Kazakhstan Economic Statistics

Silvia Andreoletti

Silvia is a Reporter at Trade Finance Global. She is also currently finishing her BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at New College, Oxford, with a focus on financial markets, game theory, and international relations.

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Importing from Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s main exports are oil, base and precious metals, chemicals, and wheat. More than half its exports go to Europe, with Italy and the UK as the top destinations; Russia, China and Turkey are also significant importers. Kazakhstan is the largest economy in Central Asia, its growth largely driven by oil and gas production and export; it has a growing working-age population due to a high birth rate and immigration from neighbouring Central Asian countries. Because of its oil and gas exports, Kazakhstan has a sizable trade surplus but is vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices, so the government has been trying to diversify exports through investment in the tourism and ICT industries and closer collaboration with China. 

Kazakhstan is a stable democratic country and one of the most important players in the Central Asian region, with close diplomatic and economic connections to the West as well as to Russia and China. Its strong economy, with one of the highest GDPs of former Soviet republics, is friendly to foreign investment and trade and attracts much attention from EU as well as Chinese investors. 

Kazakhstan’s wheat production has been damaged by widespread floods caused by climate change in spring 2024, which may reduce food production. The country is highly reliant on Russia for its oil exports, with almost 80% of its oil being transported to importers through Russian pipelines. Relations with Russia have been good so far, as Kazakhstan has been balancing support for Ukraine and the EU, the latter of which is a significant investor in the area, without alienating Russia. However, Russia has restricted Kazakh access to its export pipeline shortly after the start of the Ukrainian war, sparking uncertainty on the stability of Kazakhstan’s oil exports.

Importing from Kazakhstan: What is trade finance?

Kazakhstan is considered as the world’s 54th largest importer and imports in the country has been growing at an annualized rate of 5.9%. The major imports would include crude petroleum ($2.8 billion), cars (at around $ 2 billion), refined petroleum ($1.7 billion), large iron pipes ($1.6 billion) and packaged medicaments ($1.3 billion).

These imported items could trace their origins from Russia ($17 billion), China (around $9 billion), Germany ($3 billion), Ukraine ($2.1 billion) and the United States ($2 billion).

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