The habitat of saigas is desert and semi-desert zones. Currently, more than 98% of the world's saiga population is concentrated in Kazakhstan. Three populations of saigas live here: Betpak-dala, Ustyurt and Akzhaiyk. The distribution area covers the territories of 10 regions of Kazakhstan: Betpak-dala population is an internal one, it does not migrate outside the territory of Kazakhstan; Ustyurt population is located in the Aktobe region, sometimes they can migrate to Uzbekistan; Aqzhaiyk population lives in the West Kazakhstan region; in winter they can enter the territory of Russia.
A critical indicator of the number of saigas in Kazakhstan was noted in 2003, when their number decreased to 21 thousand. Because of the verge of their extinction, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan took a number of comprehensive measures to protect them. Thanks to the joint work of such environmental structures as the Kazakhstan Association for Biodiversity Conservation (ASBC), the “Okhotzooprom” Production association (PA) of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Institute of Zoology and others, the number of saigas has increased significantly. Their number has reached 1.3 million individuals, which only indicates effective measures, since their optimal number may be in the range of 700 - 800 thousand individuals. In this regard, the Ministry planned a scientific study of the saiga population in 2023.