Russia becomes less appealing for Kazakhstanis

Kazakhstani citizens are showing reduced interest in moving to Russia. In 2023, only 11,700 Kazakhstanis opted to relocate to Russia for residence, as reported by the First Credit Bureau (FCB), citing the Bureau of National Statistics.

The FCB noted that this marks the lowest migration level in the past 24 years. This decline happened across all 20 regions of the country.

From January to December 2023, 11,700 Kazakhstanis moved to Russia from Kazakhstan, compared to 19,400 in 2022.

Additionally, the Bureau of National Statistics reported a net migration of 9,344 individuals, with 25,399 people arriving in Kazakhstan and 16,055 departing the country last year.

As Consul General of the Russian Federation in Almaty, Dmitry Turaev told the TASS news agency, as of late December 2023 approximately 80,000 Russians were still residing in Kazakhstan out of the 400,000 individuals who entered the country in 2022.

Simultaneously, internal migration within Kazakhstan saw a 27.5% increase, with the highest net migration rate observed in the capital city of Astana (50,078), Almaty (38,113), and Shymkent (3,416).

In August 2023, Kazakhstan reported a migration gain for the first time in ten years, thanks to migrants from CIS member states.

As of December 1, 2023, Kazakhstan’s population increased by 247,768 individuals, reaching a total of 20,014,575. Astana, Almaty, and the Mangystau region reported the highest population increases of 5.11%, 2.82%, and 2.40%, respectively.