The Qostanai region ( Kazakh Қостанай облысы ; Russian Костанайская область ) is a province in northern Kazakhstan with the capital Qostanai . The population of the province is 870,000, of which around 223,600 are in the capital. Another big city is Rudny with around 120,000 inhabitants.
The province Qostanai borders the Russian administrative districts Orenburg , Chelyabinsk Oblast , Oblast Kurgan , and it is near the Urals . It also touches four other provinces of Kazakhstan: Aqtöbe in the southwest, Qaraghandy in the south, Aqmola in the southeast and Northern Kazakhstan (Soltustik Qazaqstan) in the northeast. The Tobol (Tobyl) River , a tributary of the Irtysh , starts there and flows through the province on its way to Russia. The area of Qostanai Province has an area of 196,000 km² , which makes it the sixth largest of the provinces of Kazakhstan. In the northern part of the province one can often find wheat fields and pine forests; the southern part is dominated by bushes and grassland.
The area is divided into 20 districts ( Kazakh Ауданы Audany ; Russian Район Rajon ). The cities of Arqalyq , Lissakowsk , Qostanai and Rudny represent their own urban districts. Other places with the status of a city are Tobyl and Schitiqara .
Kazakhstan
