Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991. Independence Day - December 16. The Republic of Kazakhstan is a unitary, secular state with a presidential form of government. The first President of Kazakhstan - the Leader of the Nation - is Nursultan Nazarbayev. The current Head of State is President Kassym-Zhomart Tokaev. The Head of Government is Askar Mamin. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (49 senators, 15 of them are appointed by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2 of them are selected from regions, cities of republican significance and the capital) and the Mazhilis (107 parliamentarians, of which 98 are from party lists, 9 are from the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan) . Today, 3 political parties are represented in the Majilis, breaking the 7% barrier during the March 2016 elections. Among them are the Nur-Otan party, the Ak Zhol Democratic Party, and the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan.
Current political moment
On June 9, 2019, competitive elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan were held (7 candidates from various socio-political movements took part in them). Reform President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev came to power. Kassym-Zhomart Tokaev created new ministries; the work of the National Council of Public Confidence is launched, to the work of which all socio-political forces will be widely involved, as well as the youth of Kazakhstan will be actively involved. The ten key areas of the political course of the Head of State: 1) increasing incomes and welfare of the population; 2) effective anti-corruption; 3) judicial reform; 4) increase in wages and the creation of new jobs; 5) solution of the housing problem; 6) fair social policy; 7) development of regions; 8) the implementation of the program "Rukhani zhangyru"; 9) balanced and multi-vector foreign policy; 10) youth support.
Geography
Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world, as well as the largest landlocked country in the world. The area of the country is 2 724 900 km sq. with a total border length of 13,364 km. It borders with Russia (7644 km - the longest continuous border in the world), China (1765 km), Uzbekistan (2330 km), Kyrgyzstan (1212 km) and Turkmenistan (413 km). Administratively, it is divided into 14 regions and 3 cities of republican significance, Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent. The city of Nur-Sultan, which was called Astana until March 2019, has been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997. The population of the capital at the beginning of 2019 amounted to 1.07 million people. The largest cities are Almaty (1.8 million people), Shymkent (over 1.1 million people), Karaganda (over 500 thousand people) and Taraz (over 400 thousand people). Landscape: most of the territory of Kazakhstan is occupied by deserts - 44% and semi-deserts - 14%. The steppe zone occupies 26% of the territory of Kazakhstan, forests - 4.6%. Large lakes with an area of more than 500 km2: Caspian, Balkhash, Aral, Alakol, Zaysan, Tengiz, Seleteniz, Sasykkol. In Kazakhstan there are 7 large rivers, the length of which exceeds 1000 km: the Urals, Syr Darya, Irtysh, Tobol, Ishim, Ili, Chu.
Time zones UTC + 05: 00; UTC +06: 00.
Population and demography
The population of Kazakhstan is 18.5 million people. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakh language is the state language in Kazakhstan. In state organizations and local governments along with Kazakh, the Russian language is officially used. As part of the gradual transition to trilingualism, English is widely spread. According to the State Program for the Development and Functioning of Languages, it is expected that by 2025 95% of the population will be fluent in Kazakh, 90% in Russian and 25% in English. Over 125 nations and nationalities live in peace and harmony in the country. Ethnic Kazakhs make up 70.23% of the total population. Other large ethnic groups: Russians (19.96%), Uzbeks (3.32%), Uyghurs (1.33%), Germans (1.1%), etc. Religion: 70% of the population profess Islam (Sunni, Hanafi madhhab), 26% are Christians (Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, etc.), Judaism, Buddhism, etc. are also present. Life expectancy has increased significantly since independence and now reaches an average of 72 years.
