THE KAZAKHSTAN FILE

Size: World's ninth-largest country (1.05 million square miles), the size of Western Europe
Population: 15.2 million
Ethnic diversity: Kazakh 51.8%, Russian 31.4%, Ukrainian 4.4%
Religion: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, others 9%
Literacy rate: 98%
Government: Constitutional republic with a strong presidency; independence from U.S.S.R. in 1991
Natural resources: World's largest reserves of barite, lead, tungsten and uranium; second-largest reserves of chromite, silver and zinc. Oil reserves: 35 billion barrels (twice as much as the North Sea).