Over 3,000 ethnic Kazakhs who returned to their historical homeland have received the Kandas status since the beginning of 2023, according to the Kazakh Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population. More than half of them came from Uzbekistan, others moved from China, Russia, Turkmenistan, Mongolia and other countries. Immigrants mainly settled in the Almaty, Mangystau, Turkistan, and Zhambyl regions, as well as in Astana, Almaty and Shymkent cities. Just over 20 percent of them have university degrees, 41 percent have vocational and over 35 percent – secondary education degrees. Over 1.1 million ethnic Kazakhs have returned to their home country since 1991.