Infrastructure and transit potential
Kazakhstan, located between East and West, plays an important role in regional integration and global trade. All regions are connected by rail and road. In recent years, more than 2.5 thousand km of railways have been built, more than in all countries of the other countries of the former USSR over the years, and today their total length in the country is 16 thousand km. A large-scale infrastructure development program «Nurly Zhol» is being implemented. Under the program, over 8 thousand km of roads were built and repaired, which is equivalent to the distance between Beijing and London. The length of the Western Europe-Western China Motorway through Kazakhstan is 2,787 km. Kazakhstan plays a decisive role in the implementation of the “Belts - Ways" initiative. The country accounts for 70% of all transit land transport between China and Europe, which is 3 times faster than the sea route (14 days by land versus 40 days by sea). The world's largest dry port of Khorgos in East Kazakhstan on the border with China is an international trade and economic hub and a key link in the Silk Road. The Kuryk seaport on the Caspian Sea is included in the network of international transport corridors. The port is another important link connecting the Chinese Yellow Sea with the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and Western Europe. Railways and highways were brought to the port water area. Aktau port, also located on the Caspian Sea, is an important link in the New Silk Road. The total cargo transshipment of the two ports is 26 million tons per year. To increase the turnover of goods, the port of Aktau became the founder and permanent participant of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TCITR), railway and port organizations of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey also entered as shareholders. Interest in the association is shown by Ukraine and Romania, as well as a number of maritime trading companies interested in developing the route for transporting goods from China to Europe and vice versa. Port Kuryk is an associate member of TCITR. The infrastructure of Kazakhstan's seaports in other countries includes the port of Batumi (Georgia) and the logistics terminal in the Pacific port of Lianyungang (China).
Kazakhstan has the largest Baikonur Cosmodrome in the world, which since 2011 has been the only launch complex for all manned flights to the International Space Station. At present, six Kazakhstan satellites are in orbit in order to provide information to the country. There is a visa-free regime for citizens of more than 60 countries, including all OECD countries and all EU countries. The region's best telecommunications infrastructure and Internet penetration - 77%. Kazakhstan has 24 airports and 72 air corridors.
Economics and investments
Kazakhstan is the largest economy in Central Asia. The country's GDP exceeds the GDP of all countries of the Central Asian region combined. Politically stable Kazakhstan is a regional leader in economic reform, openness to international trade and investment inflows. It takes 28th place in the World Bank's Doing Business ranking (2019). The highest level of economic freedom among the countries of the CIS and Central Asia (The World Street Journal). Kazakhstan - 41st place, Azerbaijan - 60, Armenia - 47, Kyrgyzstan - 79, Russia - 98, Belarus - 104, Tajikistan - 122, Uzbekistan - 140, Moldova - 97. The only country in the region with access to the judicial system on the principles of English law. Over the years of independence, Kazakhstan has attracted over $ 300 billion of foreign direct investment, which accounts for 70% of all FDI in Central Asia. Top 5 countries-investors in the economy of Kazakhstan: the Netherlands (85.2 billion dollars), the USA (36.3 billion dollars), Switzerland (23.2 billion dollars), China (17.0 billion dollars), France (15.1 billion dollars). Kazakhstan's GDP exceeds $ 168 billion (nominal), and $ 509 billion at purchasing power parity (PPP). The country's GDP per capita is more than $ 8,800 (70th place) in the world in nominal terms, and $ 27,550 in purchasing power parity (53rd in the world, PPP GDP by IMF estimates).
The share of SMEs in GDP is 30%. Kazakhstan is on the way to entering the top 30 most developed countries in the world by 2050. Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2015. Member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) with a common market of more than 180 million consumers, as well as access to neighboring markets with a total volume of 500 million consumers: the Caspian Sea countries, the markets of Central Asia and Western China. In 2018, the work of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) was launched in the capital, the creation of which will contribute to the transformation of Kazakhstan into a financial hub of the region. AIFC bodies and participants, as well as their employees, are exempted from tax payments until 2066 - this is corporate income tax on income from financial and support services, individual income tax, land tax and property tax. The unemployment rate does not exceed 4.8%, social inequality has been steadily declining since independence. Key sectors of the economy: mining, agribusiness, petrochemicals, infrastructure and logistics. Kazakhstan is known for its rich reserves of natural resources. It is among the twenty largest oil producers and the thirty largest gas producers, the eighth largest exporter of wheat and the largest uranium exporter in the world. Major trading partners: European Union (49.8%), Russia (19%), China (13.5%), USA (2.6%). Kazakhstan exports to the EU countries (46.7%), China (13.7%), the CIS countries (14.2%), the EEU (7.7%). The main export structure: mineral resources (75%), metals and products from them (13%), animal and vegetable products (6.1%), petrochemical products (3%), machinery, equipment, devices and apparatuses (1, 5%) and so on. Kazakhstan imports from the EAEU (41.9%), the EU countries (16.2%), China (a share of 17.0%) and the United States (3.9%). The main import structure: machinery, equipment, instruments and apparatus (38.5%), chemical products (16.6%), metals and products from them (11.7%), animal and vegetable products (10.6%), mineral products (8.3%), other (14.3%).
