Karaganda, population: size and composition

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

One of the largest settlements in Kazakhstan is the city of Karaganda. The population here is ethnically, linguistically and religiously very mixed, as in most other settlements in the north of the country. The study of the demographic situation in this regional center is of great interest. Let's find out what is the population of the city of Karaganda in numbers.

Geographic location

The city of Karaganda is located in the central part of Kazakhstan, with a shift to the northeast, on the territory of the Karaganda coal basin, in the middle of an arid steppe. It occupies an area of approximately 550 sq. km. In the Kazakh manner, its name is pronounced as "Karaganda".

This city is the administrative center of the Karaganda region. In addition, the settlement is the cultural and industrial center of the region.

We will talk about the population of Karaganda below.

A Brief History of the City

But before we know the population of Karaganda, the ethnic and religious appearance of the city, let'sconsider when this settlement was founded and how it developed. This will allow us to better understand the essence of the demographic changes in the city, as well as learn how the population of Karaganda was formed.

In ancient times and in the Middle Ages, wild steppes stretched in the place where Karaganda later arose. The population of these lands led a nomadic economy, and was represented by Turkic-speaking tribes. In the second half of the 15th century, the Kazakh Khanate arose on the territory of modern Kazakhstan, within the boundaries of which the ethnogenesis of modern Kazakhs took place. In the 18th century, this state finally broke up into three parts - zhuzes. The territory now occupied by Karaganda was included in the Middle Zhuz. In 1740, the Middle Zhuz accepted the patronage of the Russian Empire, and in 1822 it was finally included in its composition.

According to legend, in 1833, a Kazakh shepherd boy found deposits of coal on the site of the future city. It is coal that will become the economic basis of Karaganda, but this will happen many years later. Industrial coal mining in the Russian Empire from the Karaganda basin began only at the beginning of the 20th century.

The first permanent settlement on the site where Karaganda appeared in the future was formed in 1906 and was called Mikhailovka. But after the revolution, coal mining was stopped, the village was deserted.

In 1930, with the beginning of industrialization, mining in the region resumed, as a result of which several workers' settlements appeared. In 1931 they were merged into the Karaganda Workers' Council. This year is considered the date of foundationKaraganda.

This area had the name "Karaganda" long before the formation of the city, and is believed to have originated from the common acacia bush in those places - karagana. Although there are several alternative opinions.

In 1934, the village was given the status of a city. This is one of the milestones that Karaganda has experienced. The population of the city was originally formed from workers, predominantly Slavic nationalities, mainly Russians. But, in subsequent years, Kazakhs from nearby regions also began to move to the city.

In 1936, Karaganda became the administrative center of the Karaganda region as part of the Kazakh SSR.

After the Great Patriotic War, factories were built in the city, various infrastructure elements were built at a rapid pace, and the coal basin continued to develop.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, industrial capacity in Karaganda was significantly reduced, which negatively affected the demographic situation in the city. Due to the shutdown of enterprises, many families have moved to other settlements.

Population

Now let's find out how many people there are in Karaganda? The number of inhabitants will be considered by us now. Both for the current date and in dynamics.

First of all, let's find out how many people live in the city today. According to experts, the population in Karaganda in 2016 is about 496.2 thousand people. Human. At the moment, this is the fourth indicator in the country after the largest city of Kazakhstan - Almaty, the capital - Astana and another regional center - Shymkent (Chimkent).

Population density

Now we find out the density indicators that characterize the population of Karaganda in 2016. The density of residents currently living in the city is 846 people per 1 sq. km. km.

But is it a lot or a little? Let's compare the population density with that of the largest settlement in Kazakhstan - Almaty. In Almaty, the population density indicator is 2346 people. per sq. km., which, as we see, is several times more than what Karaganda has. The population in this city can thus be seen as rather thin. But has it always been like this? To find out, you need to find out what was the population of Karaganda in previous years.

Dynamics of population change

As we found out, the population of Karaganda (2016) is about 496.2 thousand people. But how was it before?

