In the second quarter of 2026, the share of Kazakhstanis with incomes below the subsistence minimum reached 5%. This is higher than in the first quarter but lower than a year earlier: the country counted 1,034,000 low-income citizens living in 172,518 households, according to infohub.kz.
The updated data was published by the Bureau of National Statistics. According to the bureau, in the second quarter of 2026, the share of the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum was 5%. That is more than in the first quarter (4.9%) but less than in the second quarter of 2025 (5.1%).
In total, the country recorded 172,518 low-income households whose incomes were below the subsistence minimum, home to 1,034,000 people.
In addition, Kazakhstan has 34,506 people from 5,697 households whose incomes fell below the food basket threshold, meaning they did not reach 55% of the subsistence minimum per family member.
Recall that in the second quarter of 2026, the average subsistence minimum in the country was 67,618 tenge per person per month.
By region, the highest poverty rate was recorded in Turkistan Region at 8.4%. Abai Region followed with 7.6%, and Zhetisu Region rounded out the top three with 7.2%.
In Shymkent, the share of the poor was 5.3%, in Almaty 4.1%, and in Astana 2.9%, the lowest in the country.
Notably, there is a link between poverty and the area where Kazakhstanis live. In cities, the rate is noticeably lower, averaging 3.7%, while in rural areas it is 7.4%.
In rural areas of Aktobe Region, the highest poverty rate was recorded at 11%. Turkistan Region followed at 10%. Rural residents of Karaganda Region are the best off, with a rate of just 4%.
The lowest poverty rate in the second quarter was in the cities of East Kazakhstan Region, averaging just 1.7%.
Earlier, we reported on what is growing faster—Kazakhstanis' expenses or incomes. Also, a recent income scale that divided Almaty residents into categories from "poor" to "millionaires" based on earnings sparked discussion on social media.