Kyzylorda Region
Syr Darya oasis hosts Baikonur Cosmodrome (1955)—world's first spaceport still launching under Russian lease to 2050. Also Kazakhstan's only rice region and mature oil fields. By 2026, space industry stability masks declining oil and water stress on irrigation agriculture.
Kyzylorda emerged along the Syr Darya River in southern Kazakhstan, where irrigation made agriculture possible in an otherwise arid landscape. The region gained unique significance when the Soviet Union established the Baikonur Cosmodrome in 1955—the world's first and largest space launch facility. Kyzylorda became the launchpad for Sputnik, Gagarin, and the continuous stream of missions that followed.
The regional economy reflects this peculiar duality: rice cultivation in irrigated Syr Darya valleys, and space industry centered on Baikonur. Russia continues operating the cosmodrome under lease agreement through 2050, though Kazakhstan develops its own space program at Baikonur with Russian cooperation. The lease fees and space-related employment provide stable income independent of agricultural cycles.
By 2024, Kyzylorda Region navigates between tradition and technology. Oil and gas extraction at mature fields supplements the economy alongside rice production—Kazakhstan's only significant rice-growing region—and space industry. The region's production reflects late-stage field development, with yields declining in Mangystau, Kyzylorda, and Aktobe regions as wells mature.
Through 2026, Kyzylorda will balance three distinct economic logics: the space industry's stable but limited growth, irrigated agriculture facing water stress as the Syr Darya shrinks, and declining oil production from mature fields. The cosmodrome ensures continued relevance, but the region must find economic complexity beyond the launch pad and rice paddies.