The aim of the study was to establish the factors that determined the formation, functioning and development of the system of urban localities in the Jalal-Abad region of the Kyrgyz Republic. The research involved the reconstruction of the history of the region, the analysis of statistical and normative materials, as well as the analysis of the transformation of the region’s urban localities. The factors that contributed to the formation of urban localities in the Jalal-Abad region included its location on the frontier of the Kyrgyz Republic, its inclusion within the Fergana Valley, the presence of transit routes between the lowlands and mountains of the region, and the presence of economic and natural resources within the region. During the Soviet period, the reorganisation of the region’s administrative territories, the development of industry within the region (especially the development of fuel-energy and mining centres) led to the development of the region’s system of urban localities. Within the Jalal-Abad region, Jalal-Abad performed different functions from localities such as Mayly-Suu, Tash-Kömür, Kochkor-Ata and Kara-Köl, each of which were geologically and industrially different from the region’s administrative and economic centre. Additionally, the population of the Jalal-Abad Oblast increased from 1,266.3 thousand persons in 2021 to 1,358.5 thousand in 2025, while the population of the city of Jalal-Abad increased from 130.9 thousand to 184.4 thousand persons. Within the Kyrgyz Republic in 2024, industry contributed to 16.4% of the gross domestic product of the nation, with 77.1% of the industrial production of the region being manufactured goods, 10.7% being mined and quarried goods, and 11.2% being energy production. The results of this study can contribute to the planning of the region, the development of its policy towards territorial governance, the development of its towns according to their different functions, and the development of infrastructures within the Jalal-Abad region of the Kyrgyz Republic
urbanisation; settlements; industry; hydropower; transport corridors; migration; demographic dynamics