Kazakhstan's Financial Position: Current Overview and 2012 Archive

This material combines a brief overview of Kazakhstan's key financial indicators as of mid-2026 with the fully preserved National Bank statistics for the first quarter of 2012.

A note on dates: the figures in the main historical section relate to 2012 and do not describe the modern economy. For current decisions, use the latest data from the National Bank and the Bureau of National Statistics.

Key indicators as of mid-2026

Inflation

10.3% year on year

Figure for June 2026; monthly inflation was 0.8%.

Base rate

16.75%

National Bank decision of 24 July 2026, corridor of ±1 percentage point.

Inflation target

5%

The medium-term benchmark of the National Bank's monetary policy.

Annual inflation fell for the ninth month in a row: in June it was 10.3%, after 10.4% in May. Food inflation slowed to 10.4%, non-food inflation stayed at 11.7%, and services inflation was 9.0%. Despite the decline in the headline figure, price pressure remains noticeable.

On 24 July 2026, the National Bank lowered the base rate to 16.75% per annum. A high rate supports the savings appeal of the tenge and restrains inflation, but at the same time it affects the cost of lending to businesses and households.

What the indicators mean for the insurance market

  • Inflation raises the cost of repairs, medical services, building materials and spare parts, so sums insured need to be reviewed regularly.
  • High interest rates affect the investment portfolio returns of insurers and the cost of financing for clients.
  • The tenge exchange rate is especially important for cover relating to imported equipment, cars, cargo and treatment abroad.
  • Economic activity changes the demand for insurance of property, liability, cargo, employees and credit risks.
  • The balance of payments and commodity prices affect the country's external resilience and the income of export industries.

How to read a financial overview

Compare indicators from the same period and the same methodology. Annual inflation is not the same as price growth over a month, the base rate is not a retail lending rate, and a trade balance surplus does not automatically mean a current account surplus. For a sound conclusion, the structure, the trend and the source of the data matter.

Official sources

The National Bank of Kazakhstan publishes the base rate, the balance of payments, reserves and monetary statistics. The Bureau of National Statistics publishes inflation, GDP, and sectoral and socio-economic indicators.

Historical overview: Kazakhstan in the first quarter of 2012

The original analytical material is preserved below without abridgement. It is useful for comparing economic conditions in different periods, but all amounts, percentages, rates and expectations relate to 2012.

