Kazakhstan: Introduction

Kazakhstan is a landlocked, transcontinental country located in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. It borders China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The terrain extends west to east from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north to south from the plains of Western Siberia to the deserts of Central Asia. The government system is a republic with authoritarian presidential rule and little power outside the executive branch. The chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Kazakhstan has a mixed economic system, which includes a variety of private freedoms combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).