Since it gained independence in 1991, post-Soviet Kazakhstan has been steadily reinventing itself as a prosperous and modern Eurasian nation. The world's ninth largest country, it covers an area of 2.7 million km~2 and borders Russia to the north and China to the east. This vast, landlocked country is extremely rich in natural resources. All the elements from the periodic table can be found here, and it is a leading global supplier of uranium, iron, copper, coal, cobalt, lead and zinc. Kazakhstan is also among the top ten oil producers in the world. In 2008, for example, its total oil and gas output was 70 million t, which is double the volume produced nine years ago.
展开▼
