Orenburg Oblast (Russian: Оренбургская область, romanized: Orenburgskaya oblast') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), mainly located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name Chkalov Oblast (Russian: Чка́ловская о́бласть) in honor of Valery Chkalov. Population: 1,862,767 (2021 Census).[9]
Orenburg Oblast | |
|---|---|
| Оренбургская область | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 52°08′N 55°36′E / 52.133°N 55.600°E | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal district | Volga[1] |
| Economic region | Urals[2] |
| Administrative center | Orenburg |
| Government | |
| • Body | Legislative Assembly |
| • Governor | Denis Pasler[3] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 123,702 km2 (47,762 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 29th |
| Population | |
| • Total | 1,862,767 |
| • Estimate (2018)[6] | 1,977,720 |
| • Rank | 24th |
| • Urban | 59.7% |
| • Rural | 40.3% |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (MSK+2  [7]) |
| ISO 3166 code | RU-ORE |
| License plates | 56, 156 |
| OKTMO ID | 53000000 |
| Official languages | Russian[8] |
| Website | http://www.orb.ru/ |
Geography
Orenburg Oblast's internal borders are with the republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan to the north, Chelyabinsk Oblast to the north-east, and with Samara and Saratov oblasts to the west. Orenburg Oblast also shares an international border with Kazakhstan to the east and south. The oblast is situated on the boundary between Europe and Asia. The majority of its territory lies west of the continental divide in European Russia and smaller sections in the east situated on the Asian side of the divide. The most important river of the oblast is the Ural and the largest lake Shalkar-Yega-Kara. Orenburg is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude. The highest point of the oblast is the 668 m (2,192 ft)-high Nakas.[10]
Administrative divisions
Demographics
Population: 1,862,767 (2021 Census);[9] 2,033,072 (2010 Russian census);[11] 2,179,551 (2002 Census);[12] 2,174,459 (1989 Soviet census).[13]
Ethnic composition (2021)[14]
| Ethnic group | Population | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Russians | 1,380,674 | 79.3% |
| Tatars | 116,605 | 6.7% |
| Kazakhs | 107,734 | 6.2% |
| Bashkirs | 36,181 | 2.1% |
| Mordvins | 18,300 | 1.1% |
| Ukrainians | 16,639 | 1.0% |
| Others | 65,056 | 3.7% |
| Ethnicity not stated | 121,578 | — |
Vital statistics for 2022:[15][16]
- Births: 16,216 (8.4 per 1,000)
- Deaths: 25,590 (13.3 per 1,000)
Total fertility rate (2022):[17]
1.46 children per woman
Life expectancy (2021):[18]
Total — 68.21 years (male — 63.91, female — 72.48)
Settlements
Largest cities or towns in Orenburg Oblast 2010 Russian Census | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Administrative Division | Pop. | |||||||
_-_panoramio.jpg) Orenburg  Orsk | 1 | Orenburg | Orenburgsky District | 548,331 |  Novotroitsk .jpg) Buzuluk | ||||
| 2 | Orsk | City of oblast significance of Orsk | 239,800 | ||||||
| 3 | Novotroitsk | Town of oblast significance of Novotroitsk | 98,173 | ||||||
| 4 | Buzuluk | Buzuluksky District | 82,904 | ||||||
| 5 | Buguruslan | Buguruslansky District | 49,741 | ||||||
| 6 | Gay | Gaysky District | 38,301 | ||||||
| 7 | Sorochinsk | Sorochinsky District | 29,249 | ||||||
| 8 | Sol-Iletsk | Sol-Iletsky District | 28,377 | ||||||
| 9 | Mednogorsk | Town of oblast significance of Mednogorsk | 27,292 | ||||||
| 10 | Kuvandyk | Kuvandyksky District | 26,169 | ||||||
Religion
As of a 2012 survey,[19] 40.2% of the population of Orenburg Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 3% declare themselves to be generic nondenominational Christians (excluding the Protestant definition), 2% are Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to any church or belong to non-Russian Orthodox churches. Muslims constitute 13% of the population. 3% of the population are followers of the Slavic native faith (Rodnovery), 6.8% are followers of other religions or did not give an answer to the survey. In addition, 20% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious" and 12% to be atheist.[19]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1897 | 1,600,145 | — |
| 1926 | 1,492,211 | −6.7% |
| 1939 | 1,675,000 | +12.2% |
| 1959 | 1,829,481 | +9.2% |
| 1970 | 2,049,976 | +12.1% |
| 1979 | 2,088,553 | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 2,174,459 | +4.1% |
| 2002 | 2,179,551 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 2,033,072 | −6.7% |
| 2021 | 1,862,767 | −8.4% |
| Source: Census data | ||
Economy
Orenburg Oblast is one of the major agricultural areas of Russia. Its climate is favorable to farming with a humid spring, dry summer and many sunny days, which make perfect conditions for cultivating hard wheat and rye, sunflowers, potatoes, peas, beans, corn, and gourds.
The range of the oblast's export commodities includes oil and oil products, gas and gas produced products, rolled ferrous and non-ferrous metals, nickel, asbestos, chromium compounds, rough copper, electric engines, and radiators, which are used to make products from the machine-building industry.
See also
References
External links
- Kropotkin, Peter Alexeivitch; Bealby, John Thomas (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). p. 252.