ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s accelerating urbanization is concentrating population growth in its largest cities, while smaller urban centers struggle to retain residents and attract investment. Experts say the challenge is to ensure that expanding cities create productive jobs and accessible public services rather than simply accommodate more people.
Participants discuss Kazakhstan’s urban development challenges at the SARAP expert club meeting in Astana on Nov. 6. Photo credit: Zhenisuly Zhandos / KIPD Zhuldyzai Iskakova, chairperson of the Kazakhstan Institute of Public Development (KIPD). Photo credit: Nagima Abuova / The Astana Times “Urbanization is taking place in every country, but in Kazakhstan it is happening at an accelerated pace.
Astana and Almaty remain the main centers of attraction, as our experts have noted. (…) But urbanization is inevitable, and we must prepare for it,” said Zhuldyzai Iskakova, chairperson of the Kazakhstan Institute of Public Development (KIPD). Iskakova spoke at a Nov.
6 meeting of the SARAP expert club, organized by KIPD, which brought together lawmakers, economists and urban planning specialists to examine urban growth following President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s State of the Nation Address and plans for nationwide infrastructure development.
Population growth and the economic divide The growing concentration of Kazakhstan’s population in its largest cities is reflected in figures presented by Nurbolat Kurmetuly, director of the Center for Regional Studies and Quality of Life at the Economic Research Institute.
According to his findings, the combined population of Astana, Almaty and Shymkent increased by 721,800 between 2021 and 2025, including a positive net internal migration balance of 417,800 people. Astana alone recorded a positive net interregional migration balance of 87,500 in 2025, compared with a negative balance of 2,500 in 2015.
Shynar Tuleshova, head of the Demographic Research Department at the Center for Analysis and Forecasting of Demographic Processes under Kazakhstan’s Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms, noted that migration to Astana currently exceeds that to Almaty, with approximately 100,000 newcomers registering in the capital annually.
Shynar Tuleshova, head of the Demographic Research Department at the Center for Demographic Analysis and Forecasting under ASPR. Photo credit: Nagima Abuova / The Astana Times. “However, when we talk about migration, a person does not necessarily register as a city resident immediately after moving.
Some register five or even 10 years later, while others continue living without registration. We can only see registered residents in official statistics, not those who remain unregistered,” she said. Tuleshova added that migration to the Almaty Region has increased over the past two years, reflecting the metropolitan area’s expansion into surrounding settlements.