According to the Social Progress Index 2024, Kazakhstan secured the 63rd position among 170 countries worldwide, scoring 69.73 on a 100-point scale, improving its result by two points from the 2022 edition, QazMonitor reports.
The Index defines social progress “as the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens and communities to enhance and sustain the quality of their lives, and create the conditions for all individuals to reach their full potential”.
Overall, Kazakhstan scored 69.73 points, which is higher than the world average of 63.44 points. The nation surpassed several countries, including Vietnam (66th place), Mexico (69th place), Peru (73rd place), as well as neighboring countries such as Russia (76th place), China (77th place), Uzbekistan (81st place), and the Kyrgyz Republic (86th place).
Kazakhstan received the maximum score in gender parity in secondary attainment and mobile telephone subscribers count. Additionally, the country performed well in secondary school attainment (6th place), access to online government (15th place), population with schooling, and the number of Internet users (both at 26th place).
The country scored low in recycling (164th place), freedom of peaceful assembly (144th place), political rights (132nd place), life expectancy at age 60 (130th place), as well as in the World Press Freedom Index, outdoor air pollution, rights and voice, ranking 124th in all three indices.
The study highlights that 61 countries experienced a substantial decline in their social progress in 2023, while 77 others exhibited stagnation. Only 32 countries witnessed tangible progress. This signifies the world's first social progress recession in the past decade, primarily attributed to declines in health, rights and voice, and information and communications.
Introduced in 2013, the Social Progress Index serves as a metric that emphasizes non-economic aspects of national performance. It combines various indices, including the Human Development Index and OECD Better Life Index, along with economic and social indicators, to precisely assess each nation's social performance. The 2024 edition is structured around 12 components and 57 indicators.
