On December 10, 1930, Yamal (Nenets) National Okrug (Ямальский (Ненецкий) национальный округ) was formed based on Ural Oblast.

Despite the growing pressure on the regional environment, former governor Dmitry Kobylkin assured in 2016 that industrial developments are not affecting the traditional lifestyles of the native population.

Other prominent ethnic groups include Khanty (2.5%), Azerbaijanis (1.7%), Bashkirs (1.5%), Kumyks (1.2%), and Nogais (0.9%) (all figures are from the 2021 Census).

[29] Due to the area's oil and natural gas wealth, it is one of the few places in Russia where the ethnic Russian population is growing.

In addition, 14% of the population declare to be "spiritual but not religious", 8% are atheist, and 0.8% follow other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

[33] The region is the most important to Russia's largest company Gazprom, whose main production fields are located there.