Urban population in Kazakhstan to grow to 70 percent by 2030

The number of cities in Kazakhstan increased from 19 to 82 from 1920 to 1983, which led to a sharp increase in the proportion of urban residents. However, an extremely low rate of urbanization has become characteristic of the country over the 25 years of Kazakhstan's independence; and the proportion of rural residents (43%) is still maintained at a high level. Moreover, the urban population reduced in the period from 1993 to 2013, and there has been even a reverse migration from cities to villages in some years.

According to Kulekeyev, this process has been associated with the open economic policy carried out in the country since the first days of independence, resulting in many manufacturing industries, located mainly in the southern regions of the country, unable to withstand the competition, being forced to either reduce or completely stop production. As a result, people who lost their jobs in the cities began to move en masse to the countryside, swelling the ranks of the self-employed.

The turning point was reached in 2013, and starting from that year a steady growth of the urban population in Kazakhstan has been observed. According to the expert, the implementation of the State program of industrial-innovative development has played a positive role, as the number of employed people in the industry over the years of the program implementation has increased by about 150 thousand people, and the number of those employed in agriculture decreased by 900 thousand.

The government is now planning to increase the share of urban population in Kazakhstan from today’s 53 percent up to 70 percent in 2030.

http://www.timesca.com/index.php/news/17768-urban-population-in-kazakhstan-to-grow-to-70-percent-by-2030