Sakhalin Oblast
Sakhalin Oblast (Russian: Сахали́нская о́бласть, tr. Sakhalínskaya óblast', IPA: [səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ]) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the Russian Far East. The oblast has an area of 87,100 square kilometers (33,600 sq mi). Its administrative center and largest city is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. As of the 2021 Census, the oblast has a population of roughly 500,000.
Sakhalin Oblast | |
|---|---|
| Сахалинская область | |
|
Coat of arms | |
| Coordinates: 50°33′N 142°36′E | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal district | Far Eastern |
| Economic region | Far Eastern |
| Administrative center | Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk |
| Government | |
| • Body | Oblast Duma |
| • Governor | Valery Limarenko |
| Area | |
| • Total | 87,101 km2 (33,630 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 37th |
| Population | |
| • Total | 466,609 |
| • Estimate (2018) | 490,181 |
| • Rank | 75th |
| • Density | 5.4/km2 (14/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 82.4% |
| • Rural | 17.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+11 (MSK+8 ) |
| ISO 3166 code | RU-SAK |
| License plates | 65 |
| OKTMO ID | 64000000 |
| Official languages | Russian |
| Website | www |
The vast majority of the oblast's residents are ethnic Russians, with a small minority of Sakhalin Koreans. Sakhalin Oblast is rich in natural gas and oil, and is Russia's fourth wealthiest federal subject and wealthiest oblast. It borders by sea Khabarovsk Krai to the west and Kamchatka Krai to the north, along with Hokkaido, Japan to the south.