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Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1.7 million within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, the national capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim river in the north of Kazakhstan and is located within the Akmola Region but is self-administering. Initially founded as Aqmoly in 1830, the city was later renamed Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, and Aqmola before adopting the name Astana in 1998, or "capital" in Kazakh. In 2019, the city adopted the name Nur-Sultan in honor of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, but it reverted to the name Astana in 2022.
Astana's history includes growth, rapidly expanding after becoming the capital. The decision to turn Astana into a modern and planned city was guided by Kisho Kurokawa. It has become an important center for culture, education, and commerce in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
Akmoly was founded in 1830, named after a local landmark. "Ақ мола" (Aqmola) means "white grave" or "white tomb" in Kazakh, although this theory is not universally accepted. In 1832, it was granted town status and renamed Akmolinsk. In 1961, under Nikita Khrushchev, it was renamed Tselinograd, Russian for "City of Virgin Lands". In 1991, following Kazakhstan's independence, the name was changed to Akmola.
In December 1997, the city replaced Almaty as the capital of Kazakhstan, and in May 1998, it was renamed Astana, which means "capital city" in Kazakh. In March 2019, the capital was renamed to Nur-Sultan (; Kazakh: Нұр-Сұлтан / Nūr-Sūltan [ˌnʊrsʊɫˈtɑn]) in honor of the long-ruling President Nursultan Nazarbayev, shortly after his resignation. In September 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a constitutional amendment to revert to the name Astana. As of 2022, it holds the Guinness World Record for the capital city with the most name changes in modern times.
Many centuries ago, the Bozok settlement was located on the territory of modern Astana. It was a military fortress of the Steppe section of the Silk Road. The etymology of the Turkic word "Boz" carries several meanings, such as 'untouched earth', 'virgin soil', and 'feather grass'. It was a large settlement of the 12th-14th centuries. At present, Astana is expanding into the territory of ancient Bozok.
The settlement of Akmoly was established on the Ishim river on 18 June 1830 as the seat of an okrug by Fyodor Shubin. In 1832, the settlement was granted town status and named Akmolinsk. The advantages of the town's strategic position were clear as early as 1863. It describes how picket roads and lines connected this geographic center to Kargaly in the East, Aktau Fort in the South, and through Atbasar to Kokshetau in the West. In 1838, at the height of the great national and liberation movement headed by Kenesary Khan, the Akmolinsk Fortress was burned. After the repression of the liberation movement, the fortress was rebuilt. On 16 July 1863, Akmolinsk was officially declared an uyezd town. During the rapid development of the Russian capitalist market, the huge Saryarka areas were actively exploited by the colonial administration. To draft a Regulation governing the Kazakh steppe, the Government of the Russian Empire formed the Steppe Commission in 1865.
In 1869, Akmolinsk's external district and department were canceled, and Akmolinsk became the center of the newly established Akmolinsk Oblast. In 1879, Major General Dubelt proposed to build a railway between Tyumen and Akmolinsk to the Ministry of Communications of Russia. In the course of the first 30 years of its existence, the population of Akmola numbered a trifle more than 2,000 people. Over the next 30 years, the city's population increased by three times according to the volosts and settlements of Akmolinsk Oblast. In 1893, Akmolinsk was an uyezd with a population of 6,428 residents, three churches, five schools and colleges, and three factories.
The regional historical museum and state archive were founded in 1923 and 1924, respectively.
During World War II, Akmolinsk served as a route for the transport of engineering tools and equipment from evacuated plants in the Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, and Russian SFSR located in the oblasts of the Kazakh SSR. Local industries were appointed to respond to war needs, assisting the country to provide the battle and home fronts with all materials needed. Additionally, many Russian-Germans were resettled here after being deported under Joseph Stalin's rule. During World War II, in connection with the formation of the Polish Anders' Army, a Polish diplomatic post was located in the city from February to July 1942. In the post-war years, Akmolinsk became a beacon of economic revival in the west of the Soviet Union ruined by the war.
In 1954, Northern Kazakh SSR oblasts became a territory of the Virgin Lands Campaign, in order to turn the region into a second grain producer for the Soviet Union.
On August 2, 1959, a tragedy occurred and 143 people died in the collapse of the Yesil Bridge. The only police officer, Nurmukhambet Kozhakhmetov, saved 40 people.
In December 1960, the Central Committee made a resolution to create the Tselinniy Krai, which comprised five regions of the Northern Kazakh SSR oblasts. Akmolinsk Oblast ceased to exist as a separate administrative entity. Its districts were directly subordinated to the new krai administration, and Akmolinsk became the krai capital, as well as the administrative seat of the new Virgin Lands economic region. On 14 March 1961, Khrushchev suggested the city should have a name corresponding to its role in the Virgin Lands Campaign. On 20 March 1961, the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR renamed Akmolinsk to Tselinograd. On 24 April 1961, the region was reconstituted as Tselinograd Oblast.
