Economy of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the leading country in the world for uranium production volumes with 35% of global production, and it has the world's second biggest uranium reserves after Australia.

Oil and gas is the leading economic sector. Kazakhstan has the potential to be a world-class oil exporter in the medium term. The Karachaganak natural gas and gas condensate field is being developed by BG, Agip, ChevronTexaco, and Lukoil. The Agip-led Offshore Kazakhstan Consortium has discovered the potentially huge Kashagan oil field in the northern Caspian. Kazakhstan's economic future is linked to oil and gas development. GDP growth will depend on the price of oil, as well as the ability to develop new deposits.

Kazakhstan is a leading producer of many mineral commodities, including salt, uranium, ferrochrome, titanium sponge, cadmium, potash, magnesium, rhenium, copper, bauxite, gallium, and zinc. The country was the world's largest producer of uranium in 2018. In 2019, the country was the world's 10th largest producer of gold; 11th largest world producer of copper; 3rd largest worldwide producer of chromium; 9th largest world producer of bauxite; 9th largest world producer of zinc; 10th largest worldwide producer of antimony; 12th largest world producer of iron ore; 12th largest world producer of lead; 14th largest world producer of manganese; 17th largest world producer of phosphate; 6th largest world producer of bismuth, and the 7th largest world producer of sulfur.

In June 2014, the CKD (Complete Knock-Down) assembly of Toyota Fortuner was launched in Kostanay, Kazakhstan. The expected annual output is around 3,000 cars. Kazakhstan's car industry was developing rapidly in 2014, producing US$2 billion worth of products annually. In 2020, the Kazakh economy observed the biggest growth in its automotive industry, which saw a 53.6% growth, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. GE Transportation acquired a 50% stake in Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty in a joint venture with Kazakhstan's national railway company Temir Zholy.

On 22 December 2014, the World Bank approved an US$88 million loan to support Kazakhstan's efforts to facilitate commercially and socially viable innovation in technology. The Fostering Productive Innovation Project aims to improve the country in areas that are able to foster and support technological innovation.

According to A.T. Kearney's 2015 Global Retail Development Index, Kazakhstan ranked 13 out of 30. In the 2016 Index, Kazakhstan ranked as the 4th best developing country for retail investments, scoring 56.5 out of 100. Kazakhstan's market attracted large international retailers, such as French retail chains Carrefour and Leroy Merlin, as well as food giants McDonald's and KFC.

Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country by area and the largest landlocked country. According to the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, the travel and tourism industry GDP in Kazakhstan is $3.08 billion, or 1.6 percent of total GDP. The WEF ranks Kazakhstan 81st in its 2017 report, which is four positions higher compared to the previous period. Kazakhstan received 6.5 million tourists in 2016.

Gambling in Kazakhstan has roots going back to the days of Czarist Russia when lotteries were organized. In 2018, the income of gambling companies in Kazakhstan amounted to ₸19.5 billion, a 16.1% increase from ₸16.8 billion in 2017.