The birth rate in Kazakhstan continues to decline. In 2025, approximately 335,000 children were born in the country, which is 8% to 10% fewer than the previous year. This is the lowest figure in the past 11 years.
According to Nurzhamal Iminova, an expert at the Qazaq Expert Club, the average age at childbearing has risen to 29.9 years, while women have their first child at an average age of 25.3 years.
«This is a global trend: women are increasingly choosing education, careers and financial security, postponing childbearing,» Iminova explained.
However, career considerations are not the only factor. Anxiety about the future, fear of job loss and the difficulties of combining motherhood with professional life also influence women’s decisions.
Urbanization also plays a significant role. In recent years, the proportion of the urban population has grown significantly, and with it, family patterns have changed. In cities, people are more likely to delay having children and to have fewer of them.
Another factor is demographic structure itself, as the generation born in the 1990s — a period when the birth rate was already low — is now entering reproductive age.
Moreover, as Iminova noted, Kazakhstan still lacks the conditions to help people balance work and family life. Flexible schedules, remote work, and return-to-work programs after maternity leave remain rare. While self-employment offers more flexibility, unstable income discourages the decision to have children.
The distribution of roles within the family also plays a role. Childcare still falls primarily on women, increasing their burden and influencing decisions about having children.
An additional factor is the rising divorce rate: while previously there was one divorce for every three marriages, now there is approximately one for every two.
At the same time, despite a well-developed system of state support, financial measures alone are not enough. According to the expert, a comprehensive approach is needed — from accessible kindergartens and healthcare to changes in social attitudes.
«Kazakhstan’s system of support for families with children is considered one of the most developed in Central Asia. However, the approach to increasing the birth rate must be comprehensive. This involves not only financial measures, as in South Korea, where the state pays families up to $40,000 and employers an additional $7,000 to $70,000 upon the birth of a child, but also the creation of supportive infrastructure and a restructuring of roles within the family,» the expert noted.
