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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · Kazakhstan · Asia

Shymkent

Shymkent · Kazakhstan
City population
1,200,000
#3
in Kazakhstan
#444
worldwide
AstanaShymkent
42.310, 69.600 · 996 km from Astana
City population
1,200,000
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Kazakhstan
#3
of 83 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#444
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Kazakhstan
5.8%
of the national population

About Shymkent

Kazakhstan's third-largest city holds 1,200,000 people and accounts for 5.8% of the national population. Situated 996 km from the capital Astana, Shymkent sits at 520 m elevation in a region where several smaller cities cluster nearby: Aksu lies 22 km away with 26,115 people, Lenger stands 27 km distant with 21,238, and Arys is 66 km off with 36,285.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in Kazakhstan
#3of 83
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Kazakhstan
Region
Shymkent
Distance to capital
996 km
to Astana
Elevation
520 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Asia/Almaty
Coordinates
42.310, 69.600
Record updated
2026-04-14
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 83 in Kazakhstan

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

22KMAksu26K people27KMLenger21K people66KMTurar Ryskulov18K people66KMArys36K people84KMIskandar28K people · Uzbekistan

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Shymkent1.2M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Shymkent compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Shymkent1.2M

Shymkent Population FAQ

What is the population of Shymkent?

Shymkent has a city population of 1,200,000. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Shymkent?

Shymkent is in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, 996 km from the capital, Astana. Its coordinates are 42.310, 69.600.

How big is Shymkent compared with other cities in Kazakhstan?

It is the 3rd largest of the 83 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Kazakhstan, holding 5.8% of the national population.

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