the Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and has a coastline on the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan was a republic of the now extinct Soviet Union and is now a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world by area, but its semi-deserts (steppe) make it only the 57th country in population, with approximately 6 persons per sq km (16 per sq mi). Population in 2005 was estimated at 15,100,500, down from 16,464,464 in 1989.
With an area of 2.7 million sq. km. (1.56 million sq. mi.), Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest nation in the world. It is equivalent to the size of Western Europe.
Major cities include, Astana (capital since June 1998), Almaty (former capital, once known as Alma-Ata and before 1917 as Verny), Karaganda, Shymkent (Chimkent), Semey (Semipalatinsk) and Turkestan, once known as Yasi.
The terrain extends east to west from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north to south from the plains of Western Siberia to the oasis and desert of Central Asia. Almost one-third of the country—804,500 sq. km.—is taken up the the Kazakh Steppe, the world's largest dry steppe region. The steppe is characterized by large areas of grasslands and sandy regions.
The climate is continental with cold winters and hot summers; arid and semi-arid.
