The former subject of the Russian Federation, one of the 6 districts, liquidated as a result of the enlargement of the regions in 2003-2008. Formerly part of the Kamchatka Oblast and was an independent subordinate entity of the Russian Federation. It was located in the Far East of Russia in the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. On October 23, 2005, a referendum was held to unite the Koryak Autonomous Okrug with the Kamchatka Oblast. As a result, in 2007, the Kamchatka Krai was created, and the Koryak Autonomous District (Okrug) became an administrative-territorial unit with a special status in it.
The Koryak Autonomous District was established in 1930, and since 1934 it was part of the Kamchatka Oblast.
The titular ethnic group in the district were Koryaks, the indigenous population of the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Language is the defining marker of their differences from the titular nation of the country. Koryak language belongs to the Chukotko-Kamchatkan family of Paleo-Asiatic languages. Among the Koryaks, Christianity (Orthodoxy) is widespread, but traditional beliefs (shamanism) also remain important. According to the 2002 census, the share of the Koryaks in the population of the okrug was 26.7%, Russians - 50.6%.