In contrast, the population has increased by more than 20% in the regions of Mangystau, South Kazakhstan and the cities of Astana and Almaty during this period. In 2013, more than half of the population (9.4 million) lived in urban areas and an increasing trend towards urbanisation was observed (IAC, 2014). The most urbanised regions were Karaganda (79% of urban population), Pavlodar (70%), Aktobe (62%) and East Kazakhstan (59%).