Kazakhstan has ranked first among CIS and Central Asian countries in human development, joining the world's top nations in this metric, reports infohub.kz.
According to the 2025 United Nations Development Programme report, based on 2023 data, the republic placed 60th out of 193 countries and territories with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.837.
The HDI is considered a key international measure of quality of life. Unlike assessments based solely on economic output, the HDI accounts for multiple factors: life expectancy, education levels, and income.
Kazakhstan entered the group of countries with very high human development — a category for nations with an index of 0.800 or above. The republic outperformed not only the global average of 0.756 in 2023 but also the regional average for Europe and Central Asia, which stood at 0.818.
Among CIS and Central Asian nations, Kazakhstan achieved the best result. It was followed by Russia with an index of 0.832 (64th globally), Belarus at 0.824 (65th), and Armenia at 0.811 (69th). All these countries are in the very high human development group.
One factor behind Kazakhstan’s high ranking is life expectancy. The country’s life expectancy at birth reached 74.4 years. The republic also shows strong educational indicators: expected years of schooling are 14, and mean years of schooling are 12.5.
The economic metric used in the HDI — gross national income per capita at purchasing power parity — stood at over $30,900 in Kazakhstan. Among regional peers, only Russia recorded a higher figure at $39,200.
From 1990 to 2023, Kazakhstan’s HDI rose by 0.148 points, or 21.5%. Despite a temporary dip during the pandemic, the republic quickly recovered: the HDI was 0.816 in 2021, rose to 0.831 in 2022, and hit an all-time high of 0.837 in 2023.
The UNDP report notes that future human development will increasingly depend on countries’ ability to leverage artificial intelligence and digital technologies. For Kazakhstan, this is becoming a priority: the government aims to accelerate digital transformation, develop AI, and modernize education, healthcare, and public administration.