Bishkek is Kyrgyzstan’s largest city, with a listed population of 1,120,827 in 2025.
The city is also Kyrgyzstan’s capital and the administrative centre of the surrounding Chüy area. Bishkek lies in the country’s north, close to the Kazakhstan border and below the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range. Its broad streets, irrigation channels, and tree-lined districts reflect both its Central Asian setting and its Soviet-era urban planning.
Bishkek was founded in 1825 as the fortress of Pishpek. After becoming part of the Soviet Union, it was renamed Frunze in 1926 in honour of Bolshevik military commander Mikhail Frunze, who was born in the region. The city returned to the name Bishkek after Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991.
Osh is the main alternative people often select because it is Kyrgyzstan’s second-largest city and a historic centre in the Fergana Valley. Karakol and Jalal-Abad are also significant regional cities, but neither matches Bishkek’s national-capital status or the population figure given here. The figure is for the city itself, not the wider metropolitan area.