Western Kazakhstan: history, population, economy

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Western Kazakhstan is one of the economic and geographical regions of the republic of the same name. In addition to this part of the country, this state includes the Northern, Central, Southern and Eastern regions, each of which has a whole set of features that distinguish it from the others (geographical location, climate, topography, economic features, etc.)

Short description

The Western region, as the name implies, is located in the western part of the country and is the only economic and geographical territory of Kazakhstan with access to a large body of water (the Caspian Sea). In the west and north, the presented region borders on the Russian Federation, in the south - on Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and in the east - on the Northern, Central and Southern regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Location features

A distinctive feature of this region is the fact that Western Kazakhstan is located on the border of Europe and Asia. Most of the region ison the territory of the East European Plain and the Caspian Lowland. Thus, the Mangyshlak peninsula, territorially belonging to the Caspian lowland, is located at an altitude of 132 m above sea level (the Karagie depression). In the north of the economic-geographical region there are the southern spurs of the Urals, which are a small mountain range called Mugodzhary, the highest point of which is Mount Boktybay (657 m).

Climatic conditions

Western Kazakhstan has a mostly sharply continental climate, which is characterized by hot summers and frosty winters. However, in the territory located near the Caspian Sea, the weather conditions are milder with an average January temperature of -5 °С.

Water and natural resources

The region has an extensive coastline of the Caspian Sea and a river network of internal flow (Ural, Emba, Volga, etc.), as well as a variety of small s alt lakes. Western Kazakhstan has large reserves of oil, gas (Tengiz, Kashagan, etc.), chromium, nickel, zinc, copper and coal.

The presence of oil and gas makes this area the largest oil and gas region of Kazakhstan, which plays an important role in the economic life of the state.

Industry

On the territory of Western Kazakhstan there are the Aktobe paint and varnish plant, the Aktobe plant of chromium compounds, the Atyrau oil refinery and the chemical plant of the city of Alga. All businesses are operational.

Recently, there has been a bigmechanical engineering, light and food industries were developed. Also, the territory of Western Kazakhstan became famous for its agriculture, represented by animal husbandry, crop production and the fishing industry.

Infrastructure

The long coastline of the Caspian Sea determines the presence of ports in the region, the largest of which is located in the city of Aktau. There are airports in several settlements (Atyrau, Aktau, Aktobe, Uralsk), the road network is well developed, represented by both roads and railways. The gas and oil pipeline network is maintained by Kaztransoil, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and others.

There are several branches of republican banks and the National Bank of the State in the region. The economy of Western Kazakhstan is connected with the construction of a gas processing plant, a new gas pipeline and the Beineu-Zhezkazgan railway line.

History of the region

Historically, the territory of Western Kazakhstan was at the crossroads of the Silk Road. At the end of the 19th century, large fairs appeared in the region (Temirskaya, Urda and others). Many cities of Western Kazakhstan have preserved their historical heritage, expressed in the life of the countryside and the architecture of cities. The history of Western Kazakhstan is intertwined with the history of an ancient town called Saraichik, which was located on the trade route from Europe to China. Here are the historical part of Uralsk, the Beket-ata Mausoleum, objects of the USSR defense complex located in the cityEmba.

Western region currently

Currently, this region includes 4 regions: West Kazakhstan, Aktobe, Atyrau and Mangystau. Most people live in the Aktobe region (830 thousand), and the least in Atyrau (555 thousand). The largest cities are Aktobe (440 thousand), Uralsk (230 thousand) and Atyrau (217 thousand). The population of Western Kazakhstan, according to data for 2012, is approximately 2.5 million people, which, in the ratio of the number of people / area of the region, makes the density of the presented economic and geographical region the lowest in the country. Kazakhs (more than 1.8 million) and Russians (300 thousand) stand out in the national composition. Tatars, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Azerbaijanis and other nationalities also live in the region.

Thus, Western Kazakhstan is a territory with the richest historical and natural heritage, which allows developing the economy of both a particular region and the whole country. In terms of potential, this region is considered one of the strongest, as there are all conditions for further development in various industries and beyond. At least this will help the extraction of various natural resources. Some of them are able to firmly hold the economy of Western Kazakhstan and create all the conditions for the formation of a powerful region, which is planned to be done in the coming years.