City Asia
Bishkek
Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Tall snowy mountains rise beside the city.
Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia. It lies at the foot of the snowy Kyrgyz Ala-Too range of the Tian Shan mountains, near the border with Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan's statistics office counted 1,358,600 people living in the city at the start of 2026.
Bishkek grew from Pishpek, a fortress of the Kokand Khanate that became a town in 1878; it was called Frunze from 1926 to 1990 and became the capital of a Soviet republic in 1936 and of independent Kyrgyzstan in 1991. The National Statistical Committee estimated 1,358,600 residents on 1 January 2026.
Photo: Nikolai Bulykin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Bishkek
Bishkek is a big city in Kyrgyzstan, a country of high mountains in Central Asia.
From the city, people can see snowy peaks.
Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It sits between 700 and 900 meters above sea level, on the lower slopes north of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too, a range of the Tian Shan mountains, in an oasis watered by the Chüy River. The border with Kazakhstan is close by.
Kyrgyzstan's National Statistical Committee estimated that 1,358,600 people lived in Bishkek at the start of 2026.
Encyclopaedia Universalis places Bishkek on the northern foothills of the Tian Shan (the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range) between 700 and 900 m, in the oasis drained by the Chüy, close to the Kazakh border and so on the edge of the country.
The National Statistical Committee's open data give Bishkek City's resident population at the start of each year: 1,113,800 in 2022, 1,294,800 in 2024 and 1,358,600 on 1 January 2026. Universalis notes that the 2022 census counted about 1.1 million and that the city draws migrants from the rest of the country.
- Country
- Kyrgyzstan (its capital)
- Residents (official estimate, 1 January 2026)
- 1,358,600
- Height above sea level
- between 700 and 900 m
- Earlier names
- Pishpek; Frunze (1926–1990)
A square, a bazaar and the mountains
Bishkek has a big square in the city center and a huge market.
A national park lies in the mountains south of the city.
Bishkek grew on a grid of straight streets. At its center are the main government buildings, and Wikidata lists Ala-Too Square as the city's central square.
After 1991 a large market, the Dordoi Bazaar, grew up north of the center, selling manufactured goods. In the mountains to the south lies Ala Archa National Park, created in 1976.
Universalis describes the city's orthogonal street plan, growing out from a center that holds the main seats of power, and the rise of the Dordoi Bazaar, specializing in manufactured goods, during the post-Soviet transition.
Wikidata dates Ala-Too Square to 1984 and places the Dordoi Bazaar about 6.5 km north-northeast of it, and Ala Archa National Park, created on 29 April 1976 in the Tian Shan, about 38 km south-southwest.
- Ala-Too Square
- the central square, laid out in 1984
- Dordoi Bazaar
- a large market for manufactured goods
- Ala Archa National Park
- in the mountains about 38 km south-southwest of Ala-Too Square
From fortress to capital
Long ago, Bishkek was a fort called Pishpek.
It grew and grew, and now it is the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Bishkek began as Pishpek, a fortress of the Khanate of Kokand. In 1878 the Russian Empire made it a town. From 1926 to 1990 it was called Frunze.
In 1936 it became the capital of the Kyrgyz Soviet republic, and it grew fast: from about 37,000 people in 1926 to 619,000 in 1989. When Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991, Bishkek became the capital of the new country.
Universalis calls Bishkek a recent foundation: the tsarist authorities gave the former Kokand fortress of Pishpek town status in 1878. It became the capital in 1936, when the Kyrgyz territory, drawn in 1924, was made a Soviet socialist republic, and the concentration of power and investment brought fast growth: 37,000 people in 1926, 220,000 in 1959 and 619,000 in 1989.
After 1991, Universalis notes, Bishkek joined international air links, but many factories closed in the post-Soviet crisis and many Russian and German residents emigrated; private investors then built shopping centers and apartment blocks in the center.
- Town status
- 1878 (the former fortress of Pishpek)
- Capital of the Kyrgyz Soviet republic
- from 1936
- People in 1926 and 1989
- 37,000 and 619,000
Straight streets and an airport
Bishkek's streets are long and straight, like lines on a grid.
At night, the cars and street lamps make the streets glow.
