The population history of Kazakhstan

Fariza A. Tolesh, Charles University in Prague

The Republic of Kazakhstan located at the junction of Europe and Asia is the world's ninth-largest country with only 16,5 (KAS, 2011) million population of more than 100 nationalities. This paper provides an overview of the population history of Kazakhstan, the way in which the population has changed over the centuries. It explores stages of demographic change and the reasons of the ethnic diversity of the people living in the country. The history of Kazakhstani population is not easy to explain due to the scarcity and quality of data available, particularly before 1897 (the first Russian Imperial Census) and also owing to nomadic lifestyle there were no parish registers or historic tax records like in many European countries. The most prominent event in demographic history of the country was growth of population number from 4 million in the beginning of the 20th century to current more than 16 million. Generally, a population can change in size via two main mechanisms: natural change or migration. Historically, migration had a profound effect on size, structure and ethnic composition of the population in Kazakhstan. As a result Kazakhstan became home for many nationalities with different demographic behaviour and patterns, which will certainly determine future trends and tendencies as well as present.