Almaty is a major city in Kazakhstan. It is situated in south east of Kazakhstan in the northern foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau at an elevation of 700 metres, where the Bolshaya and Malaya Almaatinka rivers emerge into the plain and has a population of around 1.3 million. Almaty is a major industrial centre, with the food industry accounting for about one-third of its industrial output and light industry for about one-fourth. There are a number of institutions of higher education, including the Kazak Al-Farabi State University (founded 1934), and teacher-training, economics, polytechnic, agricultural, and medical institutes. The city also houses Kazakstan's Academy of Sciences and its many subordinate research institutes