The average salary in Kazakhstan has reached a historic high, but in some sectors workers earn several times more. The leaders are "white-collar" workers in the financial sector, reports infohub.kz.
According to the Bureau of National Statistics, in the second quarter of 2026, the average nominal salary in the country was 486,388 tenge. This figure is a record high in the history of observations. The calculation did not include data on small enterprises, which are usually published later.
However, the average figure hides significant differences between industries. In some sectors, workers earn almost four times the average level.
The absolute leader is auxiliary activities in the field of financial services and insurance, where the average salary reached 1,960,027 tenge. This sector employs about 3.5 thousand "white-collar" workers.
The second and third places are occupied by industrial sectors: production of tobacco products — 1,572,283 tenge (1.5 thousand workers) and extraction of crude oil and natural gas — 1,560,361 tenge (about 48 thousand people).
Salaries above one million tenge were also recorded in the following sectors:
Finance and insurance: insurance, reinsurance and pension funding — 1,370,447 tenge (11 thousand people), compulsory social insurance — 1,084,027 tenge (1.3 thousand people), financial intermediation — 1,038,009 tenge (about 90 thousand people).
IT and consulting: computer programming, consulting and related services — 1,279,016 tenge (20 thousand people).
Professional, scientific and technical activities: activities of head offices and management consulting — 1,202,184 tenge (more than 9 thousand people).
Transport and storage: water transport — 1,122,411 tenge (300 people), pipeline transport — 1,029,813 tenge (20 thousand people), air transport — 1,013,101 tenge (11 thousand people).
It is important to note that the BNS data reflect average nominal indicators by industry. The actual salary level of each worker depends on position, qualifications, remuneration system and other factors.