More than 1 million people in Kazakhstan have incomes below the subsistence minimum, and nearly 90% of them are members of large families. The Bureau of National Statistics reported the figures for the second quarter of 2026, according to infohub.kz.
According to the agency, 1.034 million Kazakhstanis — 5% of the country's population — had incomes below the subsistence minimum in the second quarter of 2026. A year earlier, the figure stood at 5.1%.
The bulk of the low-income population is concentrated in households of five or more people: 908,800 people with incomes below the subsistence minimum live in such households, or about 88% of all citizens with such incomes.
Another 75,000 low-income people belong to households of four. Three-person families account for a substantially smaller share of the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum.
The Bureau of National Statistics data thus show a direct link between household size and the risk of falling below the subsistence minimum: the more people in a household, the higher the concentration of low-income population.
The situation varies noticeably from region to region. The highest share of the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum in the second quarter was recorded in Turkistan Region — 8.4%. In Abai Region the figure was 7.6%, in Zhetisu — 7.2%, and in Mangystau Region — 7%.
At the opposite end is Astana, where 2.9% of the population had incomes below the subsistence minimum. Nationwide, the figure averaged 5%.
The problem is especially acute in rural areas. In villages of Aktobe Region, for example, the share of the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum reached 11.1%, and in Turkistan Region — 10%. In Ulytau the figure was 9.3%, and in Zhetisu — 9.2%.
Despite the significant number of low-income people, poverty in Kazakhstan declined slightly over the year: 5.1% of the population were below the subsistence minimum in the second quarter of 2025, compared with 5% in the second quarter of 2026.