The Kazakh people were formed as a result of the merging of Mongol, Turkic, and other Eurasian groups between the 13th and 15th centuries. In the 15th century, under the leadership of two sultans Janibek Khan and Kerei Khan Kazakhs founded the Kazakh Khanate, which existed until the mid-19th century.

The term Kazakh is used to refer to ethnic Kazakhs, while the term Kazakhstani refers to all citizens of Kazakhstan,