Bishkek's streets were laid out in a grid of long, straight lines. The busy street in the photo was called Baytik Baatyr Street and is now Jusup Abdrakhmanov Street.
Manas International Airport, which Wikidata dates to 1974, lies north-northwest of the city. After Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991, Bishkek joined international air routes.
Universalis describes Bishkek's growth on an orthogonal grid and its entry into international air traffic after 1991. Wikidata places Manas International Airport, opened in 1974, about 23 km north-northwest of Ala-Too Square.
The photographer identifies the lit avenue on the right of the hero photo as Baytik Baatyr Street, now Jusup Abdrakhmanov Street, photographed from above at night; the camera stood about 3.4 km south of Ala-Too Square.
- Street plan
- a grid of straight streets
- Manas International Airport
- opened 1974, about 23 km north-northwest of Ala-Too Square
- Street in the photo
- Baytik Baatyr Street, now Jusup Abdrakhmanov Street
Spring is the wettest season
In Bishkek, the wettest time of year is spring.
Late summer is the driest time.
The World Meteorological Organization's table for Bishkek, for 1981 to 2010, gives about 451 millimeters of rain and snow in a year. Spring is the wettest season: April brings the most, about 70 millimeters, and May about 62. August is the driest month, with about 14 millimeters.
The mountains of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too, on the city's southern side, are covered in snow in the hero photo.
WMO's monthly precipitation values for Bishkek (1981–2010) add up to about 451 mm; March to May bring 184 mm, about two-fifths of the year, with April the wettest (70 mm) and August the driest (14 mm).
The same WMO table's temperature columns for Bishkek hold values that look like record highs and lows rather than daily averages (for example 42.8 °C in July and −27.1 °C in December), so this page does not quote them.
- Precipitation in a year (sum of the monthly values, WMO, 1981–2010)
- about 451 mm
- Wettest month
- April, about 70 mm
- Driest month
- August, about 14 mm
City life by the mountains
Many families in Bishkek live in big apartment blocks. Others live in family houses.
Snowy mountains rise close to the city.
On the outskirts, many people in Bishkek live in large apartment districts built in Soviet times, called mikroraion, and others in neighborhoods of family houses. New shopping centers and apartment buildings have gone up in the center since the 1990s.
Universalis says the city draws people from other parts of Kyrgyzstan. The statistics office's figures for Bishkek rose from about 1.11 million at the start of 2022 to 1.36 million at the start of 2026.
Universalis writes that a large part of the population lives in the big Soviet-era housing estates (mikroraion) beside districts of single-family houses, that private developers have built shopping centers and upscale apartments in the center, and that new informal neighborhoods have grown on the city's edges.
The National Statistical Committee's start-of-year figures for Bishkek City rose from 1,113,800 (2022) and 1,145,000 (2023) to 1,294,800 (2024), 1,321,900 (2025) and 1,358,600 (2026); in the same table, the surrounding Chüy Region fell from 1,068,700 to 957,600 between 2023 and 2024.
- Housing
- Soviet-era apartment districts (mikroraion) and family houses
- Growth since 2022
- 1,113,800 (2022) to 1,358,600 (2026), start-of-year residents
- Ala Archa National Park
- created 29 April 1976
Bishkek on the map
Find Central Asia on the globe. Look for the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan.
Bishkek is in the north of the country, near Kazakhstan.
Bishkek is in northern Kyrgyzstan, at about 43° north, close to the border with Kazakhstan.
Measured from Ala-Too Square, the Dordoi Bazaar is about 6.5 kilometers to the north-northeast, Manas International Airport about 23 kilometers to the north-northwest and Ala Archa National Park about 38 kilometers to the south-southwest, in the mountains.
Bishkek lies at about 42.9° N and 74.6° E, near the Kazakh border (Universalis).
Measured from Ala-Too Square (Wikidata points), the Dordoi Bazaar is about 6.5 km north-northeast, Manas International Airport 23.0 km north-northwest and Ala Archa National Park 37.9 km south-southwest. The hero photo was taken from above, about 3.4 km south of the square.
