Capital: Khanty-Mansiisk (78,800), 2,759 km from Moscow
Other major cities: Surgut (304,600), Nizhnevartovsk (248,400), Nefteyugansk (119,200)
Federal district: Urals
Economic region: West Siberia
Time zone: Moscow +2, GMT +5, EST +10
Geography: Khanty-Mansiisk is located in the central part of Russia in the center of the West Siberian Plain. It shares a border with the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region; the Komi Republic; and the Sverdlov, Tomsk and Tyumen regions. The area is mostly a low-lying plain and is covered with rivers. The Ob and Irtysh rivers, 12 of their tributaries and many smaller rivers form the area's river system. There are nearly 30 000 rivers and 290,000 lakes in the area.
Urban population: 91%, Rural population: 9%
Ethnic make-up: more than 128 nationalities, including Russians (66.3%), Ukranians (11.6%), Tatars (7.6%), Khanty (0.9%) and Mansi (0.5%)
Economy: The main industrial sectors are oil and gas production. The area is Russia's main oil and gas region and is one of the world's largest oil-producing areas. Gazprombank, the authorised bank of Russian gas giant Gazprom, announced in December '06 it is ready to finance large construction projects and issue investment credits to industrial producers in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area (Yugra).
