Kazakhstan

Economy & income

1 USD = 470.8 KZT live rate

Currency: Kazakhstani tenge (KZT, ₸); ~474 per USD (Jul 2026)
GDP per capita: ~$14,855 nominal (2025, IMF WEO)
~$45,310 PPP (2025, IMF WEO)
Average salary: ~$656 net/mo (Numbeo, Jul 2026, ₸311,058)
gross avg ~$1,000/mo (₸473,158, BNS Q4 2025)
Median salary: ~$670/mo (₸317,512, Bureau of National Statistics, 2025)
Minimum wage: ₸85,000/mo (~$179, 2025-2026)
single national rate, unchanged since Jan 2024
Cost of living: Low-Medium — Numbeo: cost of living ~50.5% lower than Germany
single person ~₸272,000/mo excl. rent (Jul 2026)

Digital landscape

Population: 20.7 million (Jan 2025, DataReportal; ~20.3M per national statistics)
Internet users: 92.9% (~19.2 million users)
Social media users: 75.7% (~15.7 million identities)
Mobile connections: 26.6 million connections = 128% of population
Devices: desktop ~64.9% / mobile ~34.6% / tablet ~0.6% (StatCounter, Jun 2026) — note: KZ StatCounter is desktop-skewed
real usage is mobile-first (128% mobile connections)
Ad spend: Digital ad spend ~$530M (2024, Statista Market Forecast)
local measured internet ad ~₸14bn in H1 2025 (+29% YoY)
total measured ad market ~₸27bn H1 2025 (+17%)
Top social platforms: TikTok ~15.7M ad reach — #1 platform

Instagram ~12.4M

Facebook ~2.6M

LinkedIn ~1.7M

Snapchat ~885K

YouTube — near-universal video reach
Messengers: WhatsApp (dominant everyday messenger)
Telegram (fast-growing; leading for news channels)
Instagram Direct
Facebook Messenger (~397K)

Ad regulations

Gambling & betting Restricted

RESTRICTED — Legal but tightly controlled under the 2007 Gambling Law; land-based casinos/betting shops only in designated zones (Almaty/Kapshagay, Burabay-Shchuchinsk); online gambling not clearly defined and largely operates via offshore servers (gray zone); state self-exclusion registry (up to 10 yrs) via eGov; Betting Account Center + 1.5% turnover levy being introduced; public advertising of gambling restricted

Crypto Restricted

RESTRICTED — 2023 Digital Assets Law; trading via AIFC-licensed exchanges, with a 2025 law expanding legal crypto circulation nationwide under national rules; crypto payments still banned; 1,100+ unlicensed exchangers blocked in 2025; crypto advertising restricted to curb misleading promotions

Adult Banned

BANNED — Production, distribution and advertising of pornography criminalized (Criminal Code Art. 311); using pornographic imagery in ads is a criminal offense; major adult sites (incl. Pornhub) blocked

Dating Allowed

ALLOWED — Mainstream dating apps and ads permitted; must comply with general decency rules and the ban on pornographic/explicit content; adult/casual-hookup creatives restricted

Finance & loans Restricted

RESTRICTED — Consumer and microloan APR capped at 46% AEIR (cut from 56% in mid-2025); MFOs licensed by ARDFM; annual effective rate must be disclosed in ads and agreements; non-compliant MFOs suspended in 2025 enforcement

Nutra & pharma Restricted

RESTRICTED — Prescription medicines cannot be advertised to the public; drugs and medical devices require registration/approval; ads must not overstate efficacy or compare products; dietary supplements (BAA) require disclaimers (rules tightened since Dec 2020)

Regulators

Agency for Protection and Development of Competition (antimonopoly; enforces Law 'On Advertising' No. 508-II)
Sector regulators: ARDFM (finance), Ministry of Health (pharma), Ministry of Tourism & Sports (gambling), Ministry of Culture & Information (media/online platforms)

