Geography
Area: 2.7 million sq. km. (1.56 million sq. mi.); ninth largest nation in the world; the size of western Europe.
Major cities: Astana (capital, June 1998), Almaty (former capital), Karaganda, and Shymkent.
Terrain: Extends east to west from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north to south from the plains of Western Siberia to the oasis and desert of Central Asia.
Climate: Continental, cold winters and hot summers; arid and semi-arid.
Border lengths: Russia 6,846 km., Uzbekistan 2,203 km, China 1,533 km., Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km., and Turkmenistan 379 km.
source: http://www.state.gov