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.
City profile · Kazakhstan · Asia
Shymkent
City population
1,200,000
#3
in Kazakhstan
#444
worldwide
42.310, 69.600 · 996 km from Astana
About Shymkent
Kazakhstan's third-largest listed 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.
Key Facts
Country
Region
Shymkent
Coordinates
42.310, 69.600
Record updated
14 April 2026
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 KazakhstanClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Shymkent | 1.2M |
Shymkent Population FAQ
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 listed in Kazakhstan, holding 5.8% of the national population.