Kazakhstan's nine-month growth uneven as metallurgy lags construction and autos

September 28, 2026 at 03:35 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Kazakhstan's economy grew unevenly in the first nine months of 2026, with construction, auto manufacturing, trade and transport expanding while metallurgy contracted. Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin chaired a government headquarters meeting on September 28 to review preliminary results. The metallurgy sector's physical volume index remained at 97.5%, below the level of the same period last year.

Key Facts

Metallurgy's physical volume index remained at 97.5% for January–September 2026, below the same period last year.
Passenger car production rose 34.2% to 117,200 units in January–August 2026.
Construction work reached 6.1 trillion tenge in January–August 2026, up 15.6% year-on-year.
Trade turnover hit 51.5 trillion tenge in January–August 2026, with a physical volume index of 106%.
Housing commissioning totalled 11.3 million square metres in January–August 2026, up 3.6% year-on-year.

Sectoral Divergence

The main GDP drivers remain construction, manufacturing, transport and warehousing, trade, and agriculture. Within industry, metallurgy stands out as a weak link with a physical volume index of 97.5%. The Ministry of Industry and Construction and the Ministry of Trade and Integration are negotiating with potential suppliers in Kazakhstan and abroad to expand the raw material base. Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin instructed that this work continue after the September 28 headquarters meeting.

Manufacturing and Construction Growth

Passenger car output rose 34.2% to 117,200 units in January–August 2026, while truck and special vehicle production increased 18.5%. Railway platform production jumped 76.6% and passenger carriage output grew 40.9% over the same period. In chemicals, sulphuric acid production rose 4%, polypropylene 24.5%, and ammophos 10.3%. Construction work reached 6.1 trillion tenge in January–August 2026, or 115.6% of the same period in 2025, with growth recorded in 18 regions. Housing commissioning totalled 11.3 million square metres in January–August 2026, up 3.6% year-on-year, with a nine-month forecast of 12.8 million square metres.

Trade Turnover

Trade turnover reached 51.5 trillion tenge in January–August 2026, with a physical volume index of 106%. Wholesale trade accounted for 34.7 trillion tenge of the total. Growth was supported by sales of metallurgical products, grain, and fuel.