By the end of 2025, Kazakhstan’s economy is demonstrating steady growth: GDP grew by 6.4% over the first 11 months of the year. The main drivers were the transport sector, construction, and the mining industry. Economic growth was also supported by investment. Kazakhstan became the leader in North and Central Asia in attracting investment, accounting for around 89% of all regional investment in new projects. These figures were provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). According to ESCAP analysts, Kazakhstan ranked first in the region after attracting about $19 billion. Data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan also show positive dynamics, with the country attracting more than $20 billion in foreign direct investment annually.
«The total volume of fixed-asset investment from January to November 2025 amounted to 18.5 trillion tenge, which is 13.3% higher than in the same period of 2024. The largest shares of total investment were observed in real estate operations, accounting for nearly 19%, followed by transport and warehousing at 17%, and the mining industry at 14%,» said Askar Khamzin, Deputy Director of the Department, Kazakh Ministry of National Economy.
Foreign investment is growing not only in the raw materials sector, but also in transport, logistics, industry, and the service sector. A vivid example of this is the work of the Kazakh Invest national company. With its support, 45 major investment projects with foreign participation, worth more than $2 billion, have been launched. The largest number of proposals were in the manufacturing sector, particularly mechanical engineering and metalworking, as well as in the agro-industrial sector and agricultural processing, that is, in the production of high value-added goods.
«In the first half of the year, the main investor countries were the U.S., the Netherlands, China, Russia, South Korea, France, and countries of the Middle East. The upward trend in the share of projects and investments in the manufacturing sectors of the economy continues. The share of the mining and metallurgical complex, particularly the oil and gas industries, is declining. This indicates that investors have continued to invest in the manufacturing sectors of the economy over the past several years,» noted Madiyar Sultanbek, Deputy Chairman, Kazakh Invest National Company.
Special economic and industrial zones, as well as the
Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), attract investment to the
country. Thanks to the AIFC, businesses attracted $6 billion in investment, twice
the amount of last year. Experts note that despite the weakening of global
commodity markets and rising geopolitical tensions, Kazakhstan’s economy
continued to grow in 2025, thereby maintaining its investment attractiveness.
Analysts attribute the steady
inflow of capital to the effective reforms initiated by President Kassym-Jomart
Tokayev. This course has been described as ‘President Tokayev’s investment
cycle,’ which involves active government participation, faster decision-making,
and the reorientation of foreign capital toward non-resource sectors of the
economy.
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