Guidance

Overseas business risk: Kazakhstan

Updated 30 July 2026

1. Political, economic and trade overview

Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world located on the Eurasian Steppe bordering Russia, China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and bound to the Caspian Sea. It is a presidential republic and upper middle-income country with an economy 20% bigger than all of its Central Asian neighbours combined^{[footnote 1]}. The UK is among the largest foreign direct investors in Kazakhstan. In December 2021, Kazakhstan celebrated its 30 years of independence. Its population is 20.5 million, 29% of whom are under 15^{[footnote 2]}.

1.1 Political overview

Kazakhstan is a presidential republic.  The President makes executive orders, and the Prime Minister delivers them. The President is the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, and the Prime Minister is the head of government (Ministerial Cabinet). The current President is Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (re-elected in November 2022), who also serves as Chairman of the influential Security Council – a body which implements national security policy and defence capability. The president can only serve one 7-year single term and is elected through a nationwide election. 

The Prime Minister is nominated by the Majilis’ (lower chamber of Parliament) majority party and approved by the President. The President directly appoints the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Internal Affairs. The Prime Minister selects the other Cabinet Ministers in consultation with the Majilis, with final approval coming from the President. The current Prime Minister is Olzhas Bektenov (appointed in February 2024, formerly a Presidential advisor). The Prime Minister and Cabinet are political appointments and not members of the Majilis.  

Regarding seniority, after the President, the Senate Chairman, is first line in to take on the responsibilities of the President, should the President be impeached or discharged early. Second is the Majilis Chairman and third is the Prime Minister. In January 2026, President Tokayev announced plans for a new Constitution that will re-introduce a Vice President as the formal first in line of succession. The Constitution will also involve the closure of the Senate and a transition to a unicameral parliament with enhanced powers.  

Since 1999, the ruling party ‘Amanat’ (previously called ‘Nur Otan’) has held a strong majority in both the executive and legislative branches of power. In March 2023, Kazakhstan held Majilis elections using a new 69 nationwide party list and 29 single mandate territorial lists (98 seats in total). The results were: 

• Amanat Party - 62 seats (40 from the party list, 22 single mandate)
• Auyl Party - 8 seats (from party list)
• Respublica - 6 seats (from party list)
• Aq-Jol - 6 seats (from party list)
• People’s Party - 5 seats (from party list)
• Nationwide Social Democratic Party - 4 seats (from party list)
• independents - 7 seats (from single mandate territories). 

The OSCE/ODIHR’s preliminary report stated that the election administration handled preparations efficiently and voting was organised smoothly. However significant procedural irregularities were observed, and important safeguards were often disregarded during counting and tabulation – undermining transparency of the process.

Ongoing political reforms

Following unprecedented violence in the streets in January 2022, President Tokayev proposed building a ‘New Kazakhstan’ by limiting the powers of the Presidential office. In June 2022, a national referendum approved constitutional amendments, limiting the President to a single 7-year term, establishing a Constitutional Court for public appeal, introducing single member districts in Parliament and barring Presidential family members from high office.

In March 2026, an entirely new constitution was adopted by referendum. This maintains the commitment to the single 7-year term and reverses the single member districts amendment of 2022, returning to party lists.  

Despite these changes, international observers conclude that political power in Kazakhstan remains heavily centralised, with limited political plurality, a constrained freedom of assembly, and a highly controlled media environment. ODIHR/OSCE have found that all presidential and parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan have fallen short of OSCE standards, lacking genuine competition.

1.2 Economic and trade overview

Facts and figures^{[footnote 3]}

• GDP: US $ 305.9 billion (2025) 
• GDP per capita: US $14,909 (2025) 
• Population: 20.5 million (2025) 
• Annual GDP Growth: 6.5% (2025)  
• Annual Inflation rate: 12.3% (2025) 
• Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (2025) 
• National currency: Tenge (KZT)

Key exports^{[footnote 4]}

According to data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan, goods exports amounted to $79 billion, of which the main share of the goods exported by Kazakhstan in 2025 were the following:

Crude oil and oil products obtained from bituminous minerals	50.5%
Radioactive chemical elements and radioactive isotopes	5.3%
Refined copper and unprocessed copper alloys	5.2%
Copper ores and concentrates	3.6%
Ferroalloys	2.6%

The market shares of major trading partners are: 

• Italy: 19.8%
• China: 19.2%
• Russia: 10.3%
• Netherlands: 7.6%
• Turkey: 4.9%
• Uzbekistan: 4.5%

Key imports

According to data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan goods imports amounted to $64.8 billion and comprised the following goods:

Passenger cars	4.4%
Pharmaceutical	2.8%
Telephone sets	2.4%
Bodies for motor vehicles	2.3%
Parts and accessories of motor vehicles	2.2%

The shares of imports by major trading partners are:  

• Russia: 29.7%
• China: 29.2%
• Germany: 4.8%
• Republic of Korea: 3.5%
• USA: 3.3%
• France: 2.4%.

