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Country Snapshot - Kazakhstan  

HighlightsRankingsQuantitative DataLegislationAnalytical WorkProject Portfolio
  • Eastern Europe & Central Asia
  • Upper middle income
  • 16,316,050 (2011)
  • 7,440
Kazakhstan Flag
Below are select highlights for the data included in the profile.

  1. Among the world's economies, Kazakhstan improved business regulation the most in the past year, according to Doing Business 2011. The country improved conditions for starting a business, obtaining construction permits, protecting investors, and trading across borders. As a result, it moved up 15 places in the rankings on the ease of doing business. In Starting a Business, the country reduced the minimum capital requirement to 100 tenge ($0.70) and eliminated the need to have the memorandum of association and company charter notarized. In Dealing with Construction Permits, Kazakhstan made it easier by implementing a one-stop shop related to technical conditions for utilities. In Protecting Investors, it strengthened investor protections by requiring greater corporate disclosure in company annual reports. In Trading Across Borders, it speeded up trade through efforts to modernize customs, including implementation of a risk management system and improvements in customs automation.
  2. According to the latest Enterprise Surveys (2009), the top three constraints to investment in Kazakhstan are Tax Rates, Corruption, and Access to Finance. Among the firms surveyed, 33% of them reported having a line of credit or loan from a financial institution.
  3. Kazakhstan’s limits on foreign equity ownership are higher than in most other countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia region covered by the Investing Across Sectors indicators.
  4. Kazakhstan’s economic freedom score is 62.1, making its economy the 78th freest out of 183 countries in the 2011 Index. Its score is 1.1 points higher than last year, primarily reflecting improvements in property rights, freedom from corruption, and labor freedom. Kazakhstan ranks 11th out of 41 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score are above the world and regional averages. After nearly a decade of rapid expansion, economic growth plummeted in 2008 under the weight of the global financial crisis and economic slowdown. Kazakhstan became one of the first countries to return to the path of steady economic expansion, partly because of previous policy choices that enhanced competitiveness. The weak rule of law allows for pervasive corruption and insecure property rights.