Notes

Advertising governed by the Law 'On Advertising' (1998, No. 508-II)
alcohol and tobacco/vape advertising fully banned
2023 online-platform & online-advertising framework requires labeling and local compliance
ads must be available in Kazakh (may also run in Russian/other languages)

Payments & behaviour

Payment methods: Kaspi Pay / Kaspi QR (~78% of payment-network transactions)
Visa/Mastercard debit & credit cards
Bank P2P transfers (Kaspi / Halyk)
Halyk Homebank / ePay QR & cards
Kaspi installments 'рассрочка' (Kaspi Red)
Cash (declining, still used in bazaars/regions)
E-wallets: Kaspi.kz (super-app wallet)
Halyk Homebank
Alipay+ (accepted since Aug 2025 for inbound travelers)
ForteBank / Jusan apps
Cash on delivery: Declining — most e-commerce is prepaid via Kaspi/cards
COD still offered on some marketplaces (Wildberries/Ozon) but a minority share
E-commerce: High and fast-growing
retail e-commerce ~₸3.8 trillion in 2025, up ~7x over five years
Kaspi ~70-77% of e-commerce
Notes: Kaspi.kz dominates payments + marketplace + banking as a super-app (2.5x more payment volume than Visa+Mastercard combined)
installment plans are the norm
digital tenge (CBDC) being rolled out

Audience & culture

Languages: Kazakh (state language; majority speak, rising and increasingly mandated)
Russian (lingua franca; understood by ~90%+, dominant online and in cities/north)
English (limited, growing among youth)
Religion: Muslim 69.3% (mostly Sunni), Christian 17.2% (mostly Russian Orthodox), atheist 2.25%, no answer ~11% (2021 census)
Median age: 29.7 years (DataReportal, 2025)
Key seasons: Nauryz (21-22 Mar — biggest national holiday, spring new year)
Ramadan & Eid (moving dates; halal/charity themes)
New Year (Dec-Jan — main gift-giving & shopping season)
8 March (Women's Day) & Victory Day (9 May)
Independence Day (16 Dec)
Back-to-school (Aug-Sep)
11.11 & Black Friday (e-commerce peaks)
Cultural notes: Mobile-first with the Kaspi super-app at the center
very price-sensitive
installment payments ('рассрочка') are the norm
bilingual creatives (Russian reaches widest, Kazakh surging and increasingly required)
family-oriented
Islamic/modesty sensitivities
heavy TikTok & Instagram social commerce
Where to find creators: Instagram
TikTok
YouTube
Telegram (channels)

Media landscape

Top media outlets

1 Tengrinews.kz Russian/Kazakh — general news portal, one of the most-read in the country
2 NUR.kz Russian/Kazakh — top-traffic general news & lifestyle portal
3 Zakon.kz Russian — general news + legal database, founded 1999
4 Informburo.kz Russian — multimedia news portal, TV Channel 21 partner
5 Kazinform (Qazinform) Kazakh/Russian/English — state national news agency, multilingual
6 Egemen Qazaqstan Kazakh — leading Kazakh-language state daily newspaper

Top YouTube channels

1 Family Box ~14M
2 KikiDo ~13M
3 Dimash Qudaibergen (official) ~2.0M
4 Kairat Nurtas Production ~1.5M
5 Toregali Toreali ~1.0M
6 Ninety One ~700K

Creators & public figures

Top creators

K

Kika Kim (Kristina Kim) ~36M TikTok

TikTokbeauty/lifestyle/mukbang & K-pop; Kazakh-Korean, huge cross-border reach for beauty & FMCG brands

Erke Esmahan ~8.8M Instagram

Instagramsinger/actress with family-lifestyle content; strong female mass-market reach

T

Toktarbek Sergazy (Sekavines) ~8M Instagram (~2.5M TikTok)

Instagramcomedy/entertainment blogger, actor & singer; broad youth appeal

A

Anzor Gasaev (vkadre_kz) ~5M Instagram

Instagramnature, fishing & nomadic Kazakh cuisine; travel/outdoor & food brands

Nurlan Saburov ~1M Instagram (major YouTube/stand-up via LABELCOM)

