Asia · Astana
Cost of living in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is 65% cheaper than the US, ranking #143 of 203 countries we cover for cost of living.
World Bank data through 2024 · last reviewed 2026-06.
What drives the cost here
Price levels by category, where the world average = 100. Above 100 is pricier than the global norm; below it is cheaper.
In Kazakhstan, food & groceries is the priciest category relative to the world (64), while health is the most affordable (24).
Category price levels: World Bank ICP 2021 (world average = 100) · source
What your money is worth here
A $100,000 US lifestyle would cost roughly $35,000 in Kazakhstan.
Quality of life
88/100 · #66 of 198Beyond cost — health, safety, and connectivity. The score is a transparent, equal-weight composite of the verified metrics below (see methodology).
About Kazakhstan
Ethnic Kazakhs derive from a mix of Turkic nomadic tribes that migrated to the region in the 15th century. The Russian Empire conquered the Kazakh steppe in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1925. Forced agricultural collectivization led to repression and starvation, resulting in more than a million deaths in the early 1930s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the agricultural "Virgin Lands" program generated an influx of settlers -- mostly ethnic Russians, but also other nationalities -- and by the time of Kazakhstan’s independence in 1991, ethnic Kazakhs were a minority.
Read the full background
However, non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s, and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs (from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, and the Xinjiang region of China) to Kazakhstan. As a result of this shift, the ethnic Kazakh share of the population now exceeds two-thirds.Kazakhstan's economy is the largest in Central Asia, mainly due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include diversifying the economy, attracting foreign direct investment, enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness, and strengthening economic relations with neighboring states and foreign powers.
Background from the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived 2026-06-03.
Frequently asked
Is Kazakhstan expensive to live in?
Kazakhstan is 65% cheaper than the US, ranking #143 of the 203 countries we track. Its most expensive category relative to the world is food & groceries; health costs the least.
How much money do you need to live in Kazakhstan?
A lifestyle that costs $100,000 in the United States would cost roughly $35,000 in Kazakhstan, going by overall price levels. The salary translator turns your own figure into a local equivalent.
Is Kazakhstan cheaper than the United States?
Yes. Its overall price level is 35.1, against 100 for the United States.
What is the quality of life in Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan scores 88 out of 100 on our quality-of-life index (#66 of 198), a composite of life expectancy, safety, health, and connectivity, with life expectancy around 75 years.
Every number, sourced.
We cite the exact source and year for each figure. Derived values are computed at build time, never hand-entered.
Explore more: compare countries · full ranking · Asia