ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.5% in January-October 2026, up 0.3% from the first nine months of the year, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of National Statistics cited by the Ministry of National Economy.
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The non-oil sector remained the main contributor to economic growth, expanding by an estimated 5.6%. Industrial production increased by 3.5%, while manufacturing growth accelerated to 9.3% in the first 10 months, up from 8.6% in January-September.
Manufacturing drives non-oil growth
The strongest growth in manufacturing was recorded in pharmaceuticals, which expanded by 50.9%. Production of finished metal products increased by 30.4%, while machinery manufacturing grew by 22.2%. Other sectors also posted significant gains, including chemicals, up 21.9%; rubber and plastic products, up 18.1%; food production, up 13%; and construction materials, up 5.4%.
Growth was also recorded across other areas of the economy. Construction increased by 13.1%, transportation and warehousing by 7.5%, trade by 6.2%, agriculture by 5.2% and communications by 4.9%.
Economist Ruslan Sultanov said faster growth in the non-oil sector could create conditions for qualitative changes in Kazakhstan’s economy, but stressed that the trend’s sustainability would depend on improvements in productivity and production capacity.
“However, the quality of growth is determined by the depth of processing, labour productivity, technological sophistication of production and increased added value. These indicators will show whether the current acceleration is turning into sustainable structural development,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
