On July 15, the Ministry of the National Economy of Kazakhstan announced the result of the country’s economic development for the first half of 2024. In the period January-June, the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 3.3%, compared to 3.2% in the same period last year. The production of goods rose by 3.6%, and the services sector grew by 3.3%.
Compared to last year, the economic growth rate slowed in H1 of 2024. This was caused by the economic impact of extreme flooding during the spring, which had a limiting effect on the development of most sectors. The floods resulted in reductions in trade, transport and logistics in ten regions. Oil production also decreased by 1.6%.
In the first half of this year, industrial production was one of the main engines of economic growth, the volume of which increased by 2.8%. There was steady growth in multiple sectors of industrial production. Mechanical engineering grew by 9.4%, metallurgy by 8.3%, the chemicals industry by 5.3%, pharmaceuticals by 14.8%, and the furniture industry by 28.3%. The volume of construction work also increased by 8.6%. In January-June, 4.6 million square meters of housing in new apartment complexes were commissioned, 5.9% more than in the same period last year.
Agricultural production increased 3.4% in January-June, and transportation and warehousing services grew 7.3%.
Investments in non-resource sectors of the economy were also on the rise. Fixed capital investment increased in the manufacturing industry (by 9.4%), information and communications (2.4-fold), scientific and technical activities (58%), transport (33.7%), education (24.1%), financial operations (22.1%), and real estate transactions (4.5%).
In June, annual inflation fell to 8.4% compared to 9.5% in January.
In the period January-May, Kazakhstan’s foreign trade turnover amounted to $55.3 billion. Exports grew by 1.8% to $32.5 billion, including exports of processed goods, which increased by 0.8% to $10.5 billion. Imports amounted to $22.9 billion, down 7.2%, meaning the positive trade balance was $9.6 billion, an increase of $2.3 billion or 32.4% year-on-year.
Since the beginning of the year, Kazakhstan’s international reserves have also increased by $5.4 billion and exceeded $101.3 billion as of July 1. This includes the assets of the National Fund, which increased by $1.4 billion to a total of $61.4 billion. The gold and foreign currency reserves of the National Bank also increased by $4 billion to $39.9 billion.
