Kazakhstan’s First Kurultai Election Concludes With Preliminary Voter Turnout at 74.19%
ASTANA – Voting in Kazakhstan’s first elections to the Kurultai concluded at all polling stations across the country at 8 p.m. on Aug. 23, with 9,352,151 voters, or 74.19% of those registered, having received ballots, according to preliminary voter turnout data from the Central Election Commission (CEC). Polling stations have now closed nationwide, and precinct…
Tokayev Says Vice President Appointment Expected Within 10 Days
ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the new Vice President is expected to be appointed within the next week or 10 days, speaking to media representatives after casting his ballot in the country’s first elections to the Kurultai on Aug. 23. Responding to questions about the reforms and the changes expected after the Kurultai and…
Kazakhstan Opens More Than 10,000 Polling Stations for First Kurultai Election
ALMATY – Kazakhstan opened 10,363 polling stations across the country on Aug. 23 for Kazakhstan’s first elections to the Kurultai, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC). Polling stations began operating at 7 a.m. Astana time, while 107 of them opened earlier at 6 a.m. based on decisions by territorial election commissions. In total, 12,605,788…
What Kazakhstan’s Final Kurultai Debate Revealed About Party Competition
ALMATY – The final Aug. 19 televised debate before Kazakhstan’s Aug. 23 Kurultai elections showed that the country’s seven political parties are entering the vote with competing policy priorities. Still, voters largely share an understanding of the main concerns, shifting the campaign debate from identifying problems to competing over who offers the most convincing solutions.…
Kazakhstan’s Industrial Growth Reveals Diverging Paths for Manufacturing and Mining
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s economy continued to expand in the first seven months of 2026, with investment and manufacturing providing an important source of growth even as mining output declined and exports remained heavily dependent on raw materials. New data from the Bureau of National Statistics points to a mixed but potentially significant economic pattern. Industrial…
Kazakhstan’s Oil Sector Stumbles, but Export Revenues Tell Different Story
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s oil sector experienced a period of lower production in the first seven months of 2026, with production falling 8.9% to 53.2 million tons amid disruptions at the Tengiz field and the country’s main export route through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). Yet the decline in production has not translated into a comparable…
Kazakhstan’s Wildlife Recovery Expands From Protection to Reintroduction
ALMATY – Kazakhstan is reporting continued growth in several rare ungulate populations while expanding programs to return animals that disappeared from parts of the country to their natural habitats. From Przewalski’s horses and kulans to the recent release of a tiger into the wild, conservation policy is moving beyond protecting surviving wildlife toward rebuilding populations…
Air Astana Extends Dubai Flight Cancellations Through Sept. 30
ALMATY – Air Astana has extended the cancellation of flights to Dubai from Almaty and Astana through Sept. 30 due to the continuing unstable situation in the Persian Gulf region. The airline said its flight schedule for October has also been adjusted, with the frequency of flights on these routes reduced. Passengers affected by the…
Astana Finance Days 2026 to Bring Global Investors and Financial Leaders to Kazakhstan
ALMATY – More than 5,500 participants from over 80 countries are expected to gather in Kazakhstan’s capital on Sept. 9-10 for the ninth Astana Finance Days (AFD) 2026 forum, hosted by the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The forum will bring together investors, representatives of the financial and technology sectors, regulators, government and quasi-state institutions,…
How Kazakhstan’s First Released Tiger Adapts to Life in Wild
ALMATY – Umit, the female Amur tiger released into the wild in Kazakhstan’s Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve on July 31, is continuing to explore the region’s forests and habitats near water as specialists monitor her adaptation to life in the wild. According to the Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural…
Data Center Valley Is More Than AI: It’s Kazakhstan’s Economic Diversification Bet
ALMATY – Kazakhstan is advancing construction of the Data Center Valley in the Pavlodar Region, a large-scale computing infrastructure project intended to support artificial intelligence development, attract international technology companies and create a new export-oriented segment of the digital economy, as Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov reviewed progress on Aug. 13. The first facility, with a…
From Grain to Value Chains: Kazakhstan Seeks to Transform Its Agricultural Export Model
ALMATY – Kazakhstan has nearly doubled its agricultural exports over the past five years, reaching $7 billion in 2025 from $3.8 billion, according to an analysis published by the World Financial Review. The growth has strengthened Kazakhstan’s role as a food supplier to Central Asia and beyond. Still, it raises a broader question about the…
Experts: As Inflation Falls, Kazakhstan Faces New Monetary Policy Trade-Off
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s annual inflation slowed to 10.2% in July, extending its decline for a tenth consecutive month, while lending is increasingly shifting from consumer borrowing toward business financing, according to National Bank (NBK) Governor Timur Suleimenov’s report to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Aug. 13. The figures point to a changing balance in Kazakhstan’s economy.…
Kazakhstan Powers Central Asia’s Economy, But Can Its Weight Drive Regional Growth?
