Kazakhstan

The world's largest landlocked nation, Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and China. The south-western region of the nation borders much of the Caspian Sea. The country is still considered landlocked, however, as it does not touch an open body of water that reaches an ocean.

More than half of Kazakhstan's industrial output is through natural gas and fossil fuels. They have large reserves of other minerals, including copper, zinc, lead and manganese. Estimates of their oil deposits total over six billion tons.

The Kazakh government has engaged in a worldwide cultural campaign to discourage use of the image of Kazakh people found in the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visited Kazakhstan in 2005, followed a few weeks later by former secretary Henry Kissinger. The United States has installed a number of air bases in Kazakhstan following the September 11 attacks.