Kazakhstan Cities

Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world in terms of territory. At the same time, with a population of only 19 million, it is one of the least populated countries in the world. Urbanisation has been increasing over the last decade and currently more than 60% of the population lives in cities. The country has 3 cities with millions of inhabitants – Almaty, Astana and Shymkent. Other major cities are Aktobe in the west of the country and Karagandy, located in the heart of Kazakhstan.

Let’s take a detailed look at the cities of Kazakhstan

Astana

The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana – the symbol of the new Kazakhstan. It was declared the capital in 1997 and is one of the fastest growing modern cities in Asia. Astana is situated on the banks of the Yesil River. On the right side of the river is well known as the Old City, while the left side is famous for its masterpieces of modern architecture. The capital has a population of 1.5 million and is the centre of business and investors from all over the world. Astana has a very cold winter with deep snow. In winter, the temperature can reach -35 Celsius. In 2017, the capital city hosted the EXPO exhibition. Astana has built a new Expo City with a huge shopping mall. Here you can visit well-planned city tour that includes the main attractions of city such as Khan Shatyr, Pyramid, Expo City and others.

Almaty

Almaty is the old capital (1929-1997) and is still the largest cultural and economic centre of Kazakhstan. Unofficially it is the southern capital of Kazakhstan. The Almaty is very touristic location and it is located at the beautiful Ile-Alatau mountains at the 700-900 meters s.l.. Here you can visit the main attractions like Kolsai Lakes, Charyn Canyon, Tamgaly Tas, Altyn Emel, Kaindly Lake, Shymbulak and Kok tobe. The city has a population of over 2.2 million and is the most popular city in Kazakhstan.

The climate is much warmer than Astana and greener. The original name of the city is Alma-Ata, which means Alma – apple, Ata – grandfather. It is the home of the Aport apples. Most of the travellers who is planning to visit is chose Almaty because of a number of beautiful places and cultural centre of Kazakhstan.

Shymkent

Shymkent is located in the southern part of the country and has a population of over 1.2 million. It is the third largest city by population and the first by area. The climate here is one of the warmest in Kazakhstan and it gets very hot in the summer. Shymkent is a beautiful modern metropolis with a rich cultural life.

Aktobe

Aktobe is one of the largest cities in Western Kazakhstan. With a population of over 560,000 people, it is the fourth-largest city in Kazakhstan. Western Kazakhstan is a continental part of Europe and is famous for oil and gas. Western Kazakhstan or the Mangystau region has several stunning natural attractions such as Bozzhyra and the beaches on the Caspian Sea. Other large cities are Aktau and Atyrau, which are also on the must-see destinations of Western Kazakhstan

Karagandy

Karagandy is the fifth largest city in Kazakhstan with a population of half a million. The city is located in the heart of Kazakhstan and is an economic centre with a large mining and car manufacturing industry. The largest mine is a cold mine.

The other important cities that are recommended to visit are Semey with its rich of historical sites and cultural cities. The Turkestan city is very famous location for tourism where you can visit ancient cities and mausoleum of Arystan bab and Ashi bibi. This region is becoming a famous tourist destination and offers a large number of highlights.