Sakhalin is a first-level division of Russia, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 49.0078° N, 143.5781° E.

What is the largest city in Sakhalin?

Yuzhno Sakhalinsk is the largest city mapped in Sakhalin, with a metropolitan population of about 176,484.

How many cities are in Sakhalin?

YearMaps maps 13 cities and towns in Sakhalin, with a combined metropolitan population of about 363,892. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

What is the highest mountain in Sakhalin?

The highest summit mapped in Sakhalin is Vulkan Alaid at 2,339 m.

State / Province · Russia

Map of Sakhalin

Sakhalin is a first-level division of Russia. Its largest mapped city is Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, with about 176,484 people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Sakhalin, and the tables list its 13 mapped cities along with the mountains, ports nearest to them.

Cities Mapped: 13
Largest City: Yuzhno Sakhalinsk
Country: Russia
Highest Point Mapped: 2,339 m

About Sakhalin

Sakhalin Oblast is a federal subject (oblast) of Russia 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.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Sakhalin Oblast (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Sakhalin in Depth

History

The etymology of Sakhalin can be traced back to the Manchu hydronym Sahaliyan Ula (Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨᡠᠯᠠ) for "Black River" (i.e. the Amur River). Sakhalin shares this etymology with the Chinese province of Heilongjiang (Chinese: 黑龍江; pinyin: Hēilóngjiāng; lit. 'black dragon river').

The indigenous people of Sakhalin are the Nivkh, Orok, and Ainu minorities.

The first Europeans to explore the waters around Sakhalin Island were Ivan Moskvitin and Martin Gerritz de Vries in the mid-1600s, Jean-François de La Pérouse in 1787 and Adam Johann von Krusenstern in 1805. Early maps of Sakhalin reflect the uncertainty of the age as to whether or not the land mass was attached to the Asian continent.

Demographics

Population: According to the 2021 census, there were 466,609 people residing in Sakhalin Oblast. The population density was 5.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (14/sq mi). 82.4% lived in urban areas. The annual population growth stood at −0.6% (2010-21).

Most inhabitants are descendants of Russian and other Slavic settlers. The indigenous Ainu people have historically inhabited the southern part of Sakhalin Island, with only a small number remaining today. The Ainu are not recognized as a separate ethnic group in the Russian census, making it difficult to estimate their total population. Another indigenous group, the Nivkh people, live mainly in the north of the island and amount for roughly 2,000 people.

Tourism

Due to restrictions, the entire Sakhalin Oblast and its internal and territorial waters except for Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk are considered to be a border zone, which means that the freedom of movement for foreigners is dramatically restricted and any movement outside of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk requires registration to the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Border Guard. Scuba diving and recreation on the seacoast is permitted only in places defined by the Border Guard.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Sakhalin Oblast (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Sakhalin: Key Facts

Key facts about Sakhalin
Population	457,590 (2024)
Area	87,101 km²
Capital	Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Head of government	Valery Limarenko
Highest point	Alaid
Established	20 October 1932

Facts from Wikidata Q7797 (CC0).

History of Sakhalin: Empires and States

The atlas records 4 polities whose mapped territory included part of Sakhalin, from The Russian Empire in 1857 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Sakhalin, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
The Russian Empire	1857–1916 CE
Empire of Japan	1870–1945 CE
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics	1926–1991 CE
Russian Federation	1992–2024 CE

Historical Maps of Sakhalin

Sakhalin on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Largest Cities in Sakhalin

13 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Sakhalin
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Yuzhno Sakhalinsk	176,484	Sakhalin	Admin-1 capital
2	Korsakov	35,091	Sakhalin	Populated place
3	Kholmsk	32,911	Sakhalin	Populated place
4	Okha	26,560	Sakhalin	Populated place
5	Nevelsk	17,000	Sakhalin	Populated place
6	Poronaysk	16,677	Sakhalin	Populated place
7	Uglegorsk	12,669	Sakhalin	Populated place
8	Aleksandrovsk Sakhalinskiy	12,024	Sakhalin	Populated place
9	Dolinsk	11,989	Sakhalin	Populated place
10	Nogliki	10,098	Sakhalin	Populated place
11	Makarov	6,663	Sakhalin	Populated place
12	Krasnogorsk	3,304	Sakhalin	Populated place
13	Severo Kurilsk	2,422	Sakhalin	Populated place

Highest Mountains in Sakhalin

2 mountains mapped. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Highest Mountains in Sakhalin
#	Name	Elevation	Feet	Region
1	Vulkan Alaid	2,339 m	7,674 ft	Asia
2	Gora Lopatina	1,609 m	5,279 ft	Asia

Ports in Sakhalin

12 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Ports in Sakhalin
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Shakhtersk	49.4 m	Very Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	point_of_interest
2	Nevelsk	49.4 m	Very Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	medium vessels
3	Moskal Vo	45.7 m	Very Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	medium vessels
4	Kholmsk	45.7 m	Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	medium vessels
5	Okha	45.7 m	Very Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	medium vessels
6	Aleksandrovsk -Sakhalinskiy	42.1 m	Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	medium vessels
7	Lesogorsk	31.1 m	Very Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	point_of_interest
8	Mys Rogatyy Oktyabrskiy	31.1 m	Very Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	point_of_interest
9	Poronaysk	31.1 m	Very Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	medium vessels
10	Korsakov	27.4 m	Small	Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk	medium vessels

The other 2 (channel depth, class, sea, max vessel)

Uglegorsk · 16.5 m · Very Small · Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk · medium vessels
Vitaz Marine Terminal · Very Small · Sea of Japan & Sea of Okhotsk · point_of_interest

Sakhalin: Quick Answers

Where is Sakhalin?: Sakhalin is a first-level division of Russia, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 49.0078° N, 143.5781° E.
What is the largest city in Sakhalin?: Yuzhno Sakhalinsk is the largest city mapped in Sakhalin, with a metropolitan population of about 176,484.
How many cities are in Sakhalin?: YearMaps maps 13 cities and towns in Sakhalin, with a combined metropolitan population of about 363,892. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
What is the highest mountain in Sakhalin?: The highest summit mapped in Sakhalin is Vulkan Alaid at 2,339 m.