page_title: Nur-Sultan
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Nur-Sultan / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Нур-Султан и окрестности на космическом снимке со спутника Европейского космического агентства Sentinel-2, пространственное разрешение 10 м, цвета близкие к натуральным English: Kazakhstani capital Nur-Sultan City and vicinities, satellite image of ESA Sentinel-2, spatial resolution 10 m, near natural colors
context_page_description: Nur-Sultan, known between 1998 and 2019 as Astana, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. In March 2019, it was renamed Nur-Sultan in honour of the departing Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. It stands on the banks of the Ishim River in the northern part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, though administered as a city with special status separately from the rest of the region. A 2020 official estimate reported a population of 1,165,983 within the city limits, making it the second-largest city in the country, after Almaty, the previous capital, between 1991 and 1997.
  The original city of Akmola became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, and since then has developed economically into one of the most modern cities in Central Asia. On 23 March 2019, following a unanimous vote in Kazakhstan's parliament, the city was renamed Nur-Sultan, after former Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
  Modern Nur-Sultan is a planned city, following the process of other planned capitals. After it became the capital of Kazakhstan, the city dramatically changed its shape. The city's master-plan was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa.
context_section_description: Nur-Sultan is almost 1000 km away from the country's largest city and former capital, Almaty. The nearest big cities are Karaganda (200 km) and Omsk in Russia (450 km).
caption: Satellite image of Nur-Sultan (Astana) and vicinities
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