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Golden Kazakh steppe at sunset with snow-capped mountains and wild horses

Kazakhstan
Travel Guide

Plan your first Kazakhstan trip with local routes, arrival advice, and realistic costs. Keep the full plan offline with the $19 Trip Kit: PDF book + editable planner.

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Kazakhstan at a Glance

Kazakhstan is a landlocked country in Central Asia and the world's ninth-largest by area at 2,724,900 km². It borders Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, has a population of about 20.5 million, and uses the tenge (₸). The capital is Astana; the largest city and main travel hub is Almaty.

Key facts about Kazakhstan with sources, updated June 2026
Population~20.5 million (1 Jan 2026)Bureau of National Statistics · details
CapitalAstana (capital since 1997)Astana guide
Largest cityAlmaty (~2.3 million)Almaty guide
Area2,724,900 km² (9th-largest country; largest landlocked)geography
Official languagesKazakh (state) and Russianlanguages
CurrencyKazakhstani tenge (KZT, ₸)money guide
Time zoneUTC+5, single nationwide (since March 2024)time zone
Best time to visitMay-June and Septemberwhen to go
EntryVisa-free for many nationalities (check the list)visa-free countries
Religion~70% Islam, ~17% Orthodox Christian; secular statereligion

Last updated June 2026 · Sources: Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan, UNESCO, and the About Kazakhstan data hub.

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Kazakhstan 2026 Trip Kit with the 58-page PDF and editable XLSX planner

Paid Kazakhstan Trip Kit

Bring the decisions together before you book: choose a route, prepare your arrival, and fill in your own itinerary and budget. The offline PDF and editable planner turn separate travel tips into a usable plan.

58-page PDFVerified 13 July 2026Free 2026/2027 updates