Russia's share of Kazakhstan's remittances rises to 41%
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Kazakhstan's outward remittances via money transfer systems fell 7.2% year-on-year to 238 billion tenge in January-May 2026, according to the National Bank. Transfers to Russia rose 15.8% to 97.8 billion tenge, increasing Russia's share from 32.9% to 41.1%.
Remittance Flows by Country
Uzbekistan remained the second-largest destination with 50.2 billion tenge, down 26.7% year-on-year. Transfers to Turkey fell 22.7% to 38.7 billion tenge. The combined decline in transfers to Uzbekistan and Turkey totaled 29.7 billion tenge, while flows to Russia increased by 13.4 billion tenge. Uzbekistan's share dropped to 21.1%, Turkey's to 16.3%, with the top three destinations accounting for 78.5% of all outward transfers.
Inward vs. Outward Flows
Inward remittances to Kazakhstan totaled 78.1 billion tenge in January-May 2026, down 9.9% year-on-year. The ratio of outward to inward transfers has widened to 3:1, up from 2.2:1 in 2022 and 2.5:1 in 2023. The gap reflects a sustained net outflow of funds through money transfer systems.
Comparison with 2022 Peak
Outward transfers in January-May 2022 reached 391.4 billion tenge, 39.2% higher than the current period. Inward flows have fallen 2.3-fold from 178.8 billion tenge in 2022. Compared to January-May 2016, outward transfers grew 88.9%, while inward flows were 8.8% lower.
What's Next
The National Bank is expected to release June data in the coming weeks. It remains unclear whether the trend of rising Russian share will continue amid shifting migration patterns and economic conditions.
1 source
Russia's share of Kazakhstan's remittances rises to 41%
