Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan
conventional short form:
Kazakhstan
local long form:
Qazaqstan Respublikasy
local short form:
Qazaqstan
former:
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type:
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Capital:
name:
Astana
geographic coordinates:
51 10 N, 71 25 E
time difference:
UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
note:
Kazakhstan has two time zones
Administrative divisions:
14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 3 cities* (qalalar, singular - qala); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*, Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy [West Kazakhstan] (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy [Baykonur]*, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy [South Kazakhstan] (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy [East Kazakhstan] (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy [North Kazakhstan] (Petropavlovsk), Zhambyl Oblysy (Taraz)
note:
administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995, the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonur, formerly Leninsk); in 2004, a new agreement extended the lease to 2050
Independence:
16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 16 December (1991)
Constitution:
previous 1937, 1978 (preindependence ); latest adopted 28 January 1993, approved by referendum 30 August 1995, effective 5 September 1995; amended 1998, 2007, 2011 (2012)
Legal system:
civil law system influenced by Roman-Germanic law and by the theory and practice of the Russian Federation
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
:
chief of state:
President Nursultan Abishuly NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991)
head of government:
Prime Minister Karim MASIMOV (since 2 April 2014); First Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan SAGINTAYEV (since 16 January 2013); Deputy Prime Ministers Gulshara ABDYKALIKOVA (since 28 November 2013), Aset ISEKESHEV (since 25 September 2012); Bakyt SULTANOV (since 6 November 2013)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 3 April 2011 (next to be held in 2016); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president, with Mazhilis approval; note - constitutional amendments of May 2007 shortened the presidential term from seven years to five years and established a two-consecutive-term limit; NAZARBAYEV has official status as the "First President of Kazakhstan" and is allowed unlimited terms
note:
constitutional amendments of February 2011 moved election date from 2012 to April 2011 but kept five-year term; subsequent election to take place in 2016
election results:
Nursultan Abishuly NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan Abishuly NAZARBAYEV 95.5%, other 4.5%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 15 members are appointed by the president; 32 members elected by local assemblies; members serve six-year terms, but elections are staggered with half of the members up for re-election every three years) and the Mazhilis (107 seats; 9 out of the 107 Mazhilis members elected by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, a presidentially appointed advisory body designed to represent the country's ethnic minorities; non-appointed members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)
elections:
Senate - (indirect) last held in August 2011 (next to be held in 2014); Mazhilis - last held on 15 January 2012 (next to be held in 2017)
election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Nur Otan 16; Mazhilis - percent of vote by party - Nur-Otan 81%, Ak Zhol 7.5%, Communist People's Party 7.2%, other 4.3%; seats by party - Nur-Otan 83, Ak Zhol 8, Communist People's Party 7
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):
Supreme Court of the Republic (consists of 44 members); Constitutional Council (consists of 7 members)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court judges proposed by the president of ther epublic on recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, and confirmed by the Senate; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Council - the president of the republic, the Senate chairperson, the Majilis chairperson each appoints one member for a 3-year term and each appoints one member for a 6-year term; chairperson of the Constitutional Council appointed by the president of the republic for a 6-year term
subordinate courts:
regional and local courts
Political parties and leaders:
Ak Zhol Party (Bright Path) [Azat PERUASHEV]
Alga [Vladimir KOZLOV] (unregistered and banned as extremist in November 2012)
Auyl (Village) [Gani KALIYEV]
Azat (Freedom) Party [Bolat ABILOV] (formerly True Ak Zhol Party)
Birlik (Unity) [Seril SULTANGALI] (Birlik is an April 2013 merger of Adilet (Justice; formerly Democratic Party of Kazakhstan) and Rukhaniyat (Spirituality))
NSDP [Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY]
Communist Party of Kazakhstan or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN] (suspended by court decision)
Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan [Vladislav KOSAREV]
National Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY]
Nur Otan (Fatherland's Ray of Light) [Nursultan NAZARBAYEV, Nurlan NIGMATULIN] (the Agrarian, Asar, and Civic parties merged with Otan)
Patriots' Party [Gani KASYMOV]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]
Almaty Helsinki Committee [Ninel FOKINA]
Confederation of Free Trade Unions [Sergei BELKIN]
For Fair Elections [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, Sabit ZHUSUPOV, Sergey DUVANOV, Ibrash NUSUPBAYEV]
Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, Chairman of Bureau's Council, Roza AKYLBEKOVA, director]
Khalyk Maidany (Peoples' Front) - an informal union between the unregistered Alga Party, the unregistered Communist Party of Kazakhstan, and several opposition-oriented civil society groups, banned in November 2012 [no formal leader]
Pan-National Social Democratic Party of Kazakhstan [Zharmakhan TUYAKBAY]
Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]
Republican Network of International Monitors [Daniyar LIVAZOV]
Transparency International [Sergey ZLOTNIKOV]
International organization participation:
ADB, CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Kayrat UMAROV (since 14 January 2013)
chancery:
1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
[1] (202) 232-5488
FAX:
[1] (202) 232-5845
consulate(s) general:
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John ORDWAY
embassy:
Rakhymzhan Koshkarbayev Ave. No 3, Astana 010010
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[7] (7172) 70-21-00
FAX:
[7] (7172) 54-09-14
Flag description:
a gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue background; the hoist side displays a national ornamental pattern "koshkar-muiz" (the horns of the ram) in gold; the blue color is of religious significance to the Turkic peoples of the country, and so symbolizes cultural and ethnic unity; it also represents the endless sky as well as water; the sun, a source of life and energy, exemplifies wealth and plenitude; the sun's rays are shaped like grain, which is the basis of abundance and prosperity; the eagle has appeared on the flags of Kazakh tribes for centuries and represents freedom, power, and the flight to the future
National symbol(s):
golden eagle
National anthem:
name:
"Menin Qazaqstanim" (My Kazakhstan)
lyrics/music: Zhumeken NAZHIMEDENOV and Nursultan NAZARBAYEV/Shamshi KALDAYAKOV
note: adopted 2006; President Nursultan NAZARBAYEV played a role in revising the lyrics