Kazakhstan reports increase in trade with Europe

In 2024, Kazakhstan’s trade with the world grew by 1.3%, reaching $141.4 billion. The country traded more actively with Europe than with Asia, with a trade turnover of $51.6 billion and $45.9 billion, respectively. According to data from the Bureau of National Statistics, this situation has emerged for the first time since 2019.

Trade with Europe has grown by 17.1% year-on-year (YoY), while trade with Asia has declined by 12%. In 2024, Europe accounted for 36.5% of Kazakhstan’s total trade turnover, while the same figure for Asia stood at 32.4%. The share of exports to Europe grew by 7.5 percentage points (p.p.), while imports from the region increased by 0.8 p.p. At the same time, Kazakhstan’s exports to Asia dropped by 6.8 p.p.

Kazakhstan’s trade with the Americas grew by 1.1% to $5.7 billion, accounting for 4% of the country’s total trade turnover. Trade with Africa rose by 15% YoY to $783 million (0.6%), while trade with Pacific basin countries and Australia declined by 37.3% to $66.9 million.

The CIS countries accounted for $37.3 billion or a fourth of Kazakhstan’s trade turnover, reporting a 1.2% increase. The lion’s share of this trade — $30.4 billion — came from import-export transactions with Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member states, reflecting a 2.2% YoY increase. Kazakhstan’s imports from EEU countries rose by 7% to $19.5 billion, while exports slipped by 5.1% to $10.9 billion. Russia accounted for the largest chunk of this trade – 91.3%.

Exports

Exports grew by 3.1% to $81.6 billion YoY. Kazakhstan primarily exports crude oil and oil products, which account for 52.5% of total exports. Chemical radioactive elements account for 5.6% of exports, followed by copper and copper alloys (5.1%), copper ores (3.9%) and ferroalloys (3%).

Key export partners of Kazakhstan are Italy (22.9%), China (18.3%) and Russia (11.7%). The share of Italy grew by 3 p.p. YoY, while the share of China and Russia declined by 0.4 and 0.7 p.p., respectively.

Imports

In 2024, the country’s imports slipped by 1% to $59.8 billion. Among Kazakhstan’s key imported goods are passenger cars, aircraft, phones, pharmaceutical products and vehicle bodies. These goods account for the biggest share of imports. Last year, Russia was Kazakhstan’s largest import partner, although in 2023, the leader was China.

In 2024, Russia accounted for 30.5% of imports, reporting a 4-p.p. increase. China’s share in Kazakhstan’s imports stood at 25.3%, reflecting a 2.1-p.p. decline. Other major import partners include Germany, the U.S., South Korea and Turkey.