What is Zhitikara?
'''Zhitikara''' ({{lang-kk|Жітіқара}}, {{lang-ru|Житикара}}, until 1997 - ''Dzhetygara'' '')'' is a single-industry town, the administrative center of the [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhetikara_District Zhitikara district of the Kostanay region] of the Republic of [[Kazakhstan]]. It is located on the [https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%8B_(%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BA_%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0) Shortandy] River. As of 2023, 35,298 people live here and 42,611 people live in the [[urban area]].<ref name=pop2023>{{Cite web|date=2023-01-01|title=Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan by gender and type of area (as of 2023-01-01)|url=https://stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT478686|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305101742/https://stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT478686|archive-date=2023-03-05|website=QazStat}}</ref> The city is home to the largest and only [https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Житикаринский_асбестовый_горно-обогатительный_комбинат enterprise for the extraction and enrichment of chrysotile asbestos] called [https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%96%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82 Kostanay Minerals] in Kazakhstan ==Geography== The city of Zhitikara is located in the southwestern part of the Kostanay region near the Kazakh-Russian border, 217 kilometers from the regional center of the city of [[Kostanay]]. The territory of the city occupies an area of 6080 hectares, the height above sea level is 271 m.[https://dateandtime.info/ru/citycoordinates.php?id=1516601] [https://web.archive.org/web/20191224115832/http://zhitikara.kostanay.gov.kz/apprat-akima/struktura-vlasti/ispolnitelnaya-vlast/gu-apparat-akima-goroda-zhitikary-zhitikarinskogo-rayona/pl