International money transfers sent from Kazakhstan plunged to 391.6 billion tenge ($842 million, at 465 KZT/USD) in the first half of 2025 — a 15.8% year-on-year decline and the lowest level in five years, according to data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan, reported by Zakon.kz.
This marks the third consecutive year of decline, a trend experts warn reflects deeper structural shifts in regional labor and economic flows.
Changing Destinations: Who’s Receiving Kazakhstan’s Money?
Analysts at Finprom note the drop is uneven — signaling a strategic realignment in migration and economic ties.
Uzbekistan is now the top recipient: 125.3 billion tenge ($269M), despite an 8.7% decline.
Russia, the previous leader, slipped to second: 119.7 billion tenge ($257M), down 14.1%.
Turkey rounds out the top three: 67.3 billion tenge ($145M), but with a steep 26.7% drop.
Amid the overall decline, new corridors are growing:
→ South Korea: +26.6% (to 3.3B tenge)
→ Armenia: +17.7%
→ Azerbaijan: +17%
This reflects a clear diversification of labor migration — more Kazakh citizens are working and studying in Asia and Europe, not just Russia or Turkey.
Inbound Remittances: Stability Amid Decline
Money flowing into Kazakhstan also fell — to 126.6 billion tenge ($272M), down 10.8% YoY.
Russia remains the largest source: 30.6 billion tenge ($66M), though down 23.4%.
United States emerged as a rare growth story: 19 billion tenge ($41M), up 6.6% — now second place.
Uzbekistan: 13.2B tenge ($28M), –5.2%.
Turkey (+13.8%) and Germany (+0.9%) also rank in the top five.
Notably, remittances from South Korea collapsed by 40.9% (to 9.4B tenge), likely reflecting reduced labor migration or a shift to alternative payment methods.
Parallel Trend: Surge in Card Payments Abroad
While remittances shrink, card-based spending overseas is booming. In early 2025, Kazakh cardholders spent a record 2 trillion tenge ($4.3B) abroad — a 37% jump year-on-year. This suggests more citizens are traveling, studying, or working overseas — and using digital payments instead of traditional money transfers.
What Does It All Mean? Experts Identify 4 Key Trends:
- Reduced Dependence on Russia — in both sending and receiving funds.
- Migration Diversification — growing flows to South Korea, Armenia, the U.S., and Germany.
- Digital Shift — consumers and workers increasingly rely on cards and mobile payments over bank wires.
- Structural Labor Market Changes — possible decline in migrant workers from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, or movement toward informal channels.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
Sept. 15, 2025