In the 1960s, Tselinograd was completely transformed. In 1963, work on the first three new high-rise housing districts began. In addition, the city received a number of new monumental public buildings, including the Virgin Lands Palace, a Palace of Youth, a House of Soviets, a new airport, and several sports venues. In 1971, the Tselinniy Krai was abolished and Tselinograd became the oblast's new capital.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the consequent independence of Kazakhstan, the city's name was restored in the modified form Akmola. On 6 July 1994, the Supreme Council of Kazakhstan adopted the decree "On the transfer of the capital of Kazakhstan". After the capital of Kazakhstan was moved from Almaty to Akmola on 10 December 1997, the city was consequently renamed Astana in 1998. On 10 June 1998, Astana was presented as the capital internationally. Due to several determined advantages, Astana was chosen as the capital: large urban areas, favorable geographical position, proximity to the major economic centers of the region, considerable demographic capacity, good transportation facilities, and a relatively favorable climate. On 16 July 1999, Astana was awarded the medal and title of the City of Peace by UNESCO.
In March 2019, the Kazakhstani government renamed the city Nur-Sultan to honour the country's outgoing long-term authoritarian president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. In September 2022, after a number of controversies and unrest resulting in Nazarbayev's resignation from the Security Council of Kazakhstan, the name of the capital was changed back to Astana.
Astana is almost 1,000 km (620 mi) from the country's largest city and former capital, Almaty. The nearest big cities are Karaganda (200 km [120 mi]) and Omsk in Russia (450 km [280 mi]).
Astana is located in central Kazakhstan on the Ishim River in a very flat, semi-arid steppe region which covers most of the country's territory. It is at 51° 10' north latitude and 71° 26' east longitude. The city encompasses 722.0 square kilometres (278.8 sq mi). The elevation of Astana is 347 metres (1,138 ft) above sea level. Astana is in a spacious steppe landscape, in the transitional area between the north of Kazakhstan and the extremely thinly settled national centre, because of the Ishim River. The older boroughs lie north of the river, whilst the new boroughs are located south of the Ishim.
Astana is 5 hours ahead of UTC, or UTC+5:00.
Astana is the second-coldest national capital in the world after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a position formerly held by the capital of Canada, Ottawa, until Astana attained capital city status in 1997. Astana has an extreme continental climate with warm summers (featuring occasional brief rain showers) and long, very cold, dry winters. Summer temperatures sometimes reach 35 °C (95 °F), while −30 to −35 °C (−22 to −31 °F) is common from mid-December to early March. Usually, the city's river remains frozen from the second week of November until early April. Astana has a well-earned reputation among Kazakhs for its frequent strong winds, which are especially noticeable in the rapidly growing but relatively open Left Bank part of the city.
Overall, Astana has a humid continental climate classification in the Köppen scheme (Dfb). The average annual temperature in Astana is 3.9 °C (39.0 °F). January is the coldest month with an average temperature of −14.5 °C (5.9 °F) and record lowest is in January. 1893's cold wave reached temperatures down to −51.6 °C (−60.9 °F). July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 20.6 °C (69.1 °F).
As of January 2025, the population of Astana is 1,528,703; more than triple the 2002 population of 493,000.
As of 2026, ethnic Kazakhs made up 83% of the city population, representing a significant increase from only 17% at the time of the country's independence.
Ethnic groups (2026):
In 1989, Tselinograd had a population of 281,000. The ethnic mix was about 17.7% Kazakh, 54.1% Russian, and 28.2% other ethnic groups.
By 2007, Astana's population had more than doubled since becoming the capital, to over 600,000, and it topped 1 million in 2017. Migrant workers—legal and illegal—have been attracted from across Kazakhstan and neighbouring states such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and Astana is a magnet for young professionals seeking to build a career. Most of the immigrants in Astana are Russian.
Islam and Christianity (primarily Russian Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism) are the predominant religions of the city. Other religions practiced in the country are Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Astana is home to the largest mosque in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the Astana Grand Mosque.
The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation was specially constructed in 2006 to host the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. It contains accommodations for different religions: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and other faiths. Central Asia's largest synagogue is found in Astana. The Catholic community is served by the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Cathedral.
Moreover, Astana also serves as the headquarters for the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The metropolitan area centered upon Astana includes the Arshaly, Shortandy, Tselinograd, and (partially) Akkol districts of Akmola Region. The area contains 1.2 million people.
Astana's economy is based on trade, industrial production, transport, communication, and construction. The city's industrial production is mainly focused on producing building materials and foodstuff.
Astana is a major hub of the Belt and Road Initiative, including for financial services and legal services connected to BRI projects.
Astana is the leader in the CIS region on the Global Financial Centers Index rank in 2022.
The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) opened in July 2018 to become a hub for financial services in Central Asia.
Astana is the headquarters of state-owned corporations such as Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, KazMunayGas, KazTransOil, Kazatomprom, KEGOC, Kazpost, and Kazakhtelecom.
The shift of the capital has given it a boost to Astana's economic development. The high economic growth rate of the city has attracted numerous investors. In the 16 years since Astana became the capital, the volume of investments has increased by almost 30 times, the gross regional product has increased by 90 times, and industrial output has increased by 11 times. The city's Gross Regional Product makes up about 8.5 per cent of the republic's Gross domestic product.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Astana”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.