Kazakhstan, republic in Central Asia, bordered on the north by Russia; on the east by China; on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan; and on the west by the Caspian Sea and Russia. It was formerly the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
POPULATION
Until recently, Russians outnumbered Kazakhs in the republic. Beginning in the 19th century, large-scale immigration boosted the number of Russians and other Slavic peoples, while the number of Kazakhs declined as a result of attacks by Russian settlers and forced collectivization under Stalin. Higher birth rates among Kazakhs eventually led to the greater percentage of Kazakhs in the country. Large numbers of Germans (3.6 per cent of the total) and Ukrainians (5.1 per cent) also reside in the republic.
LANGUAGE
Kazakh is the official language, from the Turkic sub-group of the Altaic language family. It is spoken by around 40 per cent of the population as a first language, is being taught in more and more schools, and is written in the Cyrillic script. Standard German is a mother tongue for just under a million speakers (mainly ethnic Germans), and Plautdietsch, another Germanic language, is also spoken by a minority. Uyghur, Ili Turki (both Altaic), and Sinte Romani (an Indo-Iranian language) are also spoken. Many immigrant languages, including Russian, Tatar, and North Azerbaijani, are spoken, the former being widely known.
RELIGION
Although a secular state, Islam is the major religion of the Kazakhs, with the majority of Muslims following the Sunni tradition. The Russian Orthodox Church has the most adherents in the minority Christian tradition and there are also some followers of the Baptist and Evangelical Lutheran Churches.
POPULATION
Until recently, Russians outnumbered Kazakhs in the republic. Beginning in the 19th century, large-scale immigration boosted the number of Russians and other Slavic peoples, while the number of Kazakhs declined as a result of attacks by Russian settlers and forced collectivization under Stalin. Higher birth rates among Kazakhs eventually led to the greater percentage of Kazakhs in the country. Large numbers of Germans (3.6 per cent of the total) and Ukrainians (5.1 per cent) also reside in the republic.
LANGUAGE
Kazakh is the official language, from the Turkic sub-group of the Altaic language family. It is spoken by around 40 per cent of the population as a first language, is being taught in more and more schools, and is written in the Cyrillic script. Standard German is a mother tongue for just under a million speakers (mainly ethnic Germans), and Plautdietsch, another Germanic language, is also spoken by a minority. Uyghur, Ili Turki (both Altaic), and Sinte Romani (an Indo-Iranian language) are also spoken. Many immigrant languages, including Russian, Tatar, and North Azerbaijani, are spoken, the former being widely known.
RELIGION
Although a secular state, Islam is the major religion of the Kazakhs, with the majority of Muslims following the Sunni tradition. The Russian Orthodox Church has the most adherents in the minority Christian tradition and there are also some followers of the Baptist and Evangelical Lutheran Churches.
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