Kazakh is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch, spoken in Central Asia by the Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz, and Karakalpak. It is the official language of Kazakhstan and has official status in the Altai Republic of Russia. It is also a minority language in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, China, and in the Bayan-Ölgii Province of western Mongolia. The language is also spoken by many ethnic Kazakhs throughout the former Soviet Union, as well as in Germany and Turkey.