Seven years later, I'm still noticing whenever another "even Kazakhstan" story comes out.
I think the "even Kazakhstan" phenomenon is a product of the fact that:
1. Kazakhstan is a fairly developed country. Not exactly G-20, but close enough that it can sometimes out-rank countries that are unquestionably members of the "developed world."
2. Most of the public knows nothing about Kazakhstan except maybe that its that backwards country where Borat comes from, or that it sounds like Pakistan or Afghanistan, two countries they probably think of as basket-cases.
Because the public's main associations are a mixture of complete ignorance and misinformation that makes KZ seem less developed than it is, "even Kazakhstan" can add a nice twist to an article about one of those rankings.
I think the "even Kazakhstan" phenomenon is a product of the fact that:
1. Kazakhstan is a fairly developed country. Not exactly G-20, but close enough that it can sometimes out-rank countries that are unquestionably members of the "developed world."
2. Most of the public knows nothing about Kazakhstan except maybe that its that backwards country where Borat comes from, or that it sounds like Pakistan or Afghanistan, two countries they probably think of as basket-cases.
Because the public's main associations are a mixture of complete ignorance and misinformation that makes KZ seem less developed than it is, "even Kazakhstan" can add a nice twist to an article about one of those rankings.
