Shymkent City (Kazakhstan)

Shymkent is a city in Kazakhstan. It is near the border with Uzbekistan. It is the third most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty and Astana, with an estimated population of 1,002,291 as of 1 June 2018. It is a regional cultural center. Shymkent is 690 kilometers west of Almaty and 1,483 kilometers south of Astana. It is also 120 kilometers to the north of Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Shymkent features a humid continental climate bordering on a Mediterranean climate. Shymkent features hot, relatively dry summers and cold winters. Winters here are noticeably warmer than in more northern cities like Almaty and Astana, with the mean monthly temperature during the city's coldest month (January) averaging around −1°C (30.2°F). Winter snowfalls are common, although rainfall during that season occurs mixed in with that. Shymkent averages just under 600 millimeters of precipitation annually.

Shymkent is one of the leading industrial and economic centers of Kazakhstan. The city has industrial enterprises of non-ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering, chemical, oil refining and food industries.

In the last three years (as of 2021), as part of the Industrial and Innovative Development Programme, 24 enterprises were opened in Shymkent, and 1,300 permanent jobs were created. There are two industrial zones in the city. To date, investments worth 64 billion tenge have been attracted, 72 projects have been launched, and more than 4,000 people have been employed. In February 2021, it was announced that authorities in Shymkent are planning for 123 investment projects worth over 1.36 trillion tenge (US$3.3 billion) to be launched over the next five years. These projects are expected to create approximately 11,500 jobs for the region.