The nation of Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia, and the ninth largest in the world. Between its most distant points, it measures over 2,900 kilometres east to west, and more than 1,500 kilometres north to south.

Formerly part of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has physical and cultural characteristics that are similar in many ways to other countries in the region. The country is also blessed with great mineral resources and arable lands that have long aroused the envy of outsiders.

In an environment where Kazakhs’ traditional customs uneasily coexist alongside incursions of the modern world, FEBC International has been successful in establishing a presence there – by officially incorporating an office in June 2005, with the hope of establishing FM radio stations in the country’s two major cities: Almaty, where the ministry is located; and Astana, the nation’s capital.

While the radio ministry has made progress in securing required licenses for the two stations, it is still waiting for the government to issue special FM frequencies.

In the meantime, the ministry is utilizing shortwave and the internet to reach the country’s population of nearly 19 million people – the majority of whom are culturally Muslim.

Muslim – 69.3%
Orthodox – 23.9%
Protestant – 2.3%
Buddhist – 0.1%
Other – 0.2%
None – 4.2%