In 1959, about 397.1 thousand inhabitants lived in the city, nine years later - 523.3 thousand inhabitants, after 20 years (1979) the population increased by almost half - 578.9 thousand inhabitants. By 1989, in the city of Karaganda (Kazakhstan), the population reached its maximum in history - 613.8 thousand inhabitants.

But then the population began to decline sharply. So, in 1991 it dropped to the level of 608.6 thousand inhabitants, eight years later it fell to 436.9 thousand. In 2004, the bottom of the fall was reached -428.9 thousand inhabitants. Thus, over the 14 years of falling, the number of people living in the city has decreased by almost 185 thousand people.

But starting next year, the population began to gradually increase. In 2005, it amounted to 436.0 thousand inhabitants, in 2010 - 465.2 thousand, in 2012 - 475.4 thousand. The population of Karaganda in 2016 reached 496.2 thousand inhabitants. This is 67.3 thousand more than in 2004, but 112.4 less than in 1989. These dynamic indicators characterize the population in Karaganda. The 2016 population did not even reach the 1970 level.

Reasons for the dramatic change in population dynamics

Now let's see why the dynamics of the population in the city of Karaganda has undergone such drastic changes.

The growth of the population of Karaganda until 1989 inclusive does not raise any special questions. It was a natural process. Moreover, Karaganda is a large industrial city, which was constantly developing in Soviet times, which means that it required an influx of new labor. People came to work at Karaganda enterprises from many parts of the USSR. It was labor migration, along with natural population growth, that contributed to an increase in the number of people living in this regional center from 1959 to 1989 by more than one and a half times.

But if the increase in one and a half times over 30 years of the population of the city does not raise any special questions, then how did it happen that over the next 10 years, starting from 1989,the number of inhabitants decreased by almost the same one and a half times? The reason for this is the same industry. Only this time, it was not the increase in the number of enterprises and jobs that played a role, but the curtailment of production, the closure of plants and factories due to the difficulties of the transition period after the collapse of the USSR and the transition from a planned to a market economy. The closure of enterprises, a significant reduction in jobs for those few that remained functioning, caused severe unemployment, which led to an outflow of the population to less depressed regions of the country, as well as abroad, in particular to the Russian Federation. Moreover, the roots of many residents of Karaganda were precisely from Russia, where they or their parents came from in Soviet times to raise the production of the Kazakh SSR.

An important factor was also the transfer of the capital of Kazakhstan from southern Almaty to a city in the north of the country - Astana (former Tselinograd). The new capital was quite close to Karaganda, its arrangement required working hands, and life in the main city of the country in itself opens up very great prospects. Therefore, a significant part of the population of Karaganda linked their future with Astana. Luckily, I didn't have to move far. Unlike Karaganda, due to the acquisition of the capital status, the population of Astana has increased significantly from 1989 to the present. So, if, in 1989, this city was inhabited by only 281.3 thousand people, then in 2016 the population was 872.7 thousand people. That is, for 27 years there has been an increase in the population by more than 3 times. Of course, with the helpnatural growth of such indicators could not be achieved. The main factor in increasing the number of residents in Astana is the influx of people from such depressed cities as Karaganda.

In Karaganda itself, throughout the 90s of the last century and the first half of the first decade of this century, the population has been decreasing more and more. In Soviet times, the city occupied the second place in terms of the number of inhabitants in Kazakhstan, second only to the capital of the Kazakh SSR - Alma-Ata. Despite the catastrophic drop in the number of residents, Karaganda was able to maintain this status until the new millennium. But at the very beginning of the 2000s, two settlements bypassed this city in terms of population at once: Shymkent and the new capital, Astana. Thus, today Karaganda ranks fourth in Kazakhstan in this indicator.

It is precisely because of the rapid reduction of people living in Karaganda in this city that there is such a relatively low population density, as we talked about a little higher. In Soviet times, many people from other settlements of the country came to live in the city, it was built and expanded. But in the 90s, a mass exodus of the population from Karaganda began, but at the same time the boundaries of the city remained the same, which played a decisive role in the fact that the population density in this point is so small.

