Economist Calculates How Much Income Kazakhstanis Actually Keep

More than 80% of income is absorbed by mandatory payments and basic needs, economist Ruslan Sultanov has calculated, Orda.kz reports.

Despite rising wages, Kazakhstanis are left with only about a fifth of their income for personal use. Sultanov broke down a monthly salary of one million tenge and showed where the money goes.

Next come housing and utilities. With modest rent or mortgage payments of 150,000 tenge a month and utility bills of about 40,000 tenge, another 2.28 million tenge goes out over the year. After that, 7.38 million tenge remains, and the share of mandatory expenses rises to 38.5%. That amounts to about four and a half months of work.

But the biggest expense is food. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, up to 52.4% of household income goes on food. Using that share, Sultanov estimated annual food spending at about 5.06 million tenge.

As a result, 2.32 million tenge remains, or just 19.3% of the original income. In other words, a Kazakhstani works for personal purposes for only about two months and seven days a year. The remaining 10 months go to the state, housing and food.

The vast majority of economic activity is spent not on improving quality of life, but on maintaining a basic level of consumption.Sultanov said.

In his view, wellbeing is determined not by the size of a salary, but by how much remains after mandatory expenses. It is that amount, he argues, that shows the real capacity for savings and investment.

According to the latest data, the average salary in Kazakhstan in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 473,158 tenge. In nominal terms, it grew by 8.8%, but in real terms it fell by 3.2% as inflation wiped out the increase.

Original author: Ruslan Loginov

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