Kazakhstan Cities by Population 2024

Kazakhstan’s population is 18.78 million, making it the 64th-most populous country in the world. Kazakhstan is currently growing at a rate of 1.21% per year. The three largest cities all have populations over 1 million. Almaty is the most populous city with 1,854,656 people. Almaty is considered to be the country’s major commercial and cultural center. Kazakhstan’s capital, Nur-Sultan, is the second-most populous city with 1,136,000 people. Nur-Sultan is a planned city, home to the seat of government and many futuristic buildings and modern skyscrapers. Its high economic growth has attracted more people every year to move there. The third-most populous city is Shymkent, which has 1,042,000 people. Almaty, Nur-Sultan, and Shymkent are not part of the region they are surrounded by but are instead treated as regions themselves.

As of 2017, Kazakhstan’s urban population is 53% of its total population. Because of Kazakhstan’s modernization program, urbanization is expected to increase to 70% by the end of 2030.