Kazakh services sector keeps booming amid the country’s growing importance as a transit hub

KAZAKHSTAN - In Brief 13 Jun 2025 by Evgeny Gavrilenkov

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The Bureau of National Statistics reported that in 5M25, freight transportation output grew by 11.9% y-o-y. The passenger transportation segment grew by 10.5% y-o-y. Transportation combined with warehousing (an SNA category) was up by 23.1% y-o-y. The difference in growth rates of transportation alone and the combined with warehousing segment hints that Kazakhstan’s role as a regional transit hub rises. Railway transportation output rose by 14.1%, pipeline transportation increased by 18.2%, and passenger transportation grew by 5.1%. The communications segment grew by a mere 2.8% amid much faster growth in the internet sub-segment (13.8%). All numbers are 5M25 y-o-y. Meanwhile, the trade segment also delivered strong y-o-y growth in 5M25. Retail sales grew by 8.1% in May alone and 6.5% in 5M25. The same figures for the wholesale segment look much stronger (11.7% and 8.3%), which coincides with the aforementioned very strong growth in transportation and warehousing. Next week, the Bureau will publish more 5M25 statistics, such as on the short-term indicator, industrial output. However, the already published data on trade and transportation suggest that economic growth remained strong in May. As inflation in Kazakhstan remains high (albeit posting some moderation in m-o-m terms) it looks as though revenues of the regional budgets were strong in May, as they don’t depend on the oil price and the exchange rate. The situation may differ in the case of the republican budget, as oil-related taxes represent an important chunk of its total revenues. The USD/KZT and the oil price kept the tenge equivalent of the oil price at moderate level. However, some taxes are paid quarterly ...