Osh Region

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Osh Region
Ош облусу
Ошская область
Region
Flag of Osh Region
Flag
Coat of arms of Osh Region
Coat of arms
Map of Kyrgyzstan, location of Osh Region highlighted
Map of Kyrgyzstan, location of Osh Region highlighted
Coordinates: 40°0′N 73°0′E / 40.000°N 73.000°E / 40.000; 73.000Coordinates: 40°0′N 73°0′E / 40.000°N 73.000°E / 40.000; 73.000
Country  Kyrgyzstan
Capital Osh
Government
 • Gubernator Sooronbay Jeenbekov
Area
 • Total 28,934 km2 (11,171 sq mi)
Population (2009-01-01)[1]
 • Total 999,576
 • Density 35/km2 (89/sq mi)
Time zone East (UTC+6)
 • Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+6)
ISO 3166 code KG-O
Districts 8
Cities 3
Townships 2
Villages 474

Osh Region (Kyrgyz: Ош облусу, Oş oblusu/Osh oblusu, وش وبلاستى; Russian: Ошская область, Oshskaya oblast’/Ošskaja oblastj) is a region (oblast) of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh. It is bounded by (clockwise) Jalal-Abad Region, Naryn Region, Xinjiang, China, Tajikistan, Batken Region, and Uzbekistan.

Geography[edit]

Most of the population lives in the flat northern part of the Oblast, on the edge of the Ferghana Valley. The land gradually rises southward to the crest of the Alay Mountains, drops into the Alay Valley and rises to the Trans-Alai Range which forms the border with Tajikistan. In the east, the land rises to the Ferghana Range which is roughly parallel to the Naryn border. This area is drained by the Kara Darya which flows northwest to join the Naryn River to form the Syr Darya in the Ferghana Valley.

Highway M41 goes south over the mountains from Osh to the Tajik border. At Sary-Tash a branch goes east to the Chinese border crossing at Irkeshtam. The other main road goes west through the flat country to Batken Region.

Demographics[edit]

As of 2009, Osh Region (excluding Osh) comprised 3 towns (Nookat, Uzgen, and Kara-Suu), 2 urban-type settlement and 474 villages. Its de facto population, according to the Population and Housing Census of 2009, was 999,576. Of them, 82,841 people live in urban areas, and 916,735 in rural ones.

More than half of all Kyrgyzstan's Uzbeks live in Osh Region. They are 33% of the regional population as opposed to 14,5% in Kyrgyzstan as a whole.[citation needed]

Historical populations in Osh Region
Year Pop. ±%
1970 433,036 —    
1979 552,843 +27.7%
1989 716,983 +29.7%
1999 940,633 +31.2%
2009 999,576 +6.3%
Note: enumerated de facto population; Source:[1]

Ethnic composition[edit]

According to the 2009 Census, the ethnic composition of the Osh Region (de jure population) was:[1]

Ethnic group Population Proportion of population
Kyrgyzs 758,036 68.6%
Uzbeks 308,688 28.0%
Uygurs 11,181 1%
Turks 10,934 1%
Tadjiks 6,711 0.6%
Azerbaijanis 3,224 0.3%
Russians 1,552 0.1%
Tatars 1,337 0.1%
Dungans 793 0.1%
other groups 1,792 0.2%

Districts[edit]

Osh Region is divided administratively into 7 districts (listed counter-clockwise):[2]

District Capital Location
Uzgen District Uzgen North1
Kara-Suu District Kara-Suu North2
Aravan District Aravan North3
Nookat District Eski-Nookat West
Chong-Alay District Daroot-Korgon Southwest
Alay District Gul'cha Southeast
Kara-Kulja District Kara-Kulja East

Enclaves and exclaves[edit]

Kyrgyzstan's only exclave within Uzbekistan is administratively part of Osh Region (Kara-Suu District). This is the tiny village of Barak (population 627) in the Fergana valley, located on the road from Osh (Kyrgyzstan) to Khodjaabad (Uzbekistan) about 4 km north-west from the Kyrgyz–Uzbek border in the direction of Andijan.[3]

References[edit]

Works cited

  • Laurence Mitchell, Kyrgyzstan, Bradt Travel Guides, 2008