Recent economic trends

Kazakhstan is the most economically developed of the Central Asian states, following significant oil driven growth since the turn of the century. Natural resources still dominate the economy, and it retains exceptional mineral wealth. Despite attempts at diversification, hydrocarbon output comprised 16.3 percent of GDP^{[footnote 5]} in 2024 and over 50.5 percent of exports in 2025 (largely oil)^{[footnote 6]}.

Real GDP grew 6.5% in 2025. In 2023 President Tokayev set the goal of doubling real GDP to $450 billion by 2029. 

In 2025 inflation reached 12.3% and the rate of price increases became the second highest after the 2022 peak, when it exceeded 20%. 

Kazakhstan exports the majority of its oil through Russia with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) which transports around 80% of its oil. In 2025 the Office for Financial Sanctions introduced a General Licence for Russian Oil Exempt Projects, including the CPC.  

The economy remains dominated by state owned enterprises (SoEs). Kazakhstan’s 2024 liberalisation decree launched new reforms to reduce state participation in the economy. These reforms continued throughout 2025 and resulted in approval of a list of 473 SoEs to be privatised. 

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) was set up in 2018 to provide a one-stop shop for international investment entering the Kazakh market. The AIFC offers a beneficial tax regime for companies based there. AIFC jurisdiction is based on the principles of the English Common Law, with an arbitration centre and court. The Astana International Exchange is a part of the AIFC. 

Kazakhstan published its strategy for reaching carbon neutrality by 2060 in February 2023, with headline commitments only. Carbon neutrality is forecast to need $610 billion investment. Kazakhstan is also committed to 15% reduction greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 under the Paris Agreement.

Membership of international organisations

Kazakhstan is a member of a number of international organisations including:

• the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
• the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO)
• the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU)
• the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
• the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
• the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
• the Turkic Council
• the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
• the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the United Nations (UN). 

In January 2026, it became an early signatory of President Trump’s Board of Peace.

Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU)

In theory the EaEU is an ambitious project for economic integration with formal objectives for a market much like the European Union. The organisation came into effect in January 2015 and its current members are Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

World Trade Organisation

Kazakhstan joined the WTO in 2015.  It committed to harmonise its legislation with WTO Accession Protocol provisions.  Kazakhstan has made specific commitments in 10 services sectors, including 116 sub-sectors.  In December 2019 Kazakhstan started negotiating accession to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) in accordance with its WTO membership terms. From December 2020, foreign banks and insurance companies are permitted, subject to compliance with certain requirements, to set up branches in Kazakhstan.

OECD

Kazakhstan has been one of the most active OECD partners in the Eurasian region since 2008. The country participates in the work of many OECD committees and their subsidiary bodies as an associate member.

1.3 International relations

Kazakhstan maintains a ‘multi-vector’ foreign policy, as outlined in President Tokayev’s 2020 to 2030 foreign policy concept. Due to its history, culture, geography and ambitions, Kazakhstan considers itself a Eurasian state as much as a Central Asian one and portrays itself as a country that can reconcile differing groups and points of view.  

As a former Soviet state, and the last country to declare independence from the USSR, Kazakhstan maintains strong links with Russia, with which it shares the longest single continuous land border in the world. It shares much of its trade with Russia, and is home to a sizeable ethnic Russian minority, accounting for approximately 14.6% of the population. Kazakhstan officially maintains a neutral position on the war in Ukraine and has made public statements not recognising ‘quasi-state associations’ of Luhansk and Donetsk and that Kazakhstan “will not violate” sanctions. 

Kazakhstan also carefully balances its relations with its other neighbours, China and the Central Asian countries. This is for several reasons, including: Kazakhstan’s increasing focus on regional interconnectivity through Middle Corridor infrastructure projects,  the sizeable Kazakh minority living in Xinjiang, balancing Russia’s assertion in Central Asia, the liberalisation of Uzbekistan’s economy, and a growing view that deepening regional Central Asia trade is mutually beneficial and preferable to costly import substitution strategies from far away international markets – particularly because trade routes through Russia, Iran and Afghanistan come with many risks. 

In 2024, Astana (the capital of Kazakhstan) hosted a number of international and regional summits, including: the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Leaders’ Summit, the CSTO Leaders’ Summit and the Central Asian and the 6th Consultative Meeting of Central Asian Heads of State. 2025 saw the Congress of World Religions and the China-Central Asia Leaders’ Summit.  

