Batken (also called Batkent) is a town in southwestern
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
, on the southern fringe of the
Fergana Valley
The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...
. It is the administrative seat of
Batken Region
Batken Region ( ky, Баткен облусу, Batken oblusu; russian: Баткенская область, Batkenskaya oblast) is a region ('' oblus'') of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Batken. It is bounded on the east by Osh Region, on the south, ...
.
Since 2000, it is a city of regional significance, i.e. not part of a district. However, it is still the administrative seat of
Batken District
Batken ( ky, Баткен району) is a district of Batken Region in south-western Kyrgyzstan. Its area is , and its resident population was 91,983 in 2021. The administrative seat lies at the city Batken, itself not part of the district.
Po ...
.
[ Its area is ,]
History
The name Batkent is from the Iranian language of Sogdian and means "The city of wind". Batken became the administrative headquarters of the youngest of Kyrgyzstan's seven regions, created from the three westernmost districts of Osh Region
Osh Region ( ky, Ош облусу, translit=Osh oblusu; russian: Ошская область, Oshskaya oblast) is a region (''oblast'') of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded by (clockwise) Jalal-Abad Re ...
in 1999, after concerns over radical Islamist activities in neighboring Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
and Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
led to demands for a more direct and visible governmental presence in this remote and mountainous region. Batken Airport links the town with Bishkek. Since 2000, there is a small university in Batken.
The 2022 Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan clashes has heavily damaged the town, which has been subject to shelling.
Population
Climate
Batken has a cold steppe climate (Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ''BSk''), bordering on a Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(''Csa'') and a continental Mediterranean climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Dsa''). The average annual temperature in Batken is . About of precipitation falls annually.
References
Populated places in Batken Region
{{Batken-geo-stub