As a result, exports of goods in the first quarter of 2012, according to the National Bank's estimate, amounted to USD 22.0 billion, an increase of 31.7% compared with the first quarter of 2011. Imports of goods increased by 32.5%, exceeding USD 9.7 billion in total.
1. Inflation
According to official data of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics, inflation in April 2012 was 0.7% (in April 2011 – 0.5%). Food prices rose by 0.3% (by 1.0%), non-food goods prices by 0.5% (by 0.2%) and paid services prices by 1.2% (0.0%).
On the food market in the previous month, the largest price increases were for eggs – 2.0%, meat and meat products – 1.0%, including beef – 1.3%, pork – 1.0%, sugar – 0.9%, fish and seafood – 0.4%. Prices fell for cereals by 4.3%, fruit and vegetables by 1.1%, and oils and fats by 1.0%.
In the non-food group, prices for clothing and footwear rose by 0.2% and for medicines by 0.2%. The cost of petrol and diesel fuel rose by 3.7% and 3.5%, respectively.
In the group of paid services, charges for housing and utilities rose by 1.6%. Electricity tariffs rose by 6.5%, housing rent and cold water by 1.1% each, hot water and sewerage by 1.0%, piped gas by 0.8% and central heating by 0.5%. Also among paid services, prices for transport services rose by 1.7%, including air transport by 6.7% and rail transport by 6.2%, preschool and primary education services by 0.7%, and medical services by 0.9%.
In January–April 2012, inflation was 1.7% (in January–April 2011 – 4.2%). Since the beginning of 2012, food products have become more expensive by 2.0% (by 7.1%), non-food goods by 1.3% (by 1.2%), and paid services by 1.8% (by 3.7%).
In April 2012, year-on-year inflation was 4.8% (in December 2011 – 7.4%). Over the past 12 months, food products have become more expensive by 3.9% (by 9.1%), non-food goods by 5.4% (by 5.3%), and paid services by 5.3% (by 7.3%).
2. Balance of payments of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the first quarter of 2012 (preliminary results)
According to the preliminary estimate, the current account in the first quarter of 2012 showed a surplus of USD 3.8 billion, an increase of 65.4% compared with the first quarter of 2011.
The increase in the current account balance was, as before, driven by faster growth in the value of goods exports against the background of high world energy prices. On average, in the first quarter of 2012 the world price of Brent crude was USD 118.6 per barrel, which is 13.1% higher than its average level in the first quarter of 2011 (USD 104.9 per barrel). As a result, exports of goods in the first quarter of 2012, according to the National Bank's estimate, amounted to USD 22.0 billion, an increase of 31.7% compared with the first quarter of 2011.
Imports of goods increased by 32.5%, exceeding USD 9.7 billion in total. As a result, according to the preliminary estimate, the trade balance for the reporting period showed a positive balance of USD 12.3 billion (an increase of 31.1% compared with USD 9.4 billion in the first quarter of 2011), offsetting the net outflow of resources from international services and investment income transactions.
The services balance deficit in the first quarter of 2012 was USD 1.7 billion, an increase of 75.8% compared with the first quarter of 2011, which is due to the continued implementation of the second phase of pilot industrial development at the Kashagan field.
The investment income balance deficit, which by preliminary estimate came to USD 6.2 billion, is still driven by income payments to direct foreign investors in the amount of USD 5.8 billion (an increase of 5% compared with the first quarter of 2011). At the same time, interest payments to creditors not related by direct investment relationships fell by 1.5% in the first quarter of 2012.
According to the preliminary estimate, the negative balance of the capital and financial account (including errors and omissions) in the first quarter of 2012 was USD 2.1 billion.
In direct investment abroad, the net outflow of USD 0.4 billion was driven by Kazakhstani enterprises increasing the share capital of their foreign branches and subsidiaries. In the first quarter of 2012, the net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Kazakhstan was USD 4.6 billion, compared with USD 4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2011.
As a result, the positive balance on direct investment transactions in the first quarter of 2012 was USD 4.2 billion.
The net outflow on portfolio investment of USD 4.1 billion was driven by growth in the foreign assets of the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan by USD 4.8 billion.
A net outflow of USD 0.8 billion was recorded on banks' transactions. At the same time, the external assets of the banking sector grew by USD 0.5 billion, mainly due to an increase in funds in foreign accounts. The external liabilities of banks fell by USD 0.3 billion as a result of the repayment of debt securities obligations to non-residents.
3. International reserves and monetary aggregates
In April 2012, the National Bank's international reserves increased. The gross international reserves of the National Bank grew by 8.5% to USD 35.0 billion. The net international reserves of the National Bank increased by 8.6% to USD 34.5 billion. Purchases of currency on the domestic foreign exchange market, an increase in the balances on banks' foreign currency correspondent accounts at the National Bank, and receipts of currency into the Government's accounts at the National Bank were partially offset by operations to service the Government's external debt and to replenish the assets of the National Fund from the gold and foreign exchange reserve accounts. As a result, net foreign currency reserves (freely convertible currency) in April 2012 grew by 10.0%. Gold assets grew by 1.7% as a result of the operations carried out, with a slight fall in its price on world markets.
