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Map of West Kazakhstan

West Kazakhstan is a first-level division of Kazakhstan. Its largest mapped city is Oral, with about 209,788 people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on West Kazakhstan, and the tables list its 4 mapped cities.

Cities Mapped
4
Largest City
Oral
209,788
Country
Kazakhstan
Asia

Interactive Map of West Kazakhstan

6.4

About West Kazakhstan

West Kazakhstan Region is a region of Kazakhstan. As of 1 August 2025, it had a population of 695,900. Its administrative centre is Oral (also known as Uralsk), a city of about 250,000 inhabitants.

The region was created as West Kazakhstan Oblast in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic during the Soviet-era. Between 1962 and 1992, it was named Uralsk Oblast. It was renamed in 1993 following the independence of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: West Kazakhstan Region (CC BY-SA 4.0).

West Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan
Image via Wikimedia Commons.

West Kazakhstan in Depth

Geography

The region borders Russia and is near the Ural Mountains. The Ural River is the border between Asia and Europe and flows from Russia to the Caspian Sea through the region, meaning the extreme west of Kazakhstan is in Eastern Europe. West Kazakhstan region borders Aktobe Region to the east and Atyrau Region to the south, in addition to the following Russian Oblasts: Astrakhan Oblast to the south-west, Volgograd Oblast to the west, Saratov Oblast to the north-west, Samara Oblast to the north and Orenburg Oblast to the north-east.

It is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude. There are numerous lakes in the region, including Shalkar, Balykty Sarkyl, Botkul and Aralsor.

Economy

In the first half of 2019, the gross regional product amounted to ₸1.4 trillion, an increase of ₸145 million from the previous year. For 9 months of this year, industrial output amounted to almost ₸1.8 trillion. For the first quarter of 2020, the West Kazakhstan Region reported an unemployment rate of 4.8%, and an average monthly salary of ₸186,857.

The development of the agro-industrial complex is also one of the drivers of the region’s economy. During the first half of 2020, the gross agricultural production of the region totaled ₸59.8252 billion, of which ₸59.6761 billion came from livestock farming, and the remaining amount coming from crop production and various agricultural services. The main crops grown in the region include wheat, barley, sunflower, safflower, and potatoes.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: West Kazakhstan Region (CC BY-SA 4.0).

West Kazakhstan: Key Facts

Key facts about West Kazakhstan
Population675,655 (2021)
Area151,339 km²
CapitalOral
Head of governmentAltay Kölginov
Established10 March 1932

Facts from Wikidata Q486007 (CC0).

History of West Kazakhstan: Empires and States

The atlas records 13 polities whose mapped territory included part of West Kazakhstan, from Scythia in 650 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held West Kazakhstan, in chronological order
PolityPeriod here
Scythia650–551 BCE
Khazaria647–969 CE
Kimek-Kipchak confederation750–1235 CE
The Mongol Empire1236–1293 CE
Golden Horde1294–1449 CE
Blue Horde1363–1401 CE
Nogai Horde1450–1563 CE
Small Horde1564–1587 CE
Kazakh Khanate1572–1847 CE
Tsardom of Russia1595–1720 CE
The Russian Empire1721–1916 CE
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics1922–1991 CE
Kazakhstan1992–2024 CE

Historical Maps of West Kazakhstan

West Kazakhstan on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Largest Cities in West Kazakhstan

4 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in West Kazakhstan
#NamePopulation
1Oral209,788
2Aqsay34,799
3Zhanibek8,212
4Chapaev6,000

West Kazakhstan: Quick Answers

Where is West Kazakhstan?
West Kazakhstan is a first-level division of Kazakhstan, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 50.5154° N, 50.5985° E.
What is the largest city in West Kazakhstan?
Oral is the largest city mapped in West Kazakhstan, with a metropolitan population of about 209,788.
How many cities are in West Kazakhstan?
YearMaps maps 4 cities and towns in West Kazakhstan, with a combined metropolitan population of about 258,799. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

More Maps in Kazakhstan