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Republic of Kazakhstan and the IMF

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A quarterly magazine of the IMF

September 2006, Volume 43, Number 3

Country Focus

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's economy has performed strongly over the past half decade. A rapid expansion in hydrocarbons production, supported by a prudent macroeconomic policy framework, has led to major economic and social gains.

Real GDP growth has average about 10 percent a year since 2000, with especially rapid expansion in construction and services. As a result, per capita income has tripled, the unemployment rate has declined... ... and there has been a marked improvement in poverty indicators. Increasing oil production and the rise oin world oil prices have translated into higher export earnings. Rising oil revenues have led to widening fiscal surpluses and lower public debt, implying significant room to further expand spending to meet social and infrastructure needs. Inflation fell sharply in 1999-2001, but recent developments point to mounting risks in the banking sector and the need for a tighter monetary policy.

Sources: The National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
¹The Gini index is a measure of inequality, with 0 representing perfect equality and 100 representing complete inequality.