- Latitude
- about 42.9° north
- Longitude
- about 74.6° east
- Dordoi Bazaar
- about 6.5 km north-northeast of Ala-Too Square
Amazing facts
-
Bishkek has had three names!
Bishkek was first called Pishpek, then Frunze from 1926 to 1990, and then Bishkek.
Universalis: the former Kokand fortress of Pishpek became a town in 1878, was named Frunze from 1926 to 1990 and has been called Bishkek since.
-
Bishkek grew from a small town into a city of more than a million people.
About 37,000 people lived in Bishkek in 1926. Today more than 1.3 million do.
From 37,000 in 1926 (Universalis) to 1,358,600 residents on 1 January 2026 (National Statistical Committee): more than 36 times as many.
-
A national park with mountains is a short drive from Bishkek.
Ala Archa National Park, in the Tian Shan, lies about 38 kilometers south-southwest of Bishkek's central square.
Wikidata places Ala Archa National Park, created on 29 April 1976 in the Tian Shan, about 38 km south-southwest of Ala-Too Square.
-
In Bishkek, spring is wetter than summer.
April is Bishkek's wettest month, with about 70 millimeters of rain and snow, while August gets only about 14.
WMO's 1981–2010 table: April 70 mm, May 62 mm, August 14 mm; March to May bring about two-fifths of the year's 451 mm.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's government is based
- foothills
- the low hills at the bottom of a mountain range
- fortress
- a strong, walled place built for defense
- bazaar
- a large market with many stalls
- oasis
- a green, watered place in a dry land
- national park
- an area of land protected by a country for nature and visitors
Discovery challenge
-
Bishkek is the capital of which country?
Bishkek is the capital of which country?
Bishkek has been the capital of which country since its independence in 1991?
- Kyrgyzstan
- Mongolia
- Nepal
Show the answer
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan!
Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan.
-
What was Bishkek called long ago?
What was the fortress that grew into Bishkek called?
Under which name did the Kokand fortress receive town status in 1878?
- Samarkand
- Pishpek
- Kabul
Show the answer
Pishpek
Pishpek!
Pishpek.
Pishpek; it was later Frunze (1926–1990).
-
What rises beside Bishkek?
Bishkek lies at the foot of which mountain range?
Bishkek sits on the northern foothills of which range of the Tian Shan?
- The Alps
- The Andes
- The Kyrgyz Ala-Too
Show the answer
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too
Snowy mountains, the Kyrgyz Ala-Too!
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too, part of the Tian Shan.
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too.
-
Which month is the wettest in Bishkek?
Which month gets the most precipitation in Bishkek?
Which month has 70 mm of Bishkek's roughly 451 mm a year in WMO's 1981–2010 table?
- April
- August
- December
Show the answer
April
April!
April. August is the driest.
April (70 mm); August is the driest (14 mm).
-
About how many people lived in Bishkek in 1926?
About how many people lived in Bishkek in 1926?
According to Universalis, what was Bishkek's population in 1926, ten years before it became a capital?
- About 37,000
- About 1 million
- About 500
Show the answer
About 37,000
About 37,000!
About 37,000. Now more than 1.3 million live there.
About 37,000; 619,000 by 1989.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Bishkek in northern Kyrgyzstan, at the foot of the Tian Shan.
- Describe how a fortress town became a national capital.
- Compare how a city's population changed over 100 years.
- Read monthly precipitation values and find the wettest season.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Bishkek has had three names. Why might a city change its name?
- Bishkek grew from 37,000 to more than a million people in 100 years. What does a growing city need?
- Snowy mountains are close to Bishkek. How might they change what people do on weekends?
Try at home or in class
- Grid town: draw a town map with straight streets in a grid, like Bishkek's, and plan where a square and a market go.
- Population chart: plot Bishkek's population in 1926, 1959, 1989 and 2026.
- Mountain map: draw the Tian Shan and mark Bishkek at its northern foot near Kazakhstan.
Key vocabulary: capital, foothills, fortress, bazaar, oasis, national park
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Resident population as of the beginning of the year (open data, by region and city) , National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic
- Bichkek , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- File:Бишкек, Байтик баатыра ночью сверху (2).jpg (Nikolai Bulykin) , Wikimedia Commons
- Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.