Kazakhstan Population
Kazakhstan had an estimated population of 20,843,754 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 64th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.25% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +1.21% a year.
Kazakhstan at a glance
How Kazakhstan's population is changing
Kazakhstan's population is growing: +1.21% a year, which works out to about +252,709 people per year, or +692 a day. Births (19.5 per 1,000) and deaths (6.7 per 1,000) alone would give +1.28% a year; net migration removes about 8,834 people a year (−0.04%). Roughly one in every 394 people on Earth lives in Kazakhstan.
Population of Kazakhstan since 1960
In 1960, Kazakhstan had 9,429,981 people. By 2025 that was 20,843,754 — 2.2× larger. The fastest growth came between 1960 and 1970, when the population rose by 32%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 9,429,981 | — |
| 1970 | 12,419,057 | +31.7% |
| 1980 | 15,152,949 | +22.0% |
| 1990 | 17,154,054 | +13.2% |
| 2000 | 15,501,103 | −9.6% |
| 2010 | 16,836,810 | +8.6% |
| 2020 | 19,482,117 | +15.7% |
| 2025 | 20,843,754 | +7.0% |
Kazakhstan from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Kazakhstan at about 2,041,282 people in 1800; the UN estimates 20,843,758 in 2025 (10× 1800) and projects 33,672,176 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 62% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 2,041,282 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 2,685,063 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 4,161,983 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 6,787,149 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 15,501,108 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 20,843,758 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 26,544,266 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 30,815,217 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 33,672,176 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Kazakhstan
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 20,843,754. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Almaty | 2,367,611 | UN urban centre | 11.36% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Shymkent | 1,184,337 | UN urban centre | 5.68% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Astana | 1,065,387 | UN urban centre | 5.11% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Karagandy | 497,777 | GeoNames settlement | 2.39% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 5 | Aktobe | 416,455 | UN urban centre | 2.00% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Aktau | 310,607 | UN urban centre | 1.49% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Semey | 298,847 | UN urban centre | 1.43% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Pavlodar | 279,799 | UN urban centre | 1.34% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Kyzylorda | 250,557 | UN urban centre | 1.20% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Ust-Kamenogorsk | 250,372 | UN urban centre | 1.20% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Kazakhstan compares
Kazakhstan has almost the same population as Chad (21,003,705).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Kazakhstan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #62 |  Sri Lanka | 21,756,000 | +4% | compare → |
| #63 |  Chad | 21,003,705 | +1% | compare → |
| #65 |  Chile | 19,859,921 | −5% | compare → |
| #66 |  Somalia | 19,654,739 | −6% | compare → |
Compare Kazakhstan with any country →
Same region (Europe & Central Asia): Russia, Türkiye, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy.
Explore around Kazakhstan
Land neighbours (5)
China 1,406,585,000 · 67.5× the population · compare
Russia 143,513,328 · 6.9× the population · compare
Uzbekistan 37,053,428 · 1.8× the population · compare
Turkmenistan 7,618,847 · 2.7× smaller · compare
Kyrgyzstan 7,343,064 · 2.8× smaller · compare
Kazakhstan's 5 neighbours together hold 1,602,113,667 people — 76.9× Kazakhstan's population. The most populous is China (1,406,585,000).
In its region
Kazakhstan is the 11th most populous of the 58 economies in Europe & Central Asia, holding 2.2% of the region's 932,525,035 people.
Rankings featuring Kazakhstan
Cities
Almaty, Shymkent, Astana, Karagandy, Aktobe, Aktau, Semey, Pavlodar — all Kazakhstan's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Kazakhstan when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.