Almaty Region

Almaty (, Almatı oblısı, الماتى وبلىسى; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. Capital of this region is Taldykorgan, which has a population of 123,000. Population of the region: 1,807,894 (2009); 1,557,269 (1999).

Geography
Almaty Region is the province which surrounds the city of Almaty. The province borders Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang (East Turkestan) autonomous province in China. The province also touches three other Kazakh provinces: Jambyl Province to the west, Karagandy Province to the northwest and East Kazakhstan Province to the north. Almaty Province has an area of 224,000 square kilometres.

History
Alma-Ata Province,  the predecessor of today's Almaty Province, was created from the historical region of Zhetysu on March 10, 1932. Its capital was Alma-Ata (Almaty). Several times during the Soviet period, the north-eastern part of the province, centered on Taldykorgan, was separated from Alma-Ata Province, forming a separate Taldy-Kurgan Province, only to be merged into Alma-Ata Province again several years later.

In April 2001 the administrative center of Almaty Province was moved from Almaty to Taldykorgan. Thus Taldykorgan has become a provincial capital again - this time without splitting a province.

Demographics
In the 1989 census (excepting Alma-Ata)
Kazakhs 54.2% 
Russians 28.6% 
Uigurs 7.8% 
Others 9.4% .

In the 1999 census (excepting Almaty)
Kazakhs 66.4% 
Russians 23.8% 
Uigurs 7.0% 
Others 4.6% .

In the 2009 census (excepting Almaty)
Kazakhs 68.2% 
Russians 22.8% 
Uigurs 6.2% 
Other 3.8%

Sights
Besqaynar - Ski resorts located 1500 metres above sea level
Tamgaly - a World Heritage Site (petroglyphs)
Charyn Canyon - Charyn National Park
Talgar - a region where the Issyk kurgan is located
Medeo - one of the most famous ice rinks in the world
Dostyk - a point of entry from China to Kazakhstan
Kapchagay Dam on the Ili River

References

Other websites
Official regional website