Kazakh population hits 20 mln

ASTANA. Nov 16 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's population has reached 20 million, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

"The population of Kazakhstan has reached 20 million," Tokayev said on a social network on Thursday.

He described a happy family as "the foundation of wellbeing of a nation and sustainable progress of a country" and pledged the government's further efforts to promote family values and protect mothers and children.

The Bureau of National Statistics said on Thursday that the Kazak population had grown 22.3% over the years of independence. Kazakhstan had a population of 16.4 million in 1991, it said.

Three boys and two girls born in the Ulytau and Zhetysu districts and the Atyrau, Akmola and Turkestan regions on November 14, 2023, became the 20 millionth inhabitants of the country, the bureau said.

According to statisticians, the number of births increased from 353,200 to 403,900, or by 14.7%, in 2022, compared to 1991. The highest peak in the birth rate was recorded in 2021 when 446,000 children were born.

The bureau said, at the same time, "the higher natural growth resulted, among other things, from decreasing infant and other mortality."

The overall mortality rate decreased from 8.20 cases in 1991 to 6.8 cases per 1,000 residents in 2022. The infant mortality rate decreased by more than 3.5 times, from 27.3 cases in 1991 to 7.7 cases per 1,000 births in 2022.

The total fertility rate, showing the number of births per 1,000 residents, has grown over the years of independence from 21.6 births in 1991 to 23.6 births in 2021. The rate stood at 20.7 in 2022

Meanwhile, statisticians note that the total fertility rate (a coefficient showing how many times one woman would give birth on average throughout her entire reproductive period), which is one of the most important demographic indicators, decreased from 2.7 in 1991 to 1.8 in 1999. A natural growth was observed in the later period. The total fertility rate was 3.05 children per woman in 2022.

"The average life expectancy increased by 6.8 years in 2022 compared to 1991, including by 7.7 years for men and by 6 years for women. Thus, life expectancy was 74.4 years in Kazakhstan in 2022. This is 1.3 years more than before the pandemic," the statement said.