ALMATY – Central Asia’s combined economy has surpassed half a trillion US dollars, reaching an estimated $543 billion, with Kazakhstan accounting for more than half of the region’s gross domestic product, according to figures compiled by The Times of Central Asia. Kazakhstan’s economy is estimated at $306 billion, representing nearly 56% of the combined GDP…
One Sea, Five Countries, Two Futures: Caspian Sea’s Next Test
ALMATY – Caspian Sea Day is being marked on Aug. 12, the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the Tehran Convention, the main regional agreement on protecting the Caspian Sea’s marine environment, as environmental concerns over declining water levels and the future of the world’s largest enclosed body of water continue to grow.…
Can Science Replace Commodities? Kazakhstan Wants Universities to Drive Innovation
ALMATY – Kazakhstan has more than doubled its research and development spending since 2023, expanded international university partnerships and increased support for young scientists as it seeks to build an economy driven increasingly by knowledge and technology. Science and higher education have become strategic priorities under a broader modernization agenda. The government’s approach increasingly links…
Kazakhstan Household Deposits Near $54 Billion as Savings Rise 20.9%
ALMATY – Household deposits in Kazakhstan’s banks approached nearly 25 trillion tenge (US$53.5 billion) by the end of June 2026, increasing by 20.9% over the year, reported the Finprom financial and analytical agency. While the overall volume of savings continues to grow, deposits remain concentrated in several major cities and regions, revealing significant differences in…
Abai’s Legacy Endures as Nearly 19,000 Kazakh Citizens Carry His Name
ALMATY – Nearly 19,000 people in Kazakhstan bear the name Abai, according to the Bureau of National Statistics, as the country marks Abai Day on Aug. 10, commemorating the 181st anniversary of the birth of Abai Kunanbayev, who was born in 1845. The figures highlight how the name of the country’s renowned poet, philosopher and…
Kazakhstan Emerges as Firebird AI Market With Data Center Valley Project in Ekibastuz
ALMATY – Kazakhstan has emerged as the second market for US-based AI infrastructure company Firebird, which is developing a 125-megawatt computing facility in Ekibastuz as part of the country’s broader effort to build domestic artificial intelligence infrastructure and attract a larger share of the global AI economy. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence…
Kazakhstan Eyes Sustainable Aviation Fuel Industry With Alatau Pilot Project
ALMATY – Kazakhstan took a step toward entering the emerging market for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) after signing a memorandum with Hong Kong-based Full Vision Capital to explore building an integrated production ecosystem in Alatau, a project that could position the country within the global aviation industry’s decarbonization efforts. The memorandum, signed on Aug.4 following…
Dimash Qudaibergen Launches New World Tour
ALMATY – Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen has announced a new world tour titled DiMENSIONS, presenting the project as his most personal stage production to date and the latest step in an international career that has steadily expanded beyond music. According to the artist’s official website, the new program is designed not as a journey through…
Kazakhstan Completes Key Stage of Trans-Caspian Fiber Optic Cable Project
ALMATY – Kazakhstan has completed the most technically challenging stage of the Trans-Caspian Fiber Optic Cable project after an undersea cable reached the country’s Caspian coast on Aug. 5, marking a milestone in efforts to establish a new high-speed digital corridor linking Asia and Europe. The submarine cable, laid along the Caspian Sea floor between…
Kazakhstan Moves to Build Nationwide Flood and Drought Early Warning System
ALMATY – Kazakhstan signed an agreement on Aug. 4 to develop a nationwide flood and drought early warning system, signaling a broader shift from responding to water emergencies toward anticipating them. The project, developed jointly by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation’s Information and Analytical Center and Agip Karachaganak, will integrate data on the…
Kazakhstan Leads Central Asia in 2026 Legatum Prosperity Index
ALMATY – Kazakhstan ranked first among Central Asian countries in the 2026 Legatum Prosperity Index, placing 66th out of 161 economies worldwide, according to the latest report published by the Prosperity Institute. The annual index assesses countries across more than 130 indicators grouped into three broad pillars: prosperity, freedom and society. The 2026 edition introduced…
Will Kazakhstan Turn Migration Into Economic Advantage?
ALMATY – Kazakhstan is reshaping its migration policy around attracting the people its economy needs while strengthening digital oversight of migration flows. As the government advances its Migration Policy Concept through 2030 and proposes an electronic entry permit for foreign nationals that is expected to be implemented gradually between August and December 2026, officials say…
