Talas Region


Talas Region is a region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Talas. It is bordered on the west and north by Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan, on the east by Chuy Region, on the south by Jalal-Abad Region and on the southwest by a finger of Uzbekistan. It is basically a U-shaped valley open to the west. The northern border is defined by the Kyrgyz Ala-Too, which also form the southern border of Chuy Region. At the eastern end, the Talas Ala-Too Range splits off and marks the southern border. The Talas River flows through the center of the valley. The main highway enters from the east over the Ötmök Pass and goes down the valley to Taraz in Kazakhstan. Near the mouth of the valley at Kyzyl-Adyr, one road goes north toward Taraz and the other south over the Kara-Buura Pass to Jalal-Abad Province. Before independence most trade links were with Taraz. The historic Battle of Talas occurred here.

Basic Socio-Economic Indicators

As of 2009, Talas Region contained 1 town, 1 urban-type settlement, and 90 villages. Its population, according to the Population and Housing Census of 2009 amounted to 219.6 thousand or 226.8 thousand.The region's estimated population for the beginning of 2020 was 267,360.

Ethnic composition

According to the 2009 Census, the ethnic composition of the Talas Region was:
Ethnic groupPopulationProportion of Talas Province population---------------------------
Kyrgyz91.9%
Kurds2.5%
Russians1.9%
Kazakhs1.3%
Uzbeks0.8%
Turks0.7%
Ukrainians0.2%
Germans0.2%
Tatars0.1%
other groups0.4%

Districts of Talas

Talas Region is divided administratively into 4 districts:
DistrictCapital
Bakay-Ata DistrictBakay-Ata
Kara-Buura DistrictKyzyl-Adyr
Manas DistrictPokrovka
Talas DistrictManas