In April 2012, the country's international reserves as a whole, including the National Fund's foreign currency assets (preliminary data: USD 51.0 billion), increased by 6.8% to USD 86.0 billion.
In April 2012, the monetary base expanded by 6.3% to 3,490.2 billion tenge. The narrow monetary base, i.e. the monetary base excluding second-tier banks' term deposits at the National Bank, expanded by 8.3% to 3,170.7 billion tenge.
In March 2012, the money supply grew by 3.8% to 10,293.1 billion tenge (since the beginning of the year – growth of 5.6%). The volume of cash in circulation increased by 1.3% to 1,307.8 billion tenge (since the beginning of the year – a decrease of 4.2%), and deposits in the banking system grew by 4.2% to 8,985.3 billion tenge (since the beginning of the year – growth of 7.2%). The share of deposits in the structure of the money supply increased from 87.0% in February 2012 to 87.3% in March 2012. The main reason for the growth in the share of deposits was the faster growth rate of deposits compared with the growth rate of cash in circulation.
The money multiplier rose from 2.86 in February 2012 to 3.14 at the end of March 2012 owing to the growth in the money supply against the background of a contraction in the monetary base recorded in March 2012.
4. Foreign exchange market
In April 2012, the tenge exchange rate against the US dollar fluctuated in the range of 147.50–148.29 tenge per dollar. Over April 2012, the tenge weakened by 0.1%, and at the end of the month the exchange rate on the exchange was 147.894 tenge per dollar.
In April 2012, the volume of exchange transactions on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, including deals in additional trading sessions, grew by 13.0% compared with March 2012 to USD 4.7 billion. On the over-the-counter foreign exchange market, the volume of transactions grew by 93.2% to USD 2.9 billion.
Overall, the volume of transactions on the domestic foreign exchange market grew by 35.2% to USD 7.6 billion. In April 2012, the National Bank acted mainly as a net buyer of foreign currency on the domestic foreign exchange market.
5. Government securities market
In April 2012, 5 auctions were held for the placement of government securities of the Ministry of Finance. At them were placed 12-month MEKKAM (19.9 billion tenge), 2-year MEOKAM (10.1 billion tenge), 16- and 20-year MEUKAM (10 billion tenge and 15 billion tenge) and 13-year MEUZHKAM (20 billion tenge).
The effective yield on the securities placed was 1.93% on 12-month MEKKAM, 2.01% on 2-year MEOKAM, 5.00% and 5.50% on 16- and 20-year MEUKAM, respectively, and 0.01% above the inflation rate on 14-year MEUZHKAM.
The volume of Ministry of Finance securities in circulation at the end of April 2012 was 2,237.2 billion tenge, an increase of 1.3% compared with the previous month.
Short-term notes of the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The volume of National Bank note issuance in April 2012 fell by 43.1% compared with March 2012 to 102.2 billion tenge.
In this period, 2 auctions were held for the placement of 3-month notes (57.3 billion tenge, 18.7 billion tenge), 1 auction for 6-month notes (13.5 billion tenge) and 1 auction for 9-month notes (12.6 billion tenge).
The effective yield on the notes placed was 1.02% and 1.05% on 3-month notes, 1.53% on 6-month notes and 1.80% on 9-month notes.
The volume of notes in circulation at the end of April 2012 increased by 11.70% compared with March 2012 to 598.5 billion tenge.
6. Interbank money market
In March 2012, the total volume of interbank deposits placed fell by 20.4% compared with February 2012, amounting to the equivalent of 2,120.3 billion tenge.
The volume of interbank tenge deposits placed fell by 6.5% to 645.1 billion tenge (30.4% of the total volume of deposits placed). At the same time, the weighted average interest rate on interbank tenge deposits placed in March 2012 fell from 0.67% to 0.60%.
The volume of deposits attracted by the National Bank from banks in March 2012 fell by 14.3% compared with February to 572.4 billion tenge.
In March 2012, compared with February 2012, the volume of dollar deposits placed fell by 23.3% to USD 9.3 billion (64.8% of the total volume of deposits placed). The weighted average interest rate on dollar deposits placed in March 2012 rose from 0.12% to 0.14%.
The volume of euro deposits placed in March 2012 decreased by 46.2% to EUR 0.4 billion (3.7% of the total volume of deposits placed). The weighted average interest rate on euro deposits placed rose from 0.21% to 0.44%.
The volumes of placement in rouble deposits remain insignificant – 1.1% of the total volume of deposits placed.
The share of interbank deposits in foreign currency fell in March 2012 from 74.1% to 69.6% of the total volume of deposits placed. The share of deposits placed in non-resident banks in foreign currency fell from 73.81% to 69.6%.
7. Deposit market
The total volume of residents' deposits in deposit-taking organizations in March 2012 increased by 4.2% to 8,985.3 billion tenge (growth of 7.2% since the beginning of the year). Deposits of legal entities grew by 5.4% to 6,144.6 billion tenge, and deposits of individuals rose by 1.8% to 2,840.7 billion tenge.
In March 2012, the volume of foreign currency deposits rose by 3.7% to 3,024.6 billion tenge, and national currency deposits increased by 4.5% to 5,960.6 billion tenge. The share of tenge deposits in March 2012 remained practically unchanged at 66.3% (in February 2012 – 66.2%).
Household deposits in banks (including non-residents) rose in March 2012 by 1.8% to 2,870.5 billion tenge. In the structure of household deposits, tenge deposits increased by 2.9% to 1,673.9 billion tenge, and foreign currency deposits rose by 0.5% to 1,196.6 billion tenge. As a result, the share of tenge deposits rose to 58.3%, compared with 57.7% in February 2012.
In March 2012, the weighted average interest rate on tenge term deposits of non-bank legal entities was 2.4% (in February 2012 – 2.7%), and on deposits of individuals 8.0% (8.4%).
