Batken Region (; ) is a region (oblus) of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Batken. It is bounded on the east by Osh Region, on the south, west and north by Tajikistan, and on the northeast by Uzbekistan. The northern part of the region is part of the flat, agricultural Ferghana Valley. The land rises southward to the mountains on the southern border: the Alay Mountains in the east, and the Turkestan Range in the west. Its total area is . The resident population of the region was 548,247 as of January 2021. The region has sizeable Uzbek (14.7% in 2009) and Tajik (6.9% in 2009) minorities. History Batken Region was created on 15 October 1999 from the westernmost section of Osh Region. This was partly in response to the activities of the Islamic Movement for Uzbekistan (IMU), with bases in Tajikistan. In 1999 they kidnapped a group of Japanese geologists and in 2000 some American climbers. In the two years, 49 Kyrgyz soldiers were killed. There was an attack on a Tajik border post in May 2006, which was probably connected to drug running. In 2021, a conflict over water rights has left 31 dead and 150 wounded on the Kyrgyz side. Divisions The Batken Region is divided administratively into three cities of regional significance (Batken, Kyzyl-Kyya and Sülüktü), and three districts: Aydarken, Isfana and Kadamjay are cities of district significance. There is one urban-type settlement in the region: Vostochnyy (part of Sülüktü city). Socio-economics The economically active population of Batken Region in 2009 was 188,808, of which 176,611 employed and 12,197 (6.5%) unemployed. Export: 14.7 million US dollars (2008) Import: 53.6 million US dollars (2008) Demographics The population of Batken Region, according to the Population and Housing Census of 2009 amounted to 380.3 thousand (enumerated de facto population) or 428.6 thousand (de jure population). The official population estimate for January 2021 was 548,247. In 2009 24.2% of the population lived in the region's cities and urban-type settlements, and 75.8% in the rural areas. Ethnic composition According to the 2009 Census, the ethnic composition of the Batken Region (de jure population) was: Enclaves and exclaves In the Soviet period, six enclaves and exclaves were established in the Batken area. Two were Tajik, while four others are Uzbek. Soʻx (or Sokh) () is an exclave of Uzbekistan, about 24 kilometres east of Batken. The largest of the exclaves, it has an