Kazakhstan country profile: ISO codes, regions and native names
Kazakhstan is Қазақстан (Qazaqstan) in Kazakh and Казахстан in Russian, coded KZ, KAZ and 398. Its first level has 17 regions and 3 cities, each with an ISO 3166-2 code.
Official languagesKazakh (state language), Russian (official use)
Checked
- alpha-2
- KZ
- alpha-3
- KAZ
- numeric
- 398
Қазақстан РеспубликасыQazaqstan Respublikasy
Республика КазахстанRespublika Kazakhstan
- English
- KazakhstanRepublic of Kazakhstan
- Capital
- АстанаAstana
ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026
Regions and cities of Kazakhstan
Every first-level unit with its Kazakh and Russian name, the romanisation ISO 3166-2 publishes, the English name, the code and the administrative centre. Codes changed from letters to digits on 29 November 2022; the earlier code stands under each one.
| ISO 3166-2 | Kazakh | Russian | English | Administrative centre | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regions облыстар oblystar17 | |||||
| KZ-10 | Абай облысыAbay oblysy | Абайская областьAbayskaya oblast' | Abai Region | СемейSemey | 2022 Formed from part of East Kazakhstan Region |
| KZ-11was KZ-AKM | Ақмола облысыAqmola oblysy | Акмолинская областьAkmolinskaya oblast' | Akmola Region | КөкшетауKokshetau | |
| KZ-15was KZ-AKT | Ақтөбе облысыAqtöbe oblysy | Актюбинская областьAktyubinskaya oblast' | Aktobe Region | АқтөбеAktobe | |
| KZ-19was KZ-ALM | Алматы облысыAlmaty oblysy | Алматинская областьAlmatinskaya oblast' | Almaty Region | ҚонаевQonaev | 2022 Centre moved from Taldykorgan to Qonaev; part of it became Jetisu Region |
| KZ-23was KZ-ATY | Атырау облысыAtyraū oblysy | Атырауская областьAtyrauskaya oblast' | Atyrau Region | АтырауAtyrau | |
| KZ-27was KZ-ZAP | Батыс Қазақстан облысыBatys Qazaqstan oblysy | Западно-Казахстанская областьZapadno-Kazakhstanskaya oblast' | West Kazakhstan Region | ОралOral | |
| KZ-31was KZ-ZHA | Жамбыл облысыZhambyl oblysy | Жамбылская областьZhambylskaya oblast' | Jambyl Region | ТаразTaraz | |
| KZ-33 | Жетісу облысыZhetisū oblysy | Жетысуская областьZhetysuskaya oblast' | Jetisu Region | ТалдықорғанTaldykorgan | 2022 Formed from part of Almaty Region |
| KZ-35was KZ-KAR | Қарағанды облысыQaraghandy oblysy | Карагандинская областьKaragandinskaya oblast' | Karaganda Region | ҚарағандыKaraganda | 2022 Part of it became Ulytau Region |
| KZ-39was KZ-KUS | Қостанай облысыQostanay oblysy | Костанайская областьKostanayskaya oblast' | Kostanay Region | ҚостанайKostanay | |
| KZ-43was KZ-KZY | Қызылорда облысыQyzylorda oblysy | Кызылординская областьKyzylordinskaya oblast' | Kyzylorda Region | ҚызылордаKyzylorda | |
| KZ-47was KZ-MAN | Маңғыстау облысыMangghystaū oblysy | Мангистауская областьMangistauskaya oblast' | Mangystau Region | АқтауAktau | |
| KZ-55was KZ-PAV | Павлодар облысыPavlodar oblysy | Павлодарская областьPavlodarskaya oblast' | Pavlodar Region | ПавлодарPavlodar | |
| KZ-59was KZ-SEV | Солтүстік Қазақстан облысыSoltüstik Qazaqstan oblysy | Северо-Казахстанская областьSevero-Kazakhstanskaya oblast' | North Kazakhstan Region | ПетропавлPetropavl | |
| KZ-61was KZ-YUZ | Түркістан облысыTürkistan oblysy | Туркестанская областьTurkestanskaya oblast' | Turkistan Region | ТүркістанTurkistan | 2018 Renamed from South Kazakhstan Region |
| KZ-62 | Ұлытау облысыUlytaū oblysy | Улытауская областьUlytauskaya oblast' | Ulytau Region | ЖезқазғанJezkazgan | 2022 Formed from part of Karaganda Region |
| KZ-63was KZ-VOS | Шығыс Қазақстан облысыShyghys Qazaqstan oblysy | Восточно-Казахстанская областьVostochno-Kazakhstanskaya oblast' | East Kazakhstan Region | ӨскеменOskemen | 2022 Part of it became Abai Region |
| Cities of republican significance3 | |||||
| KZ-71was KZ-AST | АстанаAstana | АстанаAstana | Astana | 2022 Name restored; listed as Nur-Sultan from 2020 | |
| KZ-75was KZ-ALA | АлматыAlmaty | АлматыAlmaty | Almaty | ||
| KZ-79was KZ-SHY | ШымкентShymkent | ШымкентShymkent | Shymkent | 2018 Separated from the region as a city of republican significance | |
Names and codes: ISO 3166-2:KZ as listed on the ISO Online Browsing Platform, read from its English Wikipedia mirror on 28 October 2026; Kazakh and Russian Cyrillic forms and administrative centres from the same source set (Regions of Kazakhstan). Romanisation: BGN/PCGN, as ISO publishes it.
