Kazakhstan reports that its GDP grew to 5% in the first six months of the current year

According to Minister of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov, over the period from January to June 2023, the growth rate of Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 5%.

«According to the results of the first six months of the year, the growth rate of Kazakhstan’s economy was 5%, including a 4.8% growth of the real sector and a 4.9% increase in the service sector,» the minister said at a cabinet meeting.

Given that from January to May the country’s economic growth rate was at 4.5%, the GDP growth acceleration rate later was 0.5 percentage points.

As Kuantyrov noted, all other sectors, including construction, trade, information and communication, have also reported significant growth. The amount of investments in fixed assets increased in the first half of the year by 13%, although in the transport and warehousing industries, this rate rose by 57%, in trade by 32.2%, in agriculture by 22%, education by 21.5% and in the manufacturing industry by 10.9%.

According to preliminary results, over the period from January to May, Kazakhstan’s foreign trade turnover increased by 8% and reached $55.8 billion. The country’s exports amounted to $31.6 billion, including a 3.8% increase in exports of processed goods ($10.2 billion), while imports amounted to $24.2 billion. As a result, the country has a positive trade balance of $7.4 billion.

The country produced 3.5% more processed goods in the covered period. The West Kazakhstan, Kostanay and Abay regions and the city of Almaty have done exceptionally well in this regard. Within the processing industry, the machine building, automotive and electrical equipment production sectors reported the highest growth rates (28.8%, 40.1% and 34.9%, respectively).

In addition, the ministry reported growth in the food sector (by 5.3%), oil refinery (1.9%), construction materials (4.4%), beverages (6.6%), plastic products (7.8%) and garment industry (24%).

The mining industry reported a 3.7% increase in its output. The oil output grew by 5.6%, natural gas output increased by 2.5%, minerals by 17.4% and the mining industry services by 3.2%. On the other hand, metal ore and coal production dropped by 0.2% and 8.1%, respectively.

The minister underlined that authorities at all levels should focus on the upcoming crop harvesting season, actively attracting investments and improving the economic efficiency of investment projects to facilitate further growth of the national economy. In addition, the minister has recommended local administrations to ensure a stable flow of goods for export abroad and keep an eye on staple prices.

In May, the National Bank of Kazakhstan improved its forecast for the national GDP growth. The regulator is expecting that it will be at 4.2% to 5.2% by the end of the year. In February, the bank said that Kazakhstan’s economy would increase by 3.5% to 4.5% within the next three years.

In June, the Eurasian Development Bank improved its outlook for Kazakhstan’s GDP growth from 4.2% to 4.3%.