During the government session in Astana on September 13, the Ministry of National Economy reported growth of the national GDP by 4.9% in the first eight months of 2023, QazMonitor reports citing primeminister.kz.
Deputy Minister of National Economy Azamat Amrin reported the positive trends in all major industries, with the strongest performance shown in construction, trade, information and communications. The real sector grew by 4.4%, while the service industry saw a growth of 4.8%.
Investments in fixed assets grew by 12.2%, with significant increases noted in transportation and warehousing (49%), education (31.9%), trade (30.1%), agriculture (20.7%), and industry (8.5%).
In 1H of 2023, the trade turnover increased by 5.7% reaching $79.5 billion. Exports amounted to $44.8 billion, including $14.2 billion from processed goods, while imports reached $34.7 billion, resulting in a positive trade balance of $10 billion.
Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov highlighted that the real sector remained a major driver of GDP growth. Positive trends were observed in key indicators in the regions including West Kazakhstan, Kostanay, Kyzylorda, and North Kazakhstan, as well as the cities of Almaty and Shymkent.
The mining industry grew by 4.3%, driven by a more than 6% increase in oil production and over 3% growth in natural gas production. Manufacturing saw growth exceeding 3%, with machine industry production surging by more than 28%, particularly in the automotive sector, which grew by over 42%.
The light industry also exhibited strong growth, nearly reaching 20%. Specific sectors such as rubber and plastic products (over 7%), metal finishes (over 6%), foodstuffs (4%), and the chemical industry (over 3%) contributed to this increase.
Prime Minister Smailov added that the construction sector showed high growth rates of 11.4%, resulting in the commissioning of almost 10 million square meters of housing.
Furthermore, the government reported a decrease in inflation to 13.1%.