How Kazakhstan is divided
The first level has two kinds of unit. The 17 regions are called oblys in Kazakh and oblast in Russian. Astana, Almaty and Shymkent stand outside them as cities of republican significance, equal in rank to a region. Below the regions sit districts, listed on the Kazakhstan provinces and districts page.
The present map dates from 2022. Three regions were created that year: Abai from East Kazakhstan, Jetisu from Almaty Region and Ulytau from Karaganda Region. Almaty Region moved its centre from Taldykorgan, which became the centre of Jetisu, to Qonaev.
Four years earlier South Kazakhstan Region was renamed Turkistan Region and Shymkent left it as a separate city. Baikonur, the town around the cosmodrome, had an ISO code of its own (KZ-BAY) until ISO deleted it on 24 November 2020.
Kazakh and Russian, both in Cyrillic
Article 7 of the Constitution makes Kazakh the state language and puts Russian in official use beside it in state bodies. That is why every name on this page appears twice. Both languages are written in Cyrillic; Kazakh adds nine letters of its own: ә ғ қ ң ө ұ ү һ і.
Kazakh and Russian often differ by more than spelling. Region names in Kazakh put the place name first and the word for region after it, while Russian turns the name into an adjective: Ақмола облысы and Акмолинская область are the same region.
A Latin alphabet for Kazakh was approved by presidential decree in 2017 and revised in 2021. Cyrillic remains the script of official use, so the Latin forms here are romanisations in the BGN/PCGN system that ISO 3166-2 publishes.
The name Kazakhstan in other languages
| Language | ISO 639-2 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kazakh | kaz | Қазақстан | Qazaqstan |
| Russian | rus | Казахстан | Kazaȟstan |
| German | deu | Kasachstan | same as written |
| French | fra | Kazakhstan | same as written |
| Spanish | spa | Kazajstán | same as written |
| Portuguese | por | Cazaquistão | same as written |
| Turkish | tur | Kazakistan | same as written |
| Arabic | ara | كازاخستان | Kāzāḫistān |
| Persian | fas | قزاقستان | Qazâqestân |
| Chinese | zho | 哈薩克斯坦 | Hāsàkèsītǎn |
| Japanese | jpn | カザフスタン | Kazafusutan |
| Korean | kor | 카자흐스탄 | Kajaheuseutan |
| Burmese | mya | ကာဇက်စတန် | Kazeʿsátã |
| Armenian | hye | Ղազախստան | Ġazaxstan |
| Georgian | kat | ყაზახეთი | Qazaȟeṭi |
| Hindi | hin | कज़ाख़स्तान | Kazāȟstān |
| Bengali | ben | কাজাখস্তান | Kājākʰstān |
| Thai | tha | คาซัคสถาน | Kʰāsâksatʰān |
French writes the name as English does. Chinese is given in traditional characters.
Questions about Kazakhstan's names and codes
What are Kazakhstan's ISO country codes?
KZ (alpha-2), KAZ (alpha-3) and 398 (numeric), all from ISO 3166-1.
How many regions does Kazakhstan have?
17 regions, plus 3 cities with the same rank: Astana, Almaty and Shymkent. ISO 3166-2 gives each of the 20 its own code.
Why did the region codes change in 2022?
ISO replaced the letter codes with two-digit numbers on 29 November 2022, in the same update that added Abai, Jetisu and Ulytau. Akmola Region, for example, went from KZ-AKM to KZ-11.
What happened to South Kazakhstan Region?
It was renamed Turkistan Region in 2018, and Shymkent became a separate city. ISO kept the code and changed the name; today the region is KZ-61.
Is the capital called Astana or Nur-Sultan?
Astana. The city carried the name Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022, and ISO 3166-2 listed it that way from 2020 until the 2022 update.