Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is the largest landlocked country in the world. It also ranks as the world's ninth largest country, with an area of 2,724,900 square kilometers. It shares boders with Uzbekistan, Russia, Kyrgyztan, China and Turkmenistan. Its terrain consists of flatlands, steppe, taiga, rock canyons, hills, deltas and snow-capped mountains, as well as deserts.

Kazakhstan is the dominant nation of Central Asia, generating 60% of the region's GDP, mostly from its oil/gas industry. Aside from oil, Kazakhstan has vast, rich mineral resources. It is considered as the richest among the "stan" countries (e.g., Uzbekistan, Kyrgyztan, Turkmenistan). This country, however, does not have significant historical sights and remarkable tourist spots.

Officially, Kazakhstan is a unitary, democratic, secular constitutional republic. Its current capital is Astana. Before 1997, Almaty, which is the nation's largest city, was its capital. It is a transcontinental country, since it lies in northern Central Asia and Eastern Europe. It was once a part of the Union Soviet Socialist Republic and was the last to declare independence from the union when it was dissolved in1991.

As to the other choices, Uzbekistan has a total area of 447,400 sq. km; Afghanistan covers 652,000 sq. km; and Ukraine's land area is 603,500 sq. km.

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