Turkistan city population soars by 42% over past 6 years

The population of the city of Turkistan grew by 42% over the past six months to reach 235,436 as of September 1, 2024, Kazinform News Agency reports.

In 2018 the city population stood at 165,000. The surge is driven by a rise in births and the inflow of migrant labor force.

According to the migration police, 16 people moved to Turkistan from Uzbekistan in 2020, 39 in 2021, 17 in 2022, 26 in 2023 and 11 since the beginning of the year. Migrants from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkiye rank second.

According to deputy governor of Turkistan, Mekenkhan Kyrykbayev the city master plan predicts the population will hit 350,000 by 2035. It is planned to build 28 schools and 10 additional buildings for 40,100 pupils to solve three-shift schooling problems.

As of today, there are 17 healthcare facilities and an emergency station. 10 more facilities, including a city medical center, a 190-bed children’s hospital, a 600-bed psychiatric center, a simulation center, a dental care, an outpatient clinic, a 610-bed regional medical center, a blood center, and a regional emergency center will be built.

He said school shortage remains a major problem in the city despite the construction of new schools. Eight comfortable schools for 11,100 schoolchildren will be built within two years. Now there are 35 schools in the city with 41,140 pupils studying there.

21 state and 123 private kindergartens for 17,156 kids opened in Turkistan.