On the wider international stage, Kazakhstan plays an ambitious role on security issues. It was the first Central Asian country to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in 2017-2018 and remains the only country in the region to deploy UN Peacekeepers. It currently contributes military personnel to the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and aspires to do more. Kazakhstan held Syrian Peace talks between 2017 and 2024 and hosted Armenia/Azerbaijan talks in 2024.

2. Human rights

As a participating member of the OSCE and signatory of the UN universal declaration of Human Rights, Kazakhstan has committed to upholding international human rights standards. However, in many areas Kazakhstan continues to perform below such standards.  

Reports by the UN universal periodic review, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and reputable international human rights organisations continue to highlight areas of concern on issues such as Freedom of Association and Assembly (incl. political pluralism), Freedom of Information (incl. Media Freedom), Freedom of Religion & Belief, Independence of the Judiciary, Rule of Law, and Labour rights.  

The UK, alongside the USA, Canada and EU member states engage regularly with the government of Kazakhstan and civil society on cases of most serious concern.

3. Bribery and corruption

Under UK Law bribery is illegal.  It is an offence for a British national or someone who is ordinarily resident in the UK, a body incorporated in the UK or a Scottish partnership, to bribe anywhere in the world. 

In addition, a commercial organisation operating in the UK can be liable for the conduct of employees or agents who are not UK nationals or residents, or for a body incorporated or formed in the UK.  In this case, it does not matter whether the acts or omissions which form part of an offence take place in the UK or elsewhere.  For more information go to our  bribery and corruption page. 

According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) , in 2025 Kazakhstan scored 38, out of a possible 100 (0 = most corrupt; 100 = least corrupt). This represents an deterioration  from 2024. Kazakhstan is now ranked the 96th out of 180 countries and territories.   

In 2025 the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan was reorganised by merging with the National Security Committee (NSC). A new agency was formed – the Anti-Corruption Service of the NSC.

4. Terrorism threat and protective security

For advice on terrorism on protective security go to our travel advice.

5. Intellectual property

Intellectual property (IP) rights are territorial; that is they only give protection in the countries where they are granted or registered.  If you are thinking about trading internationally, then you should consider registering your IP rights in your export markets.  

The National Institute of Intellectual Property (Qazpatent) is the body responsible for operating the patent, industrial design, trademark and copyright system in Kazakhstan. Foreign nationals may not apply independently for registration of intellectual property, but only through patent attorneys. 

On the Global Innovation Index, Kazakhstan was ranked 81st among 139 economies. Kazakhstan, which last year ranked 78th, now ranks fourth among the ten economies in Central and Southern Asia 

For further information go to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) website and our Intellectual Property page.

6. Serious and organised crime

The United Kingdom/City of London remains a location of interest for the laundering of illicit funds generated by corruption, including high profile ‘PEP’ cases and organised crime. The UK has strengthened its laws to tackle illicit finance in recent years and is actively supporting work globally to support other countries in doing so, including Kazakhstan. The UK/Kazakhstan Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters as well the Memorandum of Understanding between UK NCA and the Prosecutor General’s Office provide legal ground for Kazakh law enforcement and judicial authorities to work closely with UK agencies to prosecute cases and recover assets.   

Kazakhstan is a transit route for Afghan grown and produced opium and heroin. There is increasing evidence of increasing domestic production of new psychotropic substances (NPS) and other synthetic drugs. Whilst accurate data on serious and organised crime in the country is challenging to secure, open-source research in 2025, mainly from traditional media outlets, tended to paint a picture of increased seizures of significant quantities of illegal substances. Invariably, behind such seizures are organised criminal gangs. Cybercrime and cyber, as in other states, enabled crime continues to rise in scale and complexity. Cyber criminals are increasingly stealing identity data online, e.g. through ‘phishing’ emails, and then selling personal data. Online sharing of images of child abuse and exploitation is an increasing concern. In response to the growing cyber threat, the Government of Kazakhstan has developed a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework, and created dedicated cyber programmes at law enforcement training institutions. 

It has received a tier 2 ranking related to human trafficking from the US State Department. This means that Kazakhstan’s government does not fully meet the UN TIP Protocol and the United States’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.

7. Contacts

Enquiries relating to UK exports and advice on doing business in Kazakhstan should be directed to ExportSupport.EECAN@fcdo.gov.uk. For general enquiries please contact ukinkz@fcdo.gov.uk.

1. www.imf.org ↩

2. www.unfpa.org ↩

3. https://stat.gov.kz/en/ ↩

4. https://stat.gov.kz/en ↩

5. https://stat.gov.kz/en/ ↩

6. https://stat.gov.kz/en/ ↩