Claim: The terrain of Kazakhstan includes rock canyons.

Kazakhstan -LRB- -LSB- USkæzækˈstæn , _ ˌkɑːzɑːkˈstɑːn -RSB- , -LSB- ˌkæzəkˈstɑːn , _ - ˈstæn -RSB- Қазақстан , tr . Qazaqstan , -LSB- qɑzɑqˈstɑn -RSB- ; Казахстан , tr . Kazakhstan -RRB- , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan -LRB- Қазақстан Республикасы , tr . Qazaqstan Respwblïkası ; Республика Казахстан , tr . Respublika Kazakhstan -RRB- , is a transcontinental country in northern Central Asia and Eastern Europe . Kazakhstan is the world 's largest landlocked country , and the ninth largest in the world , with an area of 2,724,900 km ² . Kazakhstan is the dominant nation of Central Asia economically , generating 60 % of the region 's GDP , primarily through its oil/gas industry . It also has vast mineral resources .   Kazakhstan is officially a democratic , secular , unitary , constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage . Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia , China , Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan , and Turkmenistan , and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea . The terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands , steppe , taiga , rock canyons , hills , deltas , snow-capped mountains , and deserts . Kazakhstan has an estimated 18 million people , Given its large land area , its population density is among the lowest , at less than 6 people per square kilometre -LRB- 15 people per sq. mi . -RRB- . The capital is Astana , where it was moved in 1997 from Almaty , the country 's largest city .   The territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic tribes . This changed in the 13th century , when Genghis Khan occupied the country as part of the Mongolian Empire . Following internal struggles among the conquerors , power eventually reverted to the nomads . By the 16th century , the Kazakh emerged as a distinct group , divided into three jüz -LRB- ancestor branches occupying specific territories -RRB- . The Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century , and by the mid-19th century , they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire . Following the 1917 Russian Revolution , and subsequent civil war , the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganised several times . In 1936 , it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , part of the Soviet Union .   Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 . The current President , Nursultan Nazarbayev , has been leader of the country since then , and is characterised as authoritarian , with a government history of human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition . Kazakhstan has worked to develop its economy , especially its dominant hydrocarbon industry . Human Rights Watch says that `` Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly , speech , and religion , '' and other human rights organisations regularly describe Kazakhstan 's human rights situation as poor .   Kazakhstan 's 131 ethnicities include Kazakhs -LRB- 63 % of the population -RRB- , Russians , Uzbeks , Ukrainians , Germans , Tatars , and Uyghurs . Islam is the religion of about 70 % of the population , with Christianity practised by 26 % ; Kazakhstan officially allows freedom of religion , but religious leaders who oppose the government are suppressed . The Kazakh language is the state language , and Russian has equal official status for all levels of administrative and institutional purposes .