Kazakhstan's Urban Population Continues to Grow

The National Statistics Bureau of Kazakhstan estimates that in 2024, the migration balance of the rural population (the number of arrivals minus departures) reached 111,400 people for the first time since 2000, marking a new milestone in the country’s record-keeping.

To note, the rural population’s migration balance fell below zero in all regions but for Almaty and Atyrau regions with 7,600 and 275 correspondingly. Thereat, the most densely populated region of Kazakhstan, Turkistan, plays a crucial role in forming the broad indicator. Its share stands at 26% (- 29,200 people), The Caspian Post reports citing Kazinform.

The natural increase failed to compensate for the negative migration balance: the balance between death rates and birth rates reached 96,800 people. Thus, migration and natural population changes led to the country’s rural population decline by 14,600 compared to the previous year and an increase in urban population by 266,800. Finally, the share of the urban population rose by 0.8 percentage points of the total population up to a record high urbanization rate of 63% since 2000.

It is worth reminding Kazakhstan’s population stood at 20,286,084 as of January 1, 2025, according to figures released by the National Statistics Bureau on Monday.