Nearly a Million Kazakhstanis Live in Poverty — Economist

Every twentieth Kazakhstani is living below the poverty line, and the number of low-income citizens continues to rise. According to economist Ruslan Sultanov, the country is seeing a persistent trend of poverty affecting nearly a million people, Orda.kz reports.

In his Telegram channel Tengenomika, Sultanov noted that as of the first quarter of 2025, 4.5% of the population had incomes below the subsistence minimum — a figure that has remained largely unchanged in recent years:

A year ago, 928 thousand people were below the poverty line, now 924 thousand. Four thousand people have dropped below the subsistence minimum. <...> The leaders in the share of the poor population are the Turkistan region (8.1%), Abay (7.3%) and Jetisu (6.9%). The lowest share of the poor is in the Qaraganda region (2.6%) and in Astana (2.1%).

He added that approximately 16,500 people — or 0.1% of the population — are living in extreme poverty, with incomes below the cost of the consumer basket.

Sultanov emphasized that poverty is more concentrated in rural areas. In cities, 3.4% of the population lives below the subsistence level, while in villages the figure is nearly double at 6.5%.

On average, the income of urban residents used for consumption is 30% higher than that of rural residents. This means that access to infrastructure, jobs and investments remains very uneven. But, on the other hand, the price level also has an effect, which is still higher in the city than in the village, which increases the cost of consumption for city residents. This is why it turns out that life is easier in industrialized, urbanized regions. 

In industrial regions such as Pavlodar and Qaraganda, average consumer spending is 2.6 times higher than the subsistence minimum — a rate even exceeding that of Astana and Almaty, where the figure is 2.4 times.

By contrast, in Turkistan and Mangystau, the average is just 1.5 times above the subsistence level, reflecting the income gap between rural residents and workers in the oil and gas sectors.

Sultanov also pointed to the link between high birth rates and household poverty:

Having many children is not always an advantage. Unfortunately, it is families of five or more people that make up 85% of the population below the subsistence level, and another 10% of families with incomes below the minimum limit consist of four people. This increases the risk of poverty in families with many children, especially in regions with low employment and access to social services. 

He concluded that systemic poverty in Kazakhstan cannot be solved by economic growth alone:

Further reduction of poverty cannot be achieved only by general economic growth or standard social payments. Targeted measures are needed: creation of non-resource jobs in rural areas, modernization of regional infrastructure, expansion of educational services. 

Original Author: Nikita Drobny