Sakhalin Oblast

Sakhalin Oblast
Сахалинская область
Coordinates: 50°33′N 142°36′E / 50.550°N 142.600°E / 50.550; 142.600
CountryRussia
Federal districtFar Eastern
Economic regionFar Eastern
Administrative centerYuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Government
  BodyOblast Duma
  GovernorValery Limarenko
Area
  Total
87,101 km2 (33,630 sq mi)
  Rank37th
Population
  Total
466,609
  Estimate 
(2018)
490,181
  Rank75th
  Density5.4/km2 (14/sq mi)
  Urban
82.4%
  Rural
17.6%
Time zoneUTC+11 (MSK+8 )
ISO 3166 codeRU-SAK
License plates65
OKTMO ID64000000
Official languagesRussian
Websitewww.adm.sakhalin.ru

Sakhalin Oblast (Russian: Сахали́нская о́бласть, romanized: Sakhalinskaya oblastʹ, 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 466,609.

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 second wealthiest federal subject after the Tyumen Oblast. It borders by sea Khabarovsk Krai to the west and Kamchatka Krai to the north, along with Hokkaido, Japan to the south.