Prime
Minister of Kazakhstan Serik
Akhmetov has resigned today. It has been accepted
by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Akhmetov was appointed Prime Minister in
September 2012.
FACTS ABOUT KAZAKHSTAN
Location:
Central Asia, south of Russia and northwest of China
Comparative
Area: Ninth largest in the world,
equivalent to the size of Western Europe. Four times the size of Texas. Five
times the size of France
Independence:
December 16, 1991
National
Holiday: Republic Day, October 25 (1991)
Population:
14.9 million
Ethnic
Diversity: Kazakh 51.8%, Russian 31.4%, Ukrainian 4.4%, Tatar 1.7%, German
1.6%. There are over 100 other nationalities.
Religions:
Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, other 9%
Languages:
Kazakh, spoken by over 52% of the population, is the state language. Russian,
spoken by two-thirds of the population, is used in everyday business and enjoys
official status under the Constitution.
Literacy:
98%
Monetary
Unit: Tenge (KZT) - equal to 100
tyins. It was introduced on November 15, 1993. Exchange rate is floating, fully
convertible and recently has moved in a range of 145 - 155 KZT to the dollar.
Capital:
Astana (since December 10,1997).