YouTubestand-up comedy; wide CIS-Russian audience

Y

Yekaterina Saibel ~1.3M YouTube

YouTubefamily life & parenting vlogs; family/kids/household brands

B

Bayan Maxatkyzy (Alagözova) ~1.1M Instagram

InstagramTV producer & lifestyle personality; fashion/beauty/event brands

Celebrities

Dimash Qudaibergen ~4.5M Instagram

world-renowned singer (multi-octave vocalist), Kazakhstan's biggest cultural export

Gennady Golovkin (GGG) ~5M Instagram

boxing legend (former middleweight champion), now IOC/National Olympic Committee figure

Elena Rybakina ~0.9M Instagram

tennis star playing for Kazakhstan; Wimbledon 2022 & Australian Open 2026 champion

Skryptonite (Adil Zhalelov) ~2M social (Instagram/Spotify)

rapper/producer, one of the most-streamed CIS artists

Timur Bekmambetov n/a (director; limited personal social)

film director/producer (Night Watch, Wanted), Hollywood-Kazakh crossover

Kairat Nurtas ~270K Instagram (huge radio/YouTube reach)

biggest Kazakh-language pop star, massive domestic streaming/concert draw

Affiliate & traffic

Hot verticals: iGaming (casino & sports betting)
Finance (microloans, credit cards, installments)
Nutra (weight-loss, health & beauty)
Dating
E-commerce / COD physical goods
Mobile apps & utilities
Active networks: Monro CPA
LVLX Partners (CIS-focused, KZ top-priority GEO)
Lotoclub Partners (gambling/lottery)
CPA.House
KMA.biz (nutra)
ClickDealer
RichAds / Leadbit (traffic + offers)
Payouts: iGaming CPA ~$25-60 per FTD
finance/loan CPL ~$3-10 and CPA ~$10-30
nutra COD ~$8-20 per approved order
dating ~$1-4 CPL
Competition: Moderate and rising
less saturated than RU/UA but growing fast
Russian-language creatives reusable across CIS, though Kazakh-language demand is increasing
Seasonality: Peaks around payday cycles, New Year & Nauryz, and Q4 sales (11.11/Black Friday)
betting spikes on football (EPL/Champions League) and major tournaments
Traffic sources: Facebook/Instagram ads
TikTok ads & creator collabs
Google UAC & Search
Push & popunder (RichAds/PropellerAds)
Telegram channels
In-app / native

Good to know

Capital: Astana
Major cities: Almaty
Astana
Shymkent
Karaganda
Aktobe
Taraz
Pavlodar
Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk)
Time zones: Single national time zone UTC+5 since 1 March 2024 (previously split +5/+6)
no daylight saving time
Android vs iOS: 54% 46%

Android 54% iOS 46%
Phone brands: Apple (~46%)
Samsung (~18%)
Xiaomi (~14%)
Oppo (~3%)
Realme / Huawei / Tecno (smaller)
Top e-commerce: Kaspi.kz Магазин (~70-77%)
Wildberries (~17%)
Ozon (~10%)
Halyk Market
Mechta.kz
Technodom
AliExpress
Peak activity: Evenings ~19:00-23:00 local (UTC+5) are strongest; lunch 12:00-14:00 secondary; weekends high; Telegram/news mornings & commute
Creative taboos: Islam & modesty
alcohol/tobacco (ad-banned)
pork
nudity (criminalized)
LGBTQ themes (socially conservative — avoid)
political criticism of the president
Kazakh-vs-Russian language politics
Also worth knowing: Kaspi.kz is the single most important channel — payments, marketplace, ads and installments in one super-app funnel
Bilingual market: Russian gives the broadest reach, but Kazakh-language content is surging and increasingly legally required
Solid Tier-2 affiliate GEO: strong iGaming/betting, finance/microloans, nutra and COD e-commerce demand; CIS networks prioritize KZ