Kazakhstan's small and medium-sized businesses closed 2025 with their best ever performance since records began: production output broke through the 100 trillion tenge mark for the first time, the number of active entities reached 2.2 million, and the sector's share of the country's GDP grew to 40.9%. These ambitious figures are recorded by the Bureau of National Statistics in its latest report on monitoring small and medium-sized enterprises.
MORE BUSINESS, MORE MONEY?
Kazakhstan's small and medium-sized businesses ended 2025 with record figures. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, the number of registered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increased by 4.3% over the year — from 2,262.4 thousand to 2,360.3 thousand entities.
The number of active entities rose by 5%: their total reached 2,175.6 thousand. The share of active entities among the total registered surpassed 92.2%. The entire sector's production output exceeded 104.8 trillion tenge, representing growth of 12.3%.
The SME sector generates 40.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 46.6% of the economically active population — meaning small and medium-sized businesses are the country's primary employer.
THE MAIN DRIVER — INDIVIDUAL ENTREPRENEURS
The sharpest jump was recorded among individual entrepreneurs (IEs): their production output doubled — from 12.3 trillion to 24.8 trillion tenge. The number of IEs also grew — from 1,444.5 thousand to 1,556.9 thousand active entities. This segment accounts for 71.6% of the entire active SME corps.
Although small business enterprises are fewer in number than IEs, they provide 56.8% of the sector's total production output — 59.5 trillion tenge. Employment within them stands at 1.77 million people.
TRADE HOLDS FIRST PLACE, CONSTRUCTION ACCELERATES
In terms of sectors, wholesale and retail trade, including vehicle repair, traditionally holds first place by number of entities, employment, and production output: 824.9 thousand registered entities, 1.38 million employees, and 28.3 trillion tenge in output.
Construction shows confident acceleration: output rose from 13.5 trillion to 16.6 trillion tenge, and the number of active entities increased from 106.6 thousand to 120.1 thousand. Transportation and storage also showed dynamism: the number of registered entities grew from 136.4 thousand to 198.7 thousand — an increase of nearly 46%.
ASTANA AND ALMATY AT THE TOP
In regional terms, the largest contributions come from Astana (65.9% of gross regional product), Almaty (59.8%), and Shymkent (56%). In other words, more than half of the economy in each of the country's three largest cities is created by small and medium-sized businesses, rather than by state structures or large corporations. At the opposite end lies Ulytau Region with a share of 7.8%.
However, it is Astana that has the lowest share of active entities among those registered — 88.6%. That is, in the capital, businesses are more readily registered than actually operated. The leaders in this indicator are Turkistan (98.3%) and Kyzylorda Regions (96.4%), as well as Zhetysu Region (95.4%).
ONE EXCEPTION TO THE OVERALL PICTURE
Against the backdrop of general growth, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries stand out: the number of registered entities in this category decreased from 308.5 thousand to 284.4 thousand, and the number of peasant and farming enterprises fell — from 271.3 thousand to 251.6 thousand. Employment in this sector also declined.
Note that the report records the situation as of 1 January 2026 — that is, before the tax reform took full effect. And already in April of this year, the Minister of National Economy, Serik Zhumangarin, stated that the number of SME entities had fallen by approximately 5% since the start of 2026 (exactly the same amount as it grew over the entire year of 2025), explaining this not as a crisis but as a "restructuring".
The minister stated that some entrepreneurs are consolidating, while others are supposedly moving into self-employment. Meanwhile, since the start of 2026, more than 64 thousand enterprises have closed in the country — predominantly IEs. Does this mean the record figures of 2025 are in the past and the tax reform has reversed the rosy trend? That will become clear in 2026.