Almaty tourism packages

Official Name:
Qazaqstan Respublikasy
short form: Qazaqstan
int'l long form: Republic of Kazakhstan
int'l short form: Kazakhstan

ISO Country Code: kz

Time:
Local Time = UTC +5h +6h
Actual Time: Mon-Oct-23  17:33 (Astana)

Country Calling Code: +7

Capital City: Astana (capital, since 1998, pop. 530 000)

Other Cities: Almaty (former capital) 1.2 million, Karaganda 440 000, Shymkent 370 000, Taraz 340 000, Ust-Kamenogorsk 310 000, Pavlodar 300 000.

Government:
Type: Republic; Kazakhstan has a hybrid system of Government that combines aspects of both parliamentary and presidential systems.
Independence: 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union).
Declaration of sovereignty: 25 October 1990.

Geography:
Location: Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea in west.
Area: 2.7 million km² (1.05 million sq. mi.); ninth-largest nation in the world; the size of Western Europe.
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.
Highest peak: Kan Tengri 6995 m

Climate: Continental, cold winters and hot summers; arid and semi-arid.

People:
Nationality: Kazakhstani.
Population: 17,7 million (2016)
Ethnic groups: Kazakh 51.8%, Russian 31.4%, Ukrainian 4.4%, Tatar 1.7%, German 1.6%. There are over 100 other nationalities.
Religion: Sunni Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%.
Languages: Kazakhstan is a bilingual country. Kazakh language has the status of the "state" language, while Russian is declared the "official" language. Russian is used routinely in business; 52% of the population speaks the Kazakh language.
Literacy: 98%

Natural resources: Major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, and uranium.

Agriculture products: Grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; livestock.

Industries: Oil, iron, and steel; tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials.

Exports - commodities: oil and oil products, natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat, coal
Exports - partners: China 15.1%, Russia 12.3%, France 9.2%, Germany 7.9%, Italy 6.7%, Greece 4.1% (2015)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, metal products, foodstuffs

Imports - partners: Russia 32.9%, China 25.9%, Germany 4.2% (2015)

Currency: Tenge (KZT)

Source: Embassy of Kazakhstan in the USA and Canada and other