A new increase in the number of residents of Karaganda

The decline in the number of people living in Karaganda could not last forever. In 2004, a minimum was reached - 428.9 thousand inhabitants. Already since 2005the demographic situation in the city began to improve, and the population gradually increased. This trend has been observed up to the present. Of course, the increase in the population is far from being at the same pace as before it was falling, but nevertheless, this is a positive trend. What caused these demographic changes?

First of all, the decline in production, as they say, has reached the bottom. The operating enterprises could more or less provide the remaining residents of the city with jobs. There was no longer such catastrophic unemployment as before, which caused a sharp outflow of the population. Now both the number of city residents and the number of jobs that enterprises were ready to provide have more or less balanced. What was a significant factor in stopping the outflow of population from the city.

The second factor that played a role in stabilizing the demographic situation in Karaganda was the improvement of the economic situation in the 2000s, in contrast to the 90s, in the country as a whole. Thanks to this, all the main processes in society began to stabilize, to return to a natural norm, including demographic ones.

Of course, the increase in the number of residents in Karaganda at this stage is mainly due to natural growth, that is, a positive difference between births and deaths, and not due to population migration, as was the case in Soviet times. Nevertheless, even such a small increase is a very positive trend, which indicates that Karaganda has a future.

Ethnic composition

We studied the population of the city of Karaganda. The composition of ethnic groups is no less important for understanding the demographic situation in a settlement. Let's find out what nationalities live in Karaganda.

The largest ethnic groups in Karaganda are Russians and Kazakhs. The Russians are leading in numbers. Their share in the total population of this city is 45.6%. The proportion of Kazakhs is 36.3%. In Soviet times, the number of Russians was even greater, accounting for more than 50% of the population. But during the period of independence of Kazakhstan, a significant part of Russians left for Russia, and children from mixed marriages, if they used to prefer to call themselves Russians, now in most cases the nationality was indicated in the censuses as “Kazakh”.

The next largest ethnic group in Karaganda is Ukrainians. It is significantly smaller in number than the previous two groups. At the moment, the proportion of Ukrainians in the total population of the city is 4.8%. In Soviet times, they, like Russians, were much more numerous.

Followed by Germans (3.3%) and Tatars (3.1%). These are mainly the descendants of those people who were deported from the Volga and Crimea during the Stalinist repressions.

Significantly fewer Koreans (1.6%) and Belarusians (1.2%) in Karaganda.

There are also Poles, Chechens, Bashkirs, Azerbaijanis, Mordovians, and many other peoples in the city. But their number does not even reach 1% of the total.population.

Religion

There are many religious denominations in Karaganda. Nevertheless, two are considered the main ones: Orthodox Christianity and Islam. In Karaganda, there are several Orthodox churches, a convent, and a cathedral, which is the center of the Karaganda diocese. The city has seven mosques to meet the religious needs of the Muslim population of Karaganda.

Among other religious directions, Catholicism and Protestant movements should be distinguished. The city has many Catholic and Protestant churches. In addition, Karaganda is the center of the Roman Catholic diocese of the same name. The only higher theological seminary in Central Asia is located in this city. Previously, there were significantly more Catholics and Protestants in Karaganda, but due to the departure of the German population after the collapse of the USSR to Germany, and partly to the Volga region, the number of supporters of these religious movements has significantly decreased.

Followers of other religions in Karaganda are relatively few in number.

City Demographic Outlook

In the process of studying the material, we learned that the population of Karaganda in 2016 is 496.2 thousand people. We also learned the ethnic and religious composition of the city's population. Separately, the change in demographic indicators in dynamics was studied.

Of course, the 90s of the last century were far from the best in the history of the city. The decline in production caused an outflow of the population anddemographic crisis on a local scale. But, the gradual resumption of population growth, starting in 2005, as well as the stabilization of basic demographic indicators, allows us to look with hope into the future of this wonderful city.