8. Credit market
The total volume of bank lending to the economy in March 2012 rose by 1.2% to 8,934.5 billion tenge (growth of 1.7% since the beginning of the year).
In March 2012, the volume of loans in national currency rose by 2.1% to 5,917.7 billion tenge, and in foreign currency fell by 0.5% to 3,016.8 billion tenge. The share of tenge loans in March 2012, compared with February 2012, rose from 65.7% to 66.2%.
Long-term lending in March 2012 rose by 0.7% to 7,156.3 billion tenge, and short-term lending increased by 2.9% to 1,778.2 billion tenge. As a result, the share of long-term loans in March 2012, compared with February 2012, fell from 80.4% to 80.1%.
Loans to legal entities in March 2012 increased by 1.2% to 6,556.1 billion tenge, and loans to individuals rose by 1.0% to 2,378.5 billion tenge. The share of loans to individuals in March 2012 remained practically unchanged at 26.6% (February 2012 – 26.7%).
Lending to small businesses fell in March 2012 by 3.1% to 1,323.5 billion tenge, which is 14.8% of the total volume of loans to the economy.
By sector, the largest amounts of bank loans to the economy go to such sectors as trade (share of the total – 32.4%), construction (16.0%), industry (12.8%) and agriculture (5.3%).
In March 2012, the weighted average interest rate on loans issued in national currency to non-bank legal entities was 11.3% (in February 2012 – 11.2%), and to individuals 20.5% (20.5%).
9. Results of the monitoring of real sector enterprises for the first quarter of 2012
In April 2012, another monitoring of enterprises was carried out in order to assess the situation in the real sector of the economy for the first quarter of 2012. The number of enterprises participating in the monitoring, representing the main sectors of the country's economy, increased from 2,397 to 2,422 compared with the survey for the fourth quarter of 2011, including medium-sized and large enterprises – from 1,461 to 1,469.
In the first quarter of 2012, the share of enterprises that experienced a negative impact on their business from changes in the tenge exchange rate against the US dollar and the euro fell markedly (to 11.5% and 8.4%, respectively), while against the Russian rouble it increased (to 11.6%). Most enterprises, however, did not experience an impact on their business from changes in the tenge exchange rate against these currencies (63.2%, 64.4% and 63.5%, respectively).
The share of enterprises that obtained a loan in the first quarter of 2012 increased slightly (from 19.7% in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 20.4%), while the number of enterprises with bank loan debt fell (from 40.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 38.4%). In the second quarter of 2012, 24.2% of enterprises intend to apply for loans (in the first quarter – 22.4%).
There was a certain decline in enterprises' investment activity, even though the average interest rates on loans in tenge and in foreign currency remained practically unchanged (12.7% and 10.7%, respectively). This is evidenced by the marked increase in the share of enterprises that did not finance investment (from 34.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 38.9%).
Demand for enterprises' finished products fell markedly in the real sector of the economy as a whole. A decline in demand was reported by 25.7% of respondents (in the fourth quarter of 2011 – 19.6%), while an increase was reported by only 19.8% of enterprises (in the fourth quarter of 2011 – 25.2%). An increase in demand was observed only in the "production and distribution of electricity, gas and water" sector. In the second quarter of 2012, a marked increase in demand is expected overall (27.8% of enterprises expect an increase, 8.8% a decline).
The growth rate of prices for enterprises' finished products increased slightly in the first quarter of 2012. An increase in the growth rate was noted in all sectors of the economy except "hotels and restaurants", where it fell. The largest increase in the rate occurred in the extractive industry. In the second quarter of 2012, the trend of rising price growth rates is expected to continue. The largest price growth is expected in the "production and distribution of electricity, gas and water" sector and in the extractive industry.
In the first quarter of 2012, the growth rate of prices for raw materials and supplies increased slightly. In the sample as a whole, the share of enterprises that noted a rise in prices for raw materials and supplies was 54%, and only 1.7% of enterprises noted a fall in prices. In the second quarter of 2012, price growth is expected to slow (46.2% and 1%, respectively).
Despite the increase in average return on sales (before tax) in the first quarter of 2012 (from 44.1% in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 45.9%), the financial position of the real sector as a whole deteriorated somewhat: the share of low-profit and loss-making enterprises rose to 26.2% (from 24.1% in the fourth quarter of 2011), and accordingly the share of medium- and high-profit enterprises fell to 73.8% (from 75.8% in the fourth quarter of 2011).

How to use historical data

Archive statistics help to analyse long-term changes: to compare the structure of inflation, the role of commodity exports, the dollarization of deposits, lending and enterprise sentiment. However, nominal amounts from different years cannot be compared without taking into account inflation, exchange rates and changes in methodology.

Conclusion

The financial position of the Republic of Kazakhstan should be assessed on the basis of a set of indicators. As of mid-2026, inflation is slowing but remains above target, and monetary conditions remain tight. For insurance, this means the need for up-to-date sums insured, a realistic assessment of the cost of a loss, and regular review of cover.

The 2026 data are given from official publications available on the date of the update. This material is not investment advice or a financial forecast.