Atyrau Region (; ) formerly known as Guryev Region () until 1991, is one of the
regions of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is divided into 17 regions (; ; ; ) and 4 cities. The regions are further subdivided into districts of Kazakhstan, districts (; ; ; ). The four cities, Almaty, Baikonur, Shymkent, and the capital city Astana, do not belong to the ...
, in the western part of the country around the northeast of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
. Its capital is the city of
Atyrau, with a population of 355,117; the region itself has a population of 681,241, of which
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...
make up more than 90%.
History
The
Turan lowlands of Atyrau Region were the central homeland for the
Malkar "Hun" dynasties of late antiquity.
Geography
With an area of 118,600 square kilometers, it is the second-smallest region in Kazakhstan (
Turkistan Region is the smallest). It borders
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
(
Astrakhan Oblast) to the west, as well as the fellow Kazakh regions
Aktobe to the east,
Mangystau to the south, and the
West Kazakhstan Region
West Kazakhstan Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. The region has a population of 695,000 as of July 1st, 2024. Its administrative centre is Oral (also known as Uralsk or Ural'sk), a city of about 250,000 inhabitants.
The Region was created ...
to the north. The
Ural River is the border between
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and flows from
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
to the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
through the region, meaning western Atyrau Region lies in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
A large part of the region is situated in the
oil-rich
Caspian Depression. Many
oil wells
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsatur ...
have been drilled in the
Tengiz Field and
Kashagan Field areas. An
oil pipeline runs from Atyrau to
Samara, Russia, where it joins the Russian pipeline system. A separate oil pipeline runs from the
Tengiz field to the Russian Black Sea port of
Novorossiisk.
Atyrau is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.
Demographics
As of 2021, the Atyrau Region has a population of 659,074.
Ethnic groups (2021):
*
Kazakh: 92.86%
*
Russian: 5.01%
*
Koreans
Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 m ...
: 0.48%
*
Tatars
Tatars ( )[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
: 0.35%
*Others: 1.30%
Administrative divisions
The region is divided into seven districts and the city of
Atyrau. The districts are:
#
Inder District, with the administrative center in the urban-type settlement of
Inderbor;
#
Isatay District, the
selo (village) of
Akkystau;
#
Kurmangazy District, the selo of
Ganyushkino;
#
Kyzylkoga District, the selo of
Miyaly;
#
Makat District, the urban-type settlement of
Makat;
#
Makhambet District, the selo of
Makhambet;
#
Zhylyoi District, the town of
Kulsary.
* Two localities in Atyrau Region have town status. These are Atyrau and
Kulsary. Isatay and Kurmangazy districts are in Europe, Makat, Kyzylkoga and Zhylyoi in Asia, while Inder and Makhambet straddle the Ural River which marks the boundary.
References
* ''National Geographic Atlas of the World'', Eighth Edition.
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Regions of Kazakhstan