One of the three so-called "matryoshka" subordinate entities of the Russian Federation: it is a part of the Tyumen Oblast and simultaneously a subordinate entity of the Russian Federation. It is located in Western Siberia. The entire territory of the district lays in the Far North region. It is one of the largest oil-producing regions in the world. Khanty-Mansi AD belongs to the donor regions of Russia and is the leader in a number of key economic indicators.
The Ostyak–Vogul National Okrug was established in 1930, in 1940 it was renamed Khanty-Mansi National Okrug. In 1977 it became known as the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, and in 2003 the district received the official name - Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra.
In Khanty-Mansi AD there are two titular ethnic groups: Khanty and Mansi. Language is the defining marker of their differences from the titular nation of the country. The Khanty language is part of the Ugric group of the Uralic language family and is divided into three groups of dialects - northern, southern and eastern. Mansi language belongs to the Ob-Ugrian group of the Uralic language family. Orthodoxy was adopted in the region during the Russian colonization of the Khanty and Mansi.
According to the results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, Russians (68.1%) predominate on the territory of the district. The share of Khanty and Mansi is 1.3% and 0.8% respectively.
The interethnic tension in the district is connected with the contradictions between representatives of the indigenous peoples and oil producing companies, as well as with the spread of the radical Islam among migrants from the southern regions of the country, whose share is increasing.