Kazakhstan's GDP rises 4% in Jan-Sept - minister

ASTANA. Oct 15 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's GDP grew 4% in January-September 2024, National Economy Minister Nurlan Baibazarov said.

"Economic growth was 4% for January-September of this year. Growth was 5% in the real sector and 3.8% in the services sector," Baibazarov said at a government meeting on Tuesday.

Kazakhstan's economic growth in 2024 is primarily driven by the non-resource sector, with agriculture and construction showing the highest gains, Baibazarov said.

He said that "65% of GDP growth is attributed to trade, manufacturing, construction and agriculture."

Capital investments rose 0.6%, with growth highest in non-resource sectors, including 81.7% in communications, 79.3% in education, 31.1% in transport, 6.3% in manufacturing and 4.8% in healthcare.

On a regional scale, growth was highest in the Almaty, Pavlodar, Kyzylorda, Turkestan and Jetisu regions, while significant declines occurred in Atyrau, Akmola, Aktobe and Mangystau regions.

Manufacturing grew by 4.8%, driven by gains of 8.3% in metallurgy and 4.2% in machinery, though automobile production fell by 13.3%. Other sectors that saw notable increases were chemicals, up 9.5%, electrical equipment, up 11.3%, pharmaceuticals, up 15%, metal products, up 31.1% and furniture, up 17.9%.

Growth was seen in 14 regions, most of all the Kyzylorda, Mangistau, Turkestan and Aktobe regions, as well as the Ulytau region.

Extractive industry output increased 1.2%, "mainly due to higher production of metal ores, up 7.7%, and natural gas, up 3.4%, though oil and coal production declined slightly, by 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively," Baibazarov said.

"I would like to point out that economic growth excluding oil extraction is estimated at 4.5% compared to the same period last year," he said.

Agriculture also saw robust growth, with grain production up 11.4%, including a 17.8% increase in crop farming, led by the Akmola, Kostanay, Karaganda and North Kazakhstan regions.

Kazakhstan's GDP grew 5.1% in 2023.