Drivers of Kazakhstan's economy: IT technology, FinTech technology, gas transportation, logistics with transport services and construction. Priority sectors for investment: mining and metallurgy, food processing and agribusiness, chemical and petrochemical industries, mechanical engineering. Comprehensive reforms are being carried out in Kazakhstan in order to strengthen investor protection, reduce bureaucratic procedures, increase tax transparency and support entrepreneurship, etc. There is a Council of Foreign Investors under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
12 free economic zones and 23 industrial zones have been created and are operating in Kazakhstan. FEZ data can be conditionally divided into three groups:
The following types of investment preferences are provided for priority investment projects:
The only negotiator on behalf of the Government with foreign investors is the National company Kazakh Invest. The project office is Protecting Business and Investments.
Kazakhstan is committed to sustainable development and diversification of energy resources. By investing in renewable energy sources (RES), by 2050 the country plans to produce 50% of all energy from renewable resources.
In 2017, the Astana specialized capital (now Nur-Sultan) hosted the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO on the theme “Energy of the Future", during which 120 countries presented more than 500 innovative technologies. More than 120 of them are currently being implemented in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Foreign policy
Kazakhstan has reached the international legal design of the entire state land and sea (in the Caspian) border with all neighboring states. Kazakhstan takes a pro-active position at the international level, promoting initiatives in the field of regional and global security. Kazakhstan was the first country from Central Asia to hold the post of non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2017-2018. The country presided over key international security structures, such as the OSCE, OIC, UN Security Council, CICA, SCO, EAEU and others.
Kazakhstan was the initiator of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. The VI Congress was held in the capital in October 2018, which was attended by 82 delegations, representatives of religious, political and social leaders from 45 countries. Kazakhstan is a leader in the anti-nuclear movement. In 1991, Kazakhstan closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and abandoned the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world (with more than 1,000 nuclear warheads).
Kazakhstan plays an active role as an international donor; it is planned to create the KazAID Agency for International Development Assistance. In general, over the years of independence, Kazakhstan has provided humanitarian assistance and development assistance to the countries of Central Asia, Latin America and Africa in the amount of $ 450 million. The restoration of Afghanistan is an important priority for Kazakhstan. The country has provided humanitarian assistance, student educational scholarships ($ 50 million to train 1,000 people), and training programs for the Afghan police. Kazakhstan is making a significant contribution to resolving the crisis in Syria. In the capital of the republic, 12 rounds of the Astana process have already been held, which provides a platform for negotiations between the Syrian government, the armed opposition and guarantor states (Russia, Turkey and Iran).
Kazakhstan has built mutually beneficial and trusting relations with the Central Asian neighbors and in recent years, together with Uzbekistan and other partners, the process of restarting cooperation in the region has been launched. Kazakhstan has allied relations with Russia, the international legal basis for which is the Treaty on Good Neighborhood and Alliance in the 21st century. Kazakh-Chinese relations are characterized by a high level of strategic partnership with an emphasis on trade, economic, investment and transit transport cooperation.
Kazakhstan and the EU have signed a new Agreement on Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation (AEPC), which covers 29 areas of interaction and will further develop political cooperation in the field of security, as well as deepen economic and trade relations. It is expected that the AEPC will come into force by the end of 2019. Kazakhstan has signed the Statement on Enhanced Strategic Partnership with the United States, contributing to the intensity of interstate contacts and the growth of investment from the United States to Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has built mutually beneficial and trusting relations with the states of the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Africa.