In 2019 Kazakhstan's uranium production (14,020 tons) ranked first in the world; in 2021, the country produced 19,450 tons of uranium (accounting for 35% of world production). Kazakhstan has the world's second largest uranium reserves.
Black, blonde and gray hair can be seen here, and when it comes to ethnic diversity, Kazakhstan is not lacking. Home to as many as 120 ethnic groups. After the Kazakhs, the largest ethnic groups are Russians, Ukrainians and Uzbeks .
The first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1) and the first man ( Gagarin ) were launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan. There is a town hundreds of miles away from the space center that the Soviets gave the center the same name to cause confusion and help protect its location.
Kazakhstan has large oil, natural gas and metal mineral deposits, and is the largest economy in the former Soviet Union and Central Asia. In terms of territory, it is the largest of the five former Soviet Central Asian republics and the largest landlocked country in the world. It is about five times that of France, with a population of 19,003,300.
For thousands of years, Kazakhstan has been inhabited by nomadic peoples. More than 5,000 petroglyphs (stone carvings) were discovered at the UNESCO ruins of Tamgaly, dating to around 2000 BC.
Although it is a landlocked country, Kazakhstan has a navy based in the landlocked Caspian Sea . The Caspian Sea also borders Iran , Russia, Azerbaijan , and Turkmenistan .
Kymyz (fermented mare's milk) is a popular mild alcoholic beverage in Kazakhstan. Shubat (fermented camel milk ) is also available for purchase.
Kazakhstan is part of the Eurasian Steppe, the largest grassland in the world. It extends from Hungary to China, almost one-fifth of the way around the earth.
The flag of Kazakhstan has a light blue background, representing the "Blue Tribe" Turkic people who once held high the "Blue Flag" and the vast sky on which the nomadic people depended for their survival. In the center are the golden sun and eagle, symbolizing the freedom and lofty ideals of the Kazakh people. Finally, along the edge of the flag is a traditional Kazakh decorative ribbon.
The famous Tsarist Russian novelist Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment and "The Idiot") lived in Kazakhstan from 1857 to 1859 during his exile. His house in the city of Semi is now a museum.
In Kazakhstan, there is an ancient nomadic game called kokpar (roughly translated as "goat catch"), played by two teams of horsemen (similar to polo ) competing for a freshly slaughtered headless goat. The sport is thought to have originated with Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
The border between Kazakhstan and Russia is more than 7,500 kilometers long, making it the longest continuous border in the world. (Because the Canadian and American borders are separated by a lake), the distance from Paris to Petra is just over 4,500 kilometers.
Lake Balkhash holds the title of the 15th largest lake in the world and one of the largest lakes in Asia. It covers an area of 16,400 square kilometres, and its sheer size is breathtaking. However, what really sets it apart is its natural presence in the water. There is a freshwater lake to the west and a saltwater lake to the east.
Kazakhstan has won 14 medals at the Summer Olympics since 1996, half of them in boxing.
In 1989, Kazakhstan's agricultural production dropped to such low levels that the Soviet Agriculture Minister proposed that they fill meat quotas with millions of migrating mallard ducks.
Kazakhstanis celebrate three New Years and officially celebrate three New Year holidays.The Gregorian calendar celebrates January 1, Nauruz is celebrated on March 22 as the Spring Equinox, and January 14 is known as the "Old New Year."
There are 27,000 ancient ruins in Kazakhstan, including the Golden Man, a Scythian warrior wearing golden armor, which is also the most important archaeological discovery in Kazakhstan. The golden person is probably a woman.
Kazakhstan has an unofficial taxi system. People waved in the street, cars stopped, destinations and prices were discussed, and then they were gone.
Kazakhstan was the first former Soviet Union country to repay all of its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2000, seven years before it was due.
The highest point in Kazakhstan is Khan Tengri in the Tianshan Mountains . At 23,000 feet (7,010 meters), it is also the world's northernmost 7,000-meter peak. Kazakhstan's lowest point is at the bottom of the Karadzhiye depression, 433 feet (132 meters) below sea level. It is located east of the Caspian Sea and is one of the lowest places on Earth.
Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field is one of the largest in the world, measuring 12 miles (19 kilometers) wide, 13 miles (21 kilometers) long, and covering 970 square miles (2,500 square kilometers). It was also one of the largest discoveries in recent history and helped make oil the country's number one export resource. Their gasoline is only 4 yuan (RMB) per liter.
Kazakh mountaineer Anatoli Boukreev, one of the world's most famous mountaineers, died in an avalanche in 1997 while trying to summit Annapurna in the Himalayas. He holds the record for successfully summiting seven of the world's highest peaks without supplemental oxygen. He was also one of the leaders of the tragic Everest expedition on May 10, 1996. Eight members of his expedition died, but he single-handedly rescued three missing climbers.
Snow leopards live in the mountains of eastern Kazakhstan. They are shy and can grow up to 150 pounds (68 kilograms). Kazakhs have long revered this animal for its bravery, independence and intelligence. The snow leopard is considered a national symbol in Kazakhstan.
Many different species of lizards are found in the deserts of Kazakhstan, including the gray monitor, one of the largest lizards in the world, found only in the Kyzkum Desert.
The Kazakh race known as k yz kuu is very lively, in which a young man on horseback chases a young woman riding in front of him. She had to stop him from walking ahead of her. If he came near, she would whip him. He had to hold on - if he couldn't hit a set point in the race, she'd give him another lash. But if he manages to outdo her, she must kiss him as a reward.
The golden eagle is another national symbol of Kazakhstan. Kazakhs consider it power and strength, since it is the master of the sky. Females are actually larger than males, measuring 3 feet (1 m) from bill to tail. The average bird's wingspan is 7 feet (2 m). Golden Eagles can also be found in mountainous areas of the western United States, Canada and Mexico .
The historic Kazakh equestrian test is called kumis alu (picking up coins). The goal is for the rider to ride as fast as possible while picking up a silver coin from the ground. According to Kazakh legend, Alexander the Great was so impressed after viewing an exhibition of kumis alu that he exclaimed that the game could be used to train mounted warriors. Today, white handkerchiefs are used instead of coins.
Many scholars now believe that the legend of King Arthur may originate from Kazakh history.In 175 AD, RomanEmperor Marcus Aurelius sent a contingent of 5,500 Sarmatian cavalry to Britain from modern Hungary. Their commander was a Roman officer named Lucius Artorius Castus. The Sarmatians were direct descendants of the Kazakh Scythians and were known to wear Kazakh style trousers instead of Roman or Celtic robes. The Welsh name Artyr may also come from Artorius.
Kazakhstan is the country with the strongest economic strength among the five Central Asian countries. In 2018, per capita GDP was 28,480 US dollars. Welfare benefits are good in all aspects, with free education below high school and 90% medical reimbursement.
Each year in the traditional Kazakh calendar is named after an animal, such as the Year of the Sheep, the Year of the Horse, the Year of the Dog, the Year of the Snake, the Year of the Pig, etc. The calendar begins with the Year of the Rat because, according to Kazakh folklore, rats can climb on the backs of other animals and be the first to see the sun.
Kazakh is a Turkic that contains many words from Russian, Arabic, Mongolian, and Persian. The language was not recorded using Arabic script until the 1860s. A script based on the Cyrillic alphabet was adopted in 1940.
Archaeological excavations in Kazakhstan suggest that it may have been the home of the Amazons, or of Scythian women who fought as warriors between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC.
