In 1997, the third transfer of the capital took place in the history of Kazakhstan . From Alma-Ata, she moved to Akmola. A year later, this city received a new name - Astana. The population of the capital of Kazakhstan in 2016 reached one million. Who lives in the city today? And how did the population of Astana change over the years?
Astana city and its features
The capital of the largest Central Asian state is located on the banks of the Ishim River, in the middle of the classical Kazakhstan steppe and surrounded by numerous salt lakes. The Kazakhs laid the foundation of this city in 1830 in order to protect themselves from the encroachments of the aggressively-minded Kokand Khanate. An important date in the history of the future capital of Kazakhstan was 1961, when Nikita Khrushchev declared the city "the main center for the development of virgin lands."
Modern Astana is a rather interesting and well-groomed city, with an abundance of museums, monuments and unusual buildings. By the way, the capital of Kazakhstan is the only one in the post-Soviet space, the transport system of which is represented only by buses. There are no trolleybuses, trams or subways. And Astana city buses often do not cope with the metropolitan passenger flow.
The population of Astana is about 1 million people. The capital is divided into two parts by the Ishim River . Moreover, the right and left banks of the city are radically different from each other. On the left bank is dominated by various government agencies, shopping and office centers. The building here is quite sparse. The right bank of the capital, on the contrary, is represented by dense residential development. A curious fact: in winter, the air temperature on the right bank is a couple of degrees higher.
The population of Astana and its dynamics. The paradox of 2016
In the history of the city there were at least two significant events that entailed a rapid population growth. The first is a set of state measures for the development of virgin lands, which were carried out in the 60s of the twentieth century. The second event was the transfer of the capital here in the late 1990s. So, over a ten-year period of time (from 1998 to 2008), the population of Astana more than doubled!
At the beginning of 2016, 875 thousand people lived in the capital of Kazakhstan. However, on July 4 of that year, local authorities announced the birth of a millionth resident of Astana. What can explain such an unexpected demographic leap? How did it happen that the population of Astana in just six months increased by 125 thousand people?
The reason for this is an active state policy on the legalization of property and the state economy. As a result, in 2016, about 60 thousand previously “unaccounted” workers were registered in the capital. In addition, in March, parliamentary elections were held in the country, which was preceded by a podomoy bypass of all residents of the city.
According to experts, by 2020, the population of Astana may increase to 1.2 million inhabitants. But President Nursultan Nazarbayev optimistically stated that in 2050, 3 million people will already live in the capital.
Other facts about the population of Astana
The latest census conducted in 2009 showed that 64% of Astana residents are not its indigenous inhabitants. Basically, these are migrants from other regions of Kazakhstan (mainly from Akmola, South Kazakhstan and Karaganda regions).
The average marriage age for Astana residents is 25.3 years for women and 27.5 years for men. At the same time, three out of ten married couples according to statistics file for divorce in the future.
The ethnic composition of the population of Astana is quite variegated. The dominant ethnic group in the city is the Kazakhs (about 69%). They are followed by Russians, of whom about 21% are here. Nationalities, the number of which in Astana exceeds one percent, are Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans and Uzbeks. Also in the city is a fairly substantial community of Koreans, who were here in the middle of the last century during the period of mass Stalinist deportations.