The largest country in Central Asia and the ninth largest in the world is also a place that has hardly anyone living in it.
The region is a landlocked country which has a small portion of its territory in Eastern Europe.
Kazakhstan borders China to the east, Russia to the north and west, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, and has a coastline along the Caspian Sea.
Kazakhstan has the largest economy in Central Asia which is owed to the country’s immense natural resources – and is actually the largest landlocked country in the world.
The country is famed for its natural beauty including a number of nature reserves. Kazakhstan’s high mountains, including the Altai Mountains and the Tien Shan, attract many mountaineers and climbers. In fact, the region’s snowy peaks have even labelled Kazakhstan as being a budget-friendly alternative to the Swiss Alps.
The population in Kazakhstan is low and could be set to decrease even further, as its total fertility rate (TFR) plummets due to several reasons.
Kazakhstan’s TFR decreased after the country gained its independence and has been linked to several aspects of social change in the country during its transition from a Soviet republic to an independent post-socialist state.
On October 25, 1990, the country declared its sovereignty on its territory as a republic within the Soviet Union.
This led to great economic problems causing its TFR to fall below replacement level.
According to one study published in Springer, the sustained and universal fertility recuperation in Kazakhstan was further analysed.
According to the research, the TFR of Kazakhstan has been on a roller coaster and has dropped from 2.84 in 1989 to 1.80 in 1999 and then rebounded back to 3.00 in 2018.
They also noted how the country’s “industries disappeared, inflation skyrocketed, and unemployment and wage arrears were widespread” owing to this birth rate decline.
“In addition, many institutional features such as childcare provision, maternity leave, and other forms of social benefits were significantly reduced during the 1990”, they added.
Kazakhstan’s population sits at around 20 million making it one of the lowest population densities in the world.
