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Asia and Oceania

Kazakhstan

 Flag of Kazakhstan

Last reviewed: 14 March 2011 

Country information

Map of Kazakhstan

Area: 2,699,800km
Population: 16.2 million
Capital City: Astana
People: 60.5% Kazakh, 24.5% Russian,2.9% Uzbek, 2.7% Ukrainian, 1.5% Uighur 1.4% German, , 1.4% Tartar,  1.3% Korean, other groups less than 1%
Languages: Kazakh and Russian
Religion(s): Muslim 65%, Russian Orthodox 30%, Protestant 1.3%, Other3.7%
Currency: Kazakh Tenge
Major political parties: Nur Otan ('Fatherland') Party, Adilet, All National Social Democratic Party ‘OSDP-Azat’, Ak Zhol, Auyl, Communist Party of Kazakhstan, Communist People’s Party,  Patriot Party of Kazakhstan, and Rukhaniyat.  

Government

Head of State: President Nursultan Nazarbayev
Prime Minister/Premier: Karim Masimov
Foreign Minister: Yerzhan Kazykhanov
Membership of international groupings/organisations: UN, the IMF/World Bank, EBRD, OSCE, Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty, the Eurasian Economic Community, Central Asian Co-operation Organisation, Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia.

Health


Drugs


Kazakhstan is a significant transit route for Afghan grown and produced opium and heroin. Most of this northern flow is aimed at the growing domestic drugs market in Russia, but Central Asia is becoming a transit route for some Afghan heroin trafficked to Europe. There is also increasing evidence of international crime gangs working in Kazakhstan, often with contacts in Germany and the Baltic States. The total quantity of drugs seized in Kazakhstan in 2011 was 30 tons. There has been an increase in drugs seized over the years, (2010 - 29 tons and 2009 - 28 tons), no change from 2008 where there was a 19% increase on the previous year.  The Central Asian Republics recognise the drugs threat but have only a limited capacity to tackle it, although Kazakhstan is the best equipped.  Drug seizures in Central Asia increased tenfold between 1995 and 1999 and almost tripled between 1999 and 2000. Porous borders and ineffective border management hinder the counter-narcotics effort, but the European Commission, OSCE, UN, IOM and US Government are implementing border projects.

Kazakhstan is a sizable producer of illicit cannabis and ephedra, with the largest location of wild growing cannabis in southern Kazakhstan. Precursor chemicals (acetic anhydride) are produced of which the vast majority is for legitimate purposes, but some is diverted for heroin production. According to official statistics, there were 49,984 registered drug addicts in Kazakhstan as of the end of 2011, which is 8 per cent less than the previous year. However, during the last decade the number of drug users in Kazakhstan has increased substantially. UNODC estimate that the real figure is probably higher and that 70% of these are injecting drug users. There has been an increase reported HIV cases - 15,496 cases in 2010 13,500 cases in 2009 compared to 9,378 cases in 2007.

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Contacts

Kazakhstan

Address:

Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
33 Thurloe Square
London SW7 2DS

Telephone:

020 7581 4646

Fax:

020 7584 8481
020 7584 9905 (Consular)

Office hours:

Mon-Fri: 0900-1200, 1400-1800        
Mon-Fri: 0900-1200 (Visas) (except Wed)

Website: http://www.kazembassy.org.uk