As of October 1, 2025, Kazakhstan had 2.38 million registered small and medium-sized business entities, of which 2.18 million are actively operating. This isn’t just a numerical increase – it reflects a structural shift in the country’s business landscape and how economic initiative is being redistributed. Over the past decade, Kazakhstan’s business sector has become more widespread, but the key question remains: not how many businesses exist, but how effective they are – especially in the medium segment, which bridges microbusiness with industrial and investment activity.
According to the Bureau of National Statistics, Kazakhstan has 552,000 registered legal entities. Of these, 431,000 are active, while 121,000 are in liquidation, suspended, or awaiting launch. There are 1.89 million registered individual entrepreneurs, and 1.8 million of them are active – meaning nearly nine out of ten entrepreneurs are running real operations. This points to a strong and accessible small business environment.
Over the past decade, the number of legal entities has grown from 360,000 to 536,000 – an increase of almost 49%. Most of this growth came from small enterprises, which have expanded at an average annual rate of around 4.6%. Medium and large businesses show more complex dynamics: periods of expansion alternate with slowdowns, reflecting their dependence on the investment cycle and external market conditions.
In 2025, the number of registered legal entities increased by 2.4% compared to last year, and active entities – by 2.6%. Monthly growth remains moderate, around 0.4%, indicating a transition from rapid expansion to a phase of stabilization.
Most legal entities are concentrated in three sectors – trade, construction, and services.
Trade and auto repair account for 26.9% of all companies, construction for 13.4%, and services for 10.1%. Half of all active enterprises in Kazakhstan operate in these areas. This makes sense: entry barriers are lower, turnover cycles are shorter, and dependence on large-scale investment is minimal.
Business activity is concentrated in three major cities. Almaty leads with 157,000 legal entities, followed by Astana with 108,000 and Shymkent with about 30,000. Together, these cities account for more than half of all registered legal entities in the country.
This pattern reflects the advantages of metropolitan areas – developed infrastructure, access to finance, and high population density.
At the other end of the spectrum are newer or more agricultural regions. Ulytau has fewer than 3,000 registered legal entities, while Jetisu and Abai regions each have around 8–9 thousand.
This does not necessarily indicate low activity but rather a different economic profile. In these areas, farming and individual entrepreneurship dominate, while formal legal entities are mostly small businesses.
However, these same regions are showing the fastest growth. For example, the Turkistan region now has 215,000 active SMEs – the highest number after the big cities. Almaty region ranks second (156,000), and Aktobe region third (88,000).
Out of 552,000 legal entities, the vast majority are small enterprises (542,000). There are 6,800 medium-sized businesses and 2,500 large ones.
Ownership patterns show an interesting distribution: private companies make up 468,000 (85%), state-owned – 26,000 (5%), foreign-owned – 11,000 (around 2%), and joint ventures – nearly 58,000 (10%).
While the share of foreign and joint-capital companies is relatively small, they tend to fall into the medium-sized segment – confirming a clear link between external investment and business stability.
When measuring efficiency by the ratio of active to registered entities, the private sector shows 78% activity, while the state sector exceeds 90%.
Medium-sized businesses demonstrate the highest rate – about 98% of registered medium enterprises are active. This reflects their more stable operating models and stronger management.
The number of individual entrepreneurs (IEs) has reached 1.9 million, with 1.8 million active – a 95% activity rate.
Compared to last year, the sector grew by 6.1%.
This is the most flexible part of the economy. Its structure is straightforward: trade (36.4%), other services (15.5%), and agriculture (13.4%). Together, these three sectors make up nearly two-thirds of all individual businesses.
The IE sector reflects the rise of self-employment and microbusinesses. However, its contribution to overall economic efficiency is smaller than that of the medium segment. These are typically low-margin businesses highly sensitive to demand fluctuations.
On average, one individual entrepreneur employs fewer than two people, while a medium-sized enterprise provides jobs for 100–200.
Still, the stability of this segment plays a crucial social role – high activity and low closure rates help ease pressure on the labor market.
As of October 1, 2025, Kazakhstan had 30,389 registered branches and foreign-affiliated companies. Of these, 22,048 are active.
Most are based in Almaty (3,938 or 12.9%) and Astana (3,530 or 11.6%).
Turkistan region accounts for 1,944 branches (6.4%).
The main fields are services (41.5%), trade (13.1%), and professional, scientific, and technical activities (7.2%).
Foreign participation continues to expand.
There are 63,000 companies with foreign ownership and 12,000 joint ventures – up 6.6% from last year.
Most foreign firms come from Russia (23,000), China (7,000), Uzbekistan (7,300), and Turkey (5,200).
Joint ventures are also most common with partners from these countries – especially in construction and trade.
As of October 2025, small businesses make up 88% of all SME entities, medium businesses – around 0.3%, and farms – 11%.
In absolute terms, there are over 2.17 million active enterprises.
The medium segment grew by 3.4% over the year, slightly slower than small businesses (6.1%) but faster than in previous years.
Medium-sized businesses demonstrate higher productivity and resilience, making them a critical component of the economy.
The number of registered entities alone doesn’t define effectiveness. A more accurate indicator is the ratio of active to registered businesses – and their distribution across sectors.
By 2025, Kazakhstan reached one of its highest activity levels in the past decade: 78% among legal entities and 95% among individual entrepreneurs.
The medium segment leads again with about 98% activity. This points to professional management, financial stability, and adaptability.
Medium-sized companies tend to stay active during downturns and recover faster from crises.
In 2025, Kazakhstan’s small and medium business sector continues to grow steadily while improving its internal structure.
The number of enterprises is rising, but more importantly, the share of active businesses is also increasing.
Medium-sized enterprises, though smaller in number, have a much greater economic impact. They act as the crucial link between the micro and industrial economies, balancing scale and sustainability.
The next stage for SME development lies in strengthening the medium tier – improving access to finance, infrastructure, and markets.
The key challenge is to shift from quantitative growth to productivity, from registration to sustainable performance.
Alen Serik, expert of the portal EconomyKZ.org
