Russia outperforms the Netherlands as the largest investor in Kazakhstan

Last year, Russian investment in Kazakhstan reached a record high of $4 billion / Collage by Kursiv.media, photo editor: Dastan Shanay

According to the National Bank’s statistics, Russia has become the largest investor in Kazakhstan. In 2024, the gross inflow of direct investments from Russia reached $4 billion, a significant increase from over $3 billion in 2023.

The total amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Kazakhstan in 2024 stood at $17.1 billion, with Russia accounting for 23.6% of the total.

The National Bank has been tracking these statistics since 2005, and this figure is the highest recorded over the entire monitoring period. Before 2011, Russian investments in Kazakhstan remained below $1 billion. In 2014, this amount surpassed $1.5 billion for the first time but began declining thereafter.

In 2021, the inflow of Russian investments in Kazakhstan grew by 58.8%, from $1.19 billion to $1.9 billion. In 2022, this figure slipped to $1.5 billion and then rose sharply to $3 billion in 2023.

The Netherlands ranked second among foreign investors in Kazakhstan last year, with $3.8 billion — the lowest level since 2007. Usually, the Netherlands invests about $5 to $8 billion in Kazakhstan per year. Up until 2024, it was the leading country in terms of FDI in Kazakhstan’s economy.

South Korea, with $1.22 billion in FDI, was the third-largest investor ($1.17 billion in 2023). Before 2021, this country invested about $400 million in Kazakhstan per year. In 2021, that amount rose by 78% to $805 million and then by 84% to $1.4 billion in 2022.

Belgium has also been increasing its investments in Kazakhstan, reaching $1.2 billion in 2024 (compared to $1 billion in 2023). Belgium has been ramping up its investments since 2010. Starting in 2017, the inflow of investments from this country has exceeded $1 billion (excluding the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2019 and 2020). The record-high inflow of Belgian investments — $1.5 billion — was seen in 2022.

China, one of Kazakhstan’s key trading partners, ranked fifth, with $1.19 billion in investments in 2024 compared to $2 billion in 2023. The inflow of Chinese investments fluctuates significantly, rising in some years and declining in others. Overall, the current result is the lowest since 2018, excluding the pandemic year of 2020.

The gross inflow of foreign investment in Kazakhstan includes capital investments, reinvested revenue and an increase in liabilities.