Akmola Region is a centrally located region of Kazakhstan. It was known as Tselinograd Oblast during Soviet rule. Its capital is Kökà Âetau. The national capital, Astana, is enclosed by the region, but is politically separate from Aqmola Region. The region's population is 715,000; Kökà Âetau's is 157,000.
Some gold and coal mining occur in the area.
The area of the region is 146,200 square kilometers. Aqmola, along with Ulytau Region and Karaganda Region, are Kazakhstan's only regions which don't touch the country's outer borders. The region borders North Kazakhstan Region in the north, Pavlodar Region in the east, Karagandy Region in the south, and Kostanay Region in the west. The Sileti river flows through the region.
Aqmola means "white tomb" in Kazakh.
The region is administratively divided into seventeen districts and the cities of Kökà Âetau, Qosshy, and Stepnogorsk.
<sup>*</sup> The following ten localities in Aqmola Region have town status: Akkol, Atbasar, Derzhavinsk, Ereymentau, Esil, Kökà Âetau, Qosshy, Makinsk, Shchuchinsk, Stepnogorsk, and Stepnyak.