ASTANA – Kazakhstan ranked 44th among 100 countries in the Opportunities category of the Best Countries 2026 ranking, placing it among the top 50 countries for conditions related to business, employment, education, social protection and access to financial resources.
Photo credit: Astana Hub
The country received an average score of 53.9 points in the category, with particularly high assessments for social protection, personal income taxation and educational attainment. Kazakhstan ranked 53rd overall with a score of 53.8 points.
The ranking was compiled by U.S. News & World Report in cooperation with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. This year’s edition assessed 100 countries across eight categories using 100 indicators.
Unlike previous editions, which relied on public perception surveys, the 2026 ranking is based on statistical data collected from international organizations and other sources.
Social protection and education among Kazakhstan’s strongest areas
The Opportunities category evaluates conditions for entrepreneurship, employment, education, social protection, taxation and access to financial resources.
Kazakhstan received 94.1 points out of 100 for social protection, 80.2 points for personal income taxation and 71.8 points for educational attainment. The country profile also lists an average of 12.5 years of schooling.
The scores reflect the ranking’s assessment methodology and should not be interpreted as direct measures of population coverage. For example, the 94.1-point score for social protection does not mean that 94.1% of the population is covered by government programs.
Kazakhstan ranks 50th in healthcare and 54th in infrastructure
Kazakhstan placed 50th in the healthcare category, with a score of 64.2 points. The assessment considered access to medical care, life expectancy, the availability of doctors, vaccination and healthcare infrastructure.
The country profile lists 3.8 doctors per 1,000 people and a life expectancy of 74.4 years.
In infrastructure, Kazakhstan ranked 54th with 64 points. The category covers access to electricity, transport networks, internet connectivity, water supply, sanitation and energy system resilience.
According to the ranking, 97.9% of the population has access to basic sanitation services. Average broadband internet speed was listed at 88.1 megabits per second.
Kazakhstan placed 53rd in the overall ranking, with 53.8 points. Uzbekistan ranked 76th with 46.8 points, placing 23 positions below Kazakhstan.
The overall assessment covers a broad range of factors, including economic development, healthcare, governance, infrastructure and societal well-being.
Best Countries 2026 introduces new methodology
Published annually since 2016, the Best Countries ranking underwent a significant methodological revision in 2026.
The new framework uses 100 indicators drawn from more than 30 organizations and data sources, including the World Bank, United Nations agencies and the International Labour Organization.
The indicators are grouped into eight categories designed to assess different aspects of national well-being. The importance assigned to each category was determined through a survey of 42 international experts from academia, think tanks and international organizations.
According to the methodology, the experts distributed 100 points across the eight categories based on their importance to a country’s prosperity, operational health and societal well-being.
The revised approach means that Kazakhstan’s 2026 results cannot be directly compared with its positions in previous editions, which were based on perceptions of countries rather than statistical indicators.
