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General Information
Atyrau region is located in the west of Kazakhstan. The area of the region is rely small: 118,600 km2, only two of the country’s 14 regions are smaller. The population density is below the national average of 4.8 persons per 1 km2, with 700,233 people in the region in 2022. The rural population is slightly higher than that in urban areas: 52.2% and 47.7% respectively.
Ethnically, Atyrau region is very homogeneous: in early 2022, 93.1% of the population were Kazakhs, Russians accounted for 4.01 % and the third largest group was Koreans, although they make up only 0.5 % of the region’s total population.
In the west, Atyrau region is bordered by the Astrakhan region of Russia, and the southern boundary of the region is on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
Administrative divisions
The administrative centre of the region is the city of Atyrau, which has a population of 315,274 people. Kulsary is the other main city in the region, with a population of 60,000. Outside these cities, the region has seven rural areas and 165 auls.
Regional centre and history
The city of Atyrau, often called “the oil capital of Kazakhstan”, is in the southern part of the region, on the banks of the Ural River (Zhaiyk river in Kazakh), near its Caspian Sea estuary.
The city dates back to 1640, when the merchant Guriy Nazarov set up a wooden settlement; later the town was rebuilt in stone and named Yaik (later renamed Nizhny Yaitskiy), which was under the control of the Yaitsk Cossack Army. Since the 19th century, this settlement became known as Guryev town, after its founder. The name Guryev stayed until 1991, when, after the independence it was renamed Atyrau which means ‘river delta’ in Kazakh.
In 1938, the city became the centre of Guryev region in the Kazakh SSR. At that time, the area occupied a much larger territory than now and included the present day Mangistau region, a number of districts of Aktobe region and bordered in the south with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. After the discovery of natural resources on the Mangyshlak peninsula and the construction of the city of Shevchenko (now Aktau), the Guryev territory was divided into Mangyshlak and Guryev regions.
On 9th October 1991, Guryev region was renamed Atyrau.
Climate and Nature
The region is in the north-east of the Caspian Depression. It also covers the Gem Plateau and the western part of the Ustyurt Plateau. Most of the region’s terrain is flat, with a slight decline from north to south: – in the northern areas, the land surface is 200 meters above sea level, in the south it is 28 meters lower.
Much of the land of Atyrau region is covered with ridgy sands and barchan sands.
In the north, sagebrush-pseudosteppe vegetation prevails, in the south it is sagebrush-suffruticose. Cane thickets stretch along the coast of the Caspian Sea, and poplar and willow grow on the floodplains of rivers and lakes. Animal life is rich and includes wolves, foxes, jerboas, wild boars, saigas; steppe eagle and bustard also breed here. The Caspian Sea and the Ural River provide valuable commercial fish species, including four species of sturgeon: beluga, sevruga (stellate), Russian and Persian.
The reserves of fresh water in the area are meagre. The few rivers are in the Caspian Sea basin, with the largest being the Ural. There are many small lakes in the river valleys and around the Caspian coast that dry up in summer and turn into saline marshland.
The climate is continental with moderately cold, snowy winters and hot dry summers. The average temperature in January is between -5° and -3°C, the average temperature in July is 24° to 25°C.
The mineral resources of Atyrau region are extremely rich in hydrocarbons. Oil and gas are found in the fields of Tengiz, Kulsary, Bajshonas, Karaarna, Kenbai, etc. There are also deposits of sodium and potassium salts.
Economy
The economy of the region is mostly focused on oil production. In 2022, the volume of industrial output amounted to KZT 13.1 trillion; Atyrau region is the leader by a wide margin of all regions in the country. However, gross agricultural output in 2022 amounted to only KZT 133.4 billion.
The largest enterprises in the region include Atyrau Oil Refinery, Tengizshevroil, Embamunaygas, NCOC.NV, and Atyrau Neftemash.
Engineering, food, and construction industries have also developed alongside the petrochemical industry.
Pipelines Atyrau-Orsk, Uzen-Atyrau-Samara, Atyrau-Novorossiysk all pass through the region.
Tourism
The tourism sector is one of the priority areas of the region's economy. There are opportunities in the region for the development of such types of tourism as historical and cultural (acquaintance with the traditions, history of the region), amateur sports (fishing and hunting), ethnographic and wellness.
Atyrau region occupies a special place in the socio– economic development of Kazakhstan due to its huge economic potential. The number of companies with foreign participation is growing every year. Currently, the region closely cooperates with more than 50 countries around the world. More than 1,000 joint and foreign enterprises have been established and operate in the region.
This cooperation contributes to attracting modern management, real modern technologies, the latest world innovative developments to the field, which ultimately contribute to the development of business tourism and other types of tourism.
The tourist map of the Republic of Kazakhstan includes 6 tourist sites from the Atyrau region at the republican and regional levels. They:
- At the republican level- the complex "medieval Saraishyk" of Atyrau region.
- At the regional level:
- The State Natural Reserve of Atyrau region "Akzhayyk".
- Salt Lake Inder of Atyrau region.
- Naryn sands of Atyrau region.
- Chalk mountains "Akkegershin" Atyrau region.
- Lotus fields of Atyrau region.
In addition, there are several tourist sites and recreation sites of historical and cultural significance that are of interest to tourists on the territory of Atyrau region. The most visited by tourists is the Ak Zhaiyk State Nature Reserve. Ecological routes "World of nature" and "World of Water" have been launched in 2 directions on the territory of the reserve. In 12 months of 2022, it has received more than 500 tourists on domestic routes.
Saraishyk town in Makhambet district, one of the most visited places by tourists, Inder salt lake located in Inder district, Naryn Sand in Isatay district, several shrines and cultural monuments in Zhylyoy district. 64 kilometers from the city of Kulsary are the Akmeshit necropolis, Kulshan Ata, the Araltobe necropolis, where "Altyn Adam" was found, the Akkeregeshin mountains, the Imankara cave, the bank of the Kigas River in the Kurmangazy area. Several tourist bases are being built here, and every year in the spring and autumn a large number of Kazakhstani and foreign tourists come to hunt and fish.
A rare lotus flower in the world grows on the territory of Kurmangazinsky district on the Kigas River. The lotus, growing only in natural conditions, creates an unprecedented opportunity for the development of domestic tourism in Kazakhstan.
The number of tourist fishing bases is growing in Kurmangazinsky district. During the season, the influx of tourists coming to rest in the lotus Valley, to tourist fishing bases, has significantly increased. Because a lot of tourists come from the neighboring Astrakhan region to go fishing and have a rest. About 5000 tourists visit the Lotus Valley, tourist bases in seasonal time.
Atyrau region has a number of national historical monuments: for example, the ancient Saraychik fortress, from the period of the Golden Horde. Saraychik is 50 km from Atyrau city and has many exhibits. Famous landmarks include the 19th century Akmeshit Beket underground mosque, and the Artyk mausoleum, a monument to the Kazakh cult-burial architecture of the 19th century.