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Where we do it > Ten facts about Kazakhstan
If you're going to Kazakstan (or even just down to your local pub quiz!), knowing a few basic facts about the Kazakhs and their country will be invaluable.
1. Almost as big as western Europe, and four times the size of Texas, Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world.
2. The word "Kazakh" means "independent" or "wanderer".
3. Kazakhstan is home to the Baikonur cosmodrome, from which Yuri Gagarin's first orbital flight was launched in 1961. The centre used to be top secret, but has been re-invented as a tourist destination.
4. The official language is Kazakh, but most people also speak Russian.
5. The capital moved from Almaty to the purpose-built city of Astana in 1998. Almaty comes from the old name "Alma-Ata", meaning "Father of Apples", after the wild apples that grow in the area.
6. Around 1,500 Kazakhs live in Britain.
7. The population is 15,143,704.
8. Ethnic Kazakhs were, until the middle of the 20th century, pastoral nomads. They lived in yurts - portable, domed tents made of felt - and travelled from summer pastures to warmer winter lands, accompanied by their livestock.
9. Kazakhstan became the first former Soviet republic to repay all of its debt to the IMF in 2000, seven years ahead of schedule.
10.To celebrate the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test range four years ago, Tugelbek Kasymov, 56, a member of the International Anti-Nuclear Movement, cycled from Moscow to Rome. Calling himself "Kazakhstan's earth cosmonaut", he completed the 5,000km journey in 25 days.
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