Batken Region


Batken Region is a region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Batken. It is bounded on the east by Osh Region, on the south, west and north by Tajikistan, and on the northeast by Uzbekistan. The northern part of the region is part of the flat, agricultural Ferghana Valley. The land rises southward to the mountains on the southern border: the Alay Mountains in the east, and the Turkestan Range in the west.
The population of the region was reported as 380,256 by the census of 2009. Of them, 24.2 per cent lived in the region's four towns and five urban-type settlements, and 75.8 per cent in the rural areas. The majority of the region's population are Kyrgyz; there are also Uzbeks and Tajiks, as well as a few Russians, Tatars, and Turks.
Batken Region was created on 12 October 1999, from the westernmost section of Osh Region. This was partly in response to the activities of the Islamic Movement for Uzbekistan, with bases in Tajikistan. In 1999 they kidnapped a group of Japanese geologists and in 2000 some American climbers. In the two years, 49 Kyrgyz soldiers were killed. There have been no incidents since, except for an attack on a Tajik border post in May 2006, which was probably connected to drug running.

Socio-economics

As of 2009, Batken Region contained 4 towns, 5 urban-type settlements, and 198 villages. Its population, according to the Population and Housing Census of 2009 amounted to 380.3 thousand or 428.6 thousand.Official population estimate for the beginning of 2020 was 537,365.

Ethnic composition

According to the 2009 Census, the ethnic composition of the Batken Region was:
Ethnic groupPopulationProportion of Batken Region population---------------------
Kyrgyzs76.5%
Uzbeks14.7%
Tajiks6.9%
Russians0.8%
Tatars0.4%
Turks0.2%
Uygurs0.1%
other groups0.3%

Subdivisions of Batken Region

Batken Region is divided administratively into 3 districts:
DistrictCapitalLocation
Kadamjay DistrictPülgönEast
Batken DistrictBatkenCenter
Leilek DistrictIsfanaWest

There are four towns in Batken oblast: Batken, Isfana, Kyzyl-Kiya and Sulyukta. There are five urban-type settlements, including Chauvay, Khaidarkan, Sovetskiy, Kadamjay and Vostochny.

Enclaves and exclaves

In the Soviet period, six enclaves and exclaves were established in the Batken area. Two were Tajik, while four others are Uzbek.
Soʻx is an exclave of Uzbekistan, about 24 kilometres east of Batken. The largest of the exclaves, it has an area of ~234 square kilometres, stretches from 3 to 13 kilometres from east to west, and about 35 kilometres north to south, and is crossed by the main highway from Batken to Osh. Tajiks comprise 99 per cent of the population, which in 1993 numbered 42,800.
Chon-Qora and Qalacha, immediately north of :de:So'x|So'x, are two Uzbek villages within a very small enclave that lies on the Sokh River. It measures 2 kilometres long by 1 kilometre wide with an area of approximately 3 km2. It is part of Soʻx District of Fergana Region. The villages of Chon-Qora at and Qalacha are at either end. The Kyrgyz village of Chong-Kara at lies 2 kilometres northwest.
Jani-Ayil is a small exclave of Uzbekistan, about 60 kilometres east of Batken and within 1 km of the Uzbek main border. It measures only 2 to 3 kilometres across.
Kayragach is a very small exclave of Tajikistan, located in the northwest corner of the region near the railway station of Stantsiya Kayragach, about 130 kilometres west of Batken. The border separates it from the Tajik town of Qal'acha; hence it is sometimes called "Western Qal'acha."
Shohimardon, or Shakhimardan, is an exclave of Uzbekistan, about 80 kilometres east of Batken and 19 kilometres south of the Uzbek border. It has an area of ~38.2 square kilometres, and a population in 1993 of 5,100. Uzbeks comprise 91 per cent of the population.
Vorukh is an exclave of Tajikistan, with an area of ~96.7 square kilometers, located 45 kilometres south of Isfara and 24 kilometres southwest of Batken, on the right bank of the Karafshin River. The population, distributed among 17 villages, is estimated to be between 23,000 and 29,000, 95 per cent of which are Tajiks and 5 per cent Kyrgyz.

Travel

The southern mountains offer excellent, but very difficult climbing with many sheer rock faces. Summits are Pyramid Peak and Pik Skalistiy .