Central Asia Cities by Population 2026

Central Asia Cities Overview

Central Asia is characterized by several major cities spread across five nations, with the largest metropolitan areas found in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Almaty, Kazakhstan‘s largest city, leads the region with 2.2M residents, closely followed by Tashkent, Uzbekistan‘s capital, with 3.2M inhabitants.

Each Central Asian nation features at least one major urban center. Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, hosts 1.2M residents, while Ashgabat in Turkmenistan has 1.1M inhabitants. Dushanbe, Tajikistan‘s capital, maintains a population of 1.3M.

Kazakhstan features several significant secondary cities, including Karagandy (526K), Shymkent (1.3M), and Taraz (441.2K). Similarly, Uzbekistan has important regional centers such as Namangan (732.2K), Samarkand (606.6K), and Andijan (503.2K).