Меню
Overview
Karaganda region is the central region of Kazakhstan. The area is 239.1 thousand sq. km; the population density is 4.7 people per 1 sq. km.
As of beginning of 2023, the population of the Karaganda region is 1,134.8 thousand people. The share of the urban population here is much higher than the rural one - 81.3% to 18.7%.
The majority of the population of the Karaganda region is Kazakhs, 49.4%. The second largest ethnic group is Russians, 37.5%, the third are Ukrainians, 2.8%. The fourth largest ethnic group is Germans, 2.5%.
Administrative Structure
The administrative center of the region is Karaganda. The Karaganda region includes 8 cities, 6 cities are of regional significance, 2 of regional significance, 8 settlements, and 349 rural settlements.
The population of Karaganda is 515.8 thousand people. Other major cities in the region are Temirtau (177.6 thousand people), Balkhash (77.9 thousand people), Saran (43.8 thousand people), Shakhtinsk (58.5 thousand people), and Abai (28.6 thousand people).
Regional Center
Karaganda is located in the center of the region on the Bukpa River. The Irtysh-Karaganda canal ends here. It is believed that the name comes from the Kazakh word “karagan”, which means “karagannik”, a shrub plant, also known as the yellow steppe acacia, a plant that grows in these places.
Karaganda is a fairly young city that was established in the first half of the 20th century at the mining settlements. In 1931, the mining settlement of Karaganda was transformed into a working settlement, and in 1934 the settlement and a number of surrounding mining settlements received the status of an independent city. Thus, the date of foundation of Karaganda is March 20, 1931.
Today, Karaganda is the fourth most populous city in the country with a huge industrial, transport and intellectual potential.
History
The Karaganda region was formed on March 10, 1932. Back then its center was Petropavlovsk, today Petropavlovsk is the regional center of the North Kazakhstan region. Since August 3, 1936, Karaganda has been the administrative center of the region.
Since its founding, the districts of the region have undergone many changes. The most recent change was on June 8, 2022 when the new Ulytau region separated from the Karaganda region. The Ulytau region includes Zhezkazgan (the administrative center of the new region), Karazhal and Satpaev, as well as the Zhanaarkinsky and Ulytau districts.
In the 1930-1940s, during Stalin's repressions, the infamous Karlag labor camp was located in the region. Many different nationalities were deported to the region from all over the Soviet Union. After World War II, a concentration camp for German, Japanese, Italian and Romanian prisoners of war was stationed in Spassk. Now, these places are memorials for the victims of those camps.
Climate
Karaganda region is located in the southern part of Saryarka, also known as the Kazakh Uplands. The region covers the territory from the Karkaraly mountains in the east to Lake Tengiz in the west, in the north from the valley of the Ishim River and to the Betpakdala Desert and Lake Balkhash in the south.
The area is located on a hill, the terrain here is mostly hilly, low mountains separate the rivers and lakes.
The climate is continental with cold winters and hot summers. Winters are often very frosty with severe snowstorms. The average January temperature is -16-17ºС. Summer is mostly hot, dry and windy; the average July temperature is +20-21ºС. Maximum temperatures can be up to -45ºС in winter and up to +38ºС in summer.
There are more than 200 large and small rivers in the region; the largest of them is the Nura, which flows into Lake Tengiz in the west of the region. The number of lakes in the Karaganda region is quite large, there are almost 1,900 of them. The largest are Balkhash, Karasor, Kypchak, Kerey, Karakoiyn and others.
The region is rich in mineral resources. It contains 100% of the country's manganese reserves, 36% of copper reserves, 80% of tungsten, 64% of molybdenum, 54% of lead, more than 40% of coal (including 100% of coking coal reserves). Three oil and gas fields - Kumkol, Kumkol South and Maibulak - were discovered in the southwestern part of the region.
Economy
The Karaganda region is one of the leading industrial regions of the country. The share of industry in 2022 (9 months) accounted for 49.9% of the gross regional product. The industrial production at the end of the year amounted to 3,841.9 billion tenge (3rd place in Kazakhstan).
The Karaganda coal basin is the main supplier of coking coal for the metallurgical enterprises of Kazakhstan. Coal mining enterprises include ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC, ShubarkolKomir JSC, Saryarka Energy LLP, and GRK Satkomir LLP.
Gross agricultural output in 2022 amounted to 469.3 billion tenge, 50.6% of that falls on crop production. The share of agriculture in the gross regional product is small - only 4%, but this is due to, first of all, the high cost of industrial products manufactured by the enterprises of the region.
Tourism
Tourism in the region is developing robustly.
The main tourist centers of the region are Balkhash resort area, Karkaralinsky district and Karaganda
The Balkhash resort area is in the top 10 of the Tourism Map of the 2019-2025 State Program for the Tourism Development. The Balkhash resort area includes Balkhash, the villages of Torangalyk, Chubar-Tubek and the city of Priozersk. To date, there are 62 accommodation facilities (homes and recreation areas) in the resort area hosting about 86 thousand tourists per year. Popular recreational activities on Lake Balkhash are beach tourism, water sports such as sailing, rowing and canoeing, and sport fishing. One of the natural tourist attractions of the region is the Bektau Ata mountain range - the most beautiful place in the Northern Balkhash. The Bektau Ata peak is 1,000 meters high.
The main tourist attraction in the Balkhash region are the villages of Torangalyk and Chubar-Tubek due to large clean sandy beaches and the absence of industrial enterprises polluting the environment.
Karkalinsk is known as the Kazakh Switzerland. The area of the district is 35.4 thousand square kilometers. The climate is sharply continental. The regional center is Karkaralinsk located at the foot of the Karkaraly Mountains at an altitude of 815 meters above sea level. The city was founded in August 1824. It began with a small secluded steppe village in the valley of a mountain river. Caravan routes from Central Asia to Siberia passed through the city.
Today, Karkaralinsk is an important place in the economic and cultural life of the Karaganda region and is in the top 50 of the Tourist Map. There are 31 tourist facilities designed for tourists with a total capacity of 2.7 thousand beds. The region also offers health camps, local history museum, and museum of nature. There is a State National Natural Park.
As one of the recreation centers, the Karkaraly region has hotels and health camps (TasBulak mountain hotel, Shakhtar holiday home, Cascade, Bars sports and recreation camp, Romantic, Shapagat, Zhasdauren health camps and others).
The historical and cultural monuments include the Begazy burial ground, the Kunanbai Haji mosque, the Taldinsky Historical and Archaeological Park, the Kyzyl Kensh palace, the burial place of Madi Bapiuly, the Mass Burial of 78 Communards, the local history museum, and other tourist attractions.
Also, the state network of cultural facilities and archives consists of 571 cultural and art facilities and archives. These include 257 libraries, 246 club-type organizations, 4 theaters, 17 museums, 15 archives, 11 parks of culture and recreation, a cinema, an exhibition hall and a zoo. There are 17 museums in the region.
According to statistics, there are 9 sanatoriums and resort organizations and 10 children's camps (6 public and 4 private).
Official website of the Akimat of the Karaganda region https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/karaganda?lang=ru