Nur-Sultan has an estimated population of 1,136,000. It has been the capital of Kazakhstan from 1998. The name "Astana", which in Kazakh language means "Capital city", was chosen because it is easily pronounced in many languages. In Kazakh, it is pronounced "As-ta-na", while in English (and, for instance, German), common pronunciation is "As-ta-na". It is in the Aqmola Province.