Languages spoken in Kazakhstan
Asia · Capital: Astana · Population 20.3 million
In Kazakhstan, two languages have official status: Russian and Kazakh. Russian is the most widely spoken language, with an estimated 84% of the population speaking it as a first or additional language, or roughly 17 million people. After Russian, the most widely spoken are Kazakh at 64% and English at 15%. Russian belongs to the Indo-European language family. Russian is also spoken in four of its five neighbours: Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In total, four languages are recorded in Kazakhstan, and their shares add up to 169.4% of the population, which implies the average resident speaks about 1.7 of them.
What languages are spoken in Kazakhstan?
| Language | Share of population | Status | Estimated speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| RussianIndo-European | 84% | Official | 17 million |
| KazakhTurkic | 64% | Official | 13 million |
| EnglishIndo-European | 15% | Spoken | 3 million |
| GermanIndo-European | 6.4% | Spoken | 1.3 million |
Percentages are the share of the population that speaks each language, including as a second language, so they add up to well over 100% in multilingual countries. Speaker counts are estimates derived from the percentage and the country's population, not counted figures.
What is the official language of Kazakhstan?
In Kazakhstan, two languages have official status: Russian and Kazakh. Russian is spoken by an estimated 84% of the population, or roughly 17 million people, counting both first-language and additional speakers.
Official status comes from Unicode CLDR. It distinguishes languages that are official nationwide, those used as de facto official without being named in law, and those official only in particular regions or territories.
How many people speak Russian in Kazakhstan?
An estimated 84% of Kazakhstan's 20.3 million people speak Russian, which works out at roughly 17 million speakers. That figure is derived from the population and the reported share, and it counts second-language speakers, so it is an estimate rather than a census count.
Key facts about Kazakhstan
- Capital
- Astana
- Population
- 20.3 million
- Continent
- Asia
- Area
- 2,724,900 km²
- Currency
- KZT
- Languages recorded
- 4
- Land borders
- 5
- ISO codes
- KZ / KAZ / 398
Which countries border Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan shares a land border with five countries: China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Russian, the most widely spoken language in Kazakhstan, is also spoken in Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Explore more
Language shares, population, and official status: Unicode CLDR. Capital, area, borders, and currency: mledoze/countries (ODbL 1.0). Flag image: flagcdn.com. Speaker counts are estimates derived from population and reported share.