Astana

"Nur-Sultan" redirects here. For other uses, see Astana (disambiguation) and Nursultan.
"Akmola" redirects here. For the region that surrounds Astana, see Akmola Region.

Astana
Астана
Capital city and city of republican significance
Left to right, from the top:
Downtown Astana with Baiterek tower, Ishim River, Nurjol Boulevard, Nazarbayev University, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, and Astana Opera
Flag of Astana
Flag
Coat of arms of Astana
Coat of arms
Map

Location of Astana in Kazakhstan
Location of Astana
Astana is located in Kazakhstan
Astana
Astana
Astana is located in Asia
Astana
Astana
Coordinates: 51°08′50″N 71°25′20″E / 51.14722°N 71.42222°E / 51.14722; 71.42222
CountryKazakhstan Kazakhstan
Founded8th century (as Bozok)[2]
1830 (modern settlement)
Government
 • TypeMayor–Council
 • BodyCity Mäslihat
 • ÄkimZhenis Kassymbek[3]
Area
 • City proper
810.2 km2 (312.8 sq mi)
Elevation
347 m (1,138 ft)
Population
 (1 December 2023)[4]
 • City proper
1,423,726[1]
 • Density1,760/km2 (4,550/sq mi)
 • Metro
[5]
1,550,000
GDP
[6]
 • City properKZT 10,672 billion
US$ 23.1 billion (2022)
 • Per capitaKZT 8,053,900
US$ 17,443 (2022)
Time zoneUTC+05:00 (Kazakhstan Time)
 • Summer (DST)(Not Observed)
Postal code
010000–010015[7]
Area code7172[8]
HDI (2024)0.820[9]
high · 5th
License plate01, Z
Websitewww.gov.kz/memleket/entities/astana Edit this at Wikidata

Astana,[a] formerly known as Nur-Sultan, Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, and Akmola,[15] is the capital city of Kazakhstan.

The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, though administered as a city with special status separately from the rest of the region. A 2022 official estimate reported a population of 1,350,228 within the city limits, making it the second-largest city in the country, after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997.[4] The city became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997; since then it has grown and developed economically into one of the most modern cities in Central Asia.[16][17] In 2021, the government selected Astana as one of the 10 priority destinations for tourist development.[18]

Modern Astana is a planned city, following the process of other planned capitals.[17] After it became the capital of Kazakhstan, the city dramatically changed shape with its master-plan designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa.[17] As the seat of the government of Kazakhstan, Astana is the site of the Parliament House, Supreme Court, Ak Orda Presidential Palace and numerous government departments and agencies. It is home to a range of futuristic buildings, including many skyscrapers.[19][20][21]

  1. ^ "Astana city - Statistics of the regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Agency for Strategic planning and reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bureau of National statistics".
  2. ^ Pospelov 1993, pp. 24–25.
  3. ^ "О назначении Касымбека Ж.М." (in Russian). akorda.kz. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference stat.gov.kz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference informburo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ DOSM. "Department of Statistics Kazakhstan". stat.gov.kz. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Postal Code for Astana, Kazakhstan". Postal Codes Database. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Kazakhstan Country Codes". CountryCallingCodes.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  10. ^ "ISO Subentity Codes for Kazakhstan". GeoNames.org. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference MerWeb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Astana". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Astana". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Astana" Archived 13 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine (US) and "Astana". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020.
  15. ^ "The Capital Has Been Officially Renamed to Astana". The Qazaqstan Monitor. 18 September 2022.
  16. ^ Hari, Kurniawan (7 July 2017). "Astana, a city of modern structures". Jakarta Times. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  17. ^ a b c Moore, Rowan (7 August 2010). "Astana, Kazakhstan: the space station in the steppes". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  18. ^ Dauletkyzy, Adelya (16 June 2021). "Kazakhstan Selects Top 10 Tourist Destinations". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  19. ^ Myers, Steven Lee (13 October 2006). "Kazakhstan's Futuristic Capital, Complete With Pyramid". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  20. ^ Moore, Rowan (8 August 2010). "Astana, the futuristic frontier of architecture". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  21. ^ Carrington, Daisy (13 July 2012). "Astana: The world's weirdest capital city". CNN. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.


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