According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the country’s external debt grew by 2.4% in the third quarter of 2024 ($3.9 billion) to $165.8 billion. The key creditors for Kazakhstan are the Netherlands, Russia and the U.K. It’s worth noting that Kazakhstan has managed to cut its debt to the first two countries. In Kazakhstan, debt owners are primarily companies from the mining sector.
Currently, the amount of debt to creditors from the Netherlands is $42.1 billion, which is a 0.5% decline compared to the second quarter of 2024 and 1.2% lower than in 2023.
The U.K. holds the second position in terms of Kazakhstan’s debt ($14.3 billion), marking an 8.7% increase in debt quarter-on-quarter and a 2.1% increase year-on-year (YoY).
Russia is ranked the third in terms of liabilities by Kazakhstani borrowers – $13.5 billion, a 5.14% decline compared to the second quarter of 2024. However, this rate has risen by 8% YoY.
Several organizations and some other countries also account for significant amounts of debt:
international entities ($13.2 billion, +1.5%), the U.S. ($11.6 billion, +2.5%), France ($11.05 billion, -1.9%) and Bermuda ($9.4 billion, +0.3%).
An analysis of the debt structure shows that over half of this debt is related to the mining industry and quarry development – $79.4 billion, despite a 3.1% decline YoY. The financial and insurance activity was the main factor in debt growth by 31.9% ($21.1 billion). In contrast, the processing industry has managed to cut its liabilities by 7.9% to $12.8 billion.
In September, the public debt of Kazakhstan surpassed $58 billion or 22% of the national GDP ($256.5 billion), with the government debt accounting for 99.4% of the public debt ($54.5 billion).
