The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, though administered as a city with special status separately from the rest of the region. A 2020 official estimate reported a population of 1,136,008 within the city limits, making it the second-largest city in the country, after Almaty, the previous capital, between 1991 and 1997. Akmola became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, since then it has grown and developed economically into one of the most modern cities in Central Asia.