Economy of Kazakhstan

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (June 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Economy of Kazakhstan

Downtown Astana
Currency	Tenge (KZT, ₸)
Fiscal year	calendar year
Trade organizations	WTO, CIS, EAEU, EACU, ECO, SCO, CISFTA
Country group	Developing/Emerging[1] Upper-middle income economy[2]
Statistics
Population	20,105,000 (2024 est.)[3]
GDP	US$296.740 billion (nominal, 2024 est.)[4] US$693.415 billion (PPP, 2024 est.)[5]
GDP rank	48st (nominal, 2024) 42st (PPP, 2024)
GDP growth	4.1% (2018) 4.5% (2019e) −2.6% (2020) 4.0% (2021)[6]
GDP per capita	US$14,778 (nominal, 2024 est.)[4] US$34,534 (PPP, 2024 est.)[4]
GDP per capita rank	64th (nominal, 2024) 58th (PPP, 2024)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 4.7% industry: 34.1% services: 61.2% (2017 est.)[3]
Inflation (CPI)	9% (2024 est.)[5]
Population below poverty line	2.5% (2017)[7] 8.3% on less than $5.50/day (2020f)[8]
Gini coefficient	27.5 low (2017, World Bank)[9]
Human Development Index	0.811 very high (2021)[10] (56th) 0.755 high IHDI (2021)[11]
Labor force	9,262,539 (2019)[12] 67.3% employment rate (2018)[13]
Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 18.1% industry: 20.4% services: 61.6% (2017 est.)[3]
Unemployment	7.8% (2020 est.)[5] 5% (2017 est.)[3]
Average gross salary	₸ 400,000 (US$ 895) per month
Average net salary	₸ 354,150 (US$ 790) per month
Main industries	oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, uranium, iron and steel; tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials
External
Exports	$58 billion (2019)[14]
Export goods	oil and oil products, natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat, coal
Main export partners	China 19.8%  Russia 11.2%  Greece 8.63%  United Kingdom 7.57%  Germany 7.13%  Uzbekistan 4.61%  South Korea 4.1%  France 3.84%  Spain 3.04%  United States 2.98% (2021)[15]
Imports	$38 billion (2019)[14]
Import goods	machinery and equipment, metal products, foodstuffs
Main import partners	Russia 38.2%  China 29.3%  Germany 3.58%  Turkey 2.71%  Uzbekistan 2.16%  Poland 1.66%  South Korea 1.62%  Belarus 1.58%  United States 1.38%  United Arab Emirates 1.36% (2021)[16]
FDI stock	US$4.58 Billion (31 December 2017 est.)[3]
Current account	−US$7.86 billion (2021 est.)[3]
Gross external debt	$190.5 billion (31 December 2020 est.)[3]
Public finances
Government debt	26.6% of GDP (2021 est.)[3]
Budget balance	−4.0% (of GDP) (2021 est.)[3]
Revenues	35.48 billion (2017 est.)[3]
Expenses	US$44.2 billion (2022 est.)[3]
Credit rating
Foreign reserves	$30.75 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[3]
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Kazakhstan is the largest in Central Asia in both absolute and per capita terms. In 2021, Kazakhstan attracted more than US$370 billion of foreign investments since becoming an independent republic after the collapse of the former Soviet Union.^[18]

It possesses oil reserves as well as minerals and metals. It also has considerable agricultural potential, with its vast steppe lands accommodating both livestock and grain production. The mountains in the south are important for apples and walnuts; both species grow wild there. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources.^{[citation needed]}

The Dissolution of the Soviet Union and the collapse of demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products have resulted in a sharp decline of the economy since 1991, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995–97 the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector. Kazakhstan was granted "market economy country" status by the European Union and the United States, in 2000 and 2002 respectively.^[19]

The December 1996 signing of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium agreement to build a new pipeline from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz Field through Russia to the Black Sea increased prospects for substantially larger oil exports until Putin took issue with the lukewarm support he experienced in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Kazakhstan's economy turned downward in 1998 with a 2.5% decline in GDP growth due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in Russia. A bright spot in 1999 was the recovery of international petroleum prices, which, combined with a well-timed tenge devaluation and a bumper grain harvest, pulled the economy out of recession.

GDP per capita shrank by 26% in the 1990s.^[20] In the 2000s, Kazakhstan's economy grew sharply, aided by increased prices on world markets for Kazakhstan's leading exports: oil, metals and grain. GDP grew 9.6% in 2000, up from 1.7% in 1999. In 2006, extremely high GDP growth had been sustained, and grew by 10.6%.^[21] Business with the booming economies of Russia and China, as well as neighboring Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations have helped to propel this growth. The increased economic growth also led to a turn-around in government finances, with the budget moving from a cash deficit of 3.7% of GDP in 1999 to 0.1% surplus in 2000. The country experienced a slowdown in economic growth from 2014, sparked by falling oil prices and the effects of the Russo-Ukrainian War.^[22] The country's currency was devalued by 19% in 2014 and by 22% in 2015.

In 2017, the World Economic Forum compiled its Global Competitiveness Ranking, ranking Kazakhstan 57th out of 144 countries.^[23] The ranking considers multiple macroeconomic and financial factors, such as market size, GDP, tax rates, infrastructure development, etc.^[24] In 2012, the World Economic Forum listed corruption as the biggest problem in doing business in the country,^[25] while the World Bank listed Kazakhstan as a corruption hotspot, on a par with Angola, Bolivia, Kenya, Libya and Pakistan.^[26] Kazakhstan scored 31 points out of 100 in Transparency International's 2018 edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating high levels of corruption.^[27]

Cyril Muller, the World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, visited Astana in January 2017. He praised the country's progress, made during the 25-year partnership with the World Bank. Muller also talked about Kazakhstan's improved positioning in the World Bank's Doing Business Report 2017, where Kazakhstan ranked 35th out of 190 countries worldwide.^[28] After 2000, the government conducted several public sector reforms and adopted the New Public Management (NPM) approach, which was aimed at reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of the public service delivery.^[29]

Kazakhstan secured the 3rd position in the Central and South Asia regional ranking of the 2018 Global Innovation Index (GII) released by World Intellectual Property Organization.^[30]

The main producer of cotton pulp in Kazakhstan is Khlopkoprom. Judging by a number of transactions, its products have been supplied to gunpowder manufacturers in the Russian Federation since 2022. Most of the factories that imported pulp from Kazakhstan for the manufacture of explosives are under US and Ukrainian sanctions. According to OCCRP, Vlast, and iStories, a significant increase in Kazakhstan's exports of cotton pulp and derivatives to the Russian Federation after February 24, 2022, was identified. Exported components are key in the manufacture of explosives and gunpowder. There are contracts for the supply of raw materials to the Kazan Gunpowder Plant from Kazakhstan until 2026, and to the Aleksinsky Chemical Plant (which also produces gunpowder) until 2024.^[31][32]