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Tengrinews.kz – In nearly half of Kazakhstan's major cities, a decrease in population has been recorded. According to the latest estimate by the National Statistics Bureau, a population decline was noted in 20 out of 41 cities of republican and regional significance.
Which cities in Kazakhstan are losing population?
According to Data Hub, the greatest decrease in population was observed in Konayev, with a drop of 8.2% over the past year. As of April 1, the city has 65,900 residents. A significant decrease is also seen in Semey, with a decline of 5.1%, down to 314,100 people. Closing the top three in the "anti-rating" is Baikonur, where the population decreased by 3.6%, totaling 32,400 residents.
While the decline in Semey and Baikonur has been steadily observed over the past five years, in Konayev, the population decrease is seen as a correction after a sharp increase following the city’s transformation into the administrative center of Almaty region in 2022.
In the other cities, the population decline does not exceed 2%. Exceptions include Priozersk, Kurchatov, and Arkalyk, where the decrease ranged from 2.3% to 2.7%. The combined population of these three cities is 57,700 people.
Leaders in population growth
The greatest relative population increase was recorded in the city of Kossy, located 20 kilometers from Astana. Over the past year, the population here grew by 8.3%, reaching 61,500 people. It should be noted that Kossy was granted city status in July 2021.
In second place is Astana, with a population growth of 6.9%. As of April 1, 2025, the capital has 1.55 million residents. The third spot goes to Turkestan, with a population increase of 4.4%, reaching 240,300 people.
Almaty showed a population growth of 2.7%. The city’s current population stands at 2.3 million people. Shymkent also experienced a growth rate of 2.7%, bringing its population to 1.26 million.
It is noted that the analysis included 41 cities of republican and regional significance out of 42. The city of Alatau, formed in January 2024, was excluded from the calculations due to the lack of comparable data. The 48 district-level cities were also not included in the analysis.
