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Joint situational analysis
Kazakhstan is the largest country in the Central Asian region, and the ninth largest in the world, with an area of 2.7 million square kilometres. Kazakhstan is divided into 17 regions, which are subdivided into 177 districts.
Kazakhstan has the world’s 11th largest proven reserves of both petroleum and natural gas. The country has a GDP of USD 179,332 billion and an annual growth rate of 4.5%. Per capita, Kazakhstan’s GDP stands at USD 9,686. Although it is an upper-middle income country, wealth is mainly owned by a small percentage of the population. Kazakhstan is also a major energy exporter.
Agriculture accounts for approximately 5% of Kazakhstan’s GDP. Over 80% of the country’s total area is classified as agricultural land, including almost 70% occupied by pasture. The country’s major crops include wheat, barley, cotton and rice. As a direct result of COVID-19 and the Ukrainian crisis, the cost of food in Kazakhstan increased in June 2022 over 20% more than for the same month in the previous year.
According to the Constitution adopted in 1995 and the amendments introduced through the referendum on 5 June 2022, Kazakhstan is a democratic, secular, unitary and constitutional republic. On 2 January 2022, a peaceful demonstration in Western Kazakhstan against a sharp price rise in liquified gas for vehicles, rapidly spread to other regions and cities and became violent. Despite initial concessions by authorities, the situation further deteriorated as from 4 January, especially in Almaty and several regional capitals. In many locations, protests became violent, public institutions, ambulances, fire-fighting vehicles and their staff were attacked, state buildings and other strategic targets were seized, and public and private property looted.
The population of Kazakhstan is about 19 million people, of which 44% is rural and 56% urban. In a report released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in September 2021, the level of urbanization in Kazakhstan is estimated to reach 69.1% of the population by 2050, or 7 out of 10 people in Kazakhstan are expected to live in cities. The country has one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per sq km. As of 2022, ethnic Kazakhs are 69.6% of the population and ethnic Russians are 17.9%. The migration balance in Kazakhstan is ten times less than the natural growth of the population and there is a tendency for an outflow of highly qualified specialists from the country. Kazakhstan is losing the fight for highly skilled labour resources, but remains attractive to lower-skilled working migrants