Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan have moved from queues at public service centers to passports in mobile apps in just a few years, compressing a transition that took many countries decades. Behind the impressive figures, however, are questions the region is still trying to answer.
Not so long ago, obtaining a certificate in Central Asia meant a trip to a government office, a queue, and a stack of papers. Today, a resident of Almaty can renew a driver’s license by phone, an entrepreneur in Tashkent can register a company without leaving the office, and a doctor in Bishkek can issue an electronic sick leave certificate. The digitalization of public services has moved beyond strategic documents and become part of everyday life for tens of millions of people.
The scale of change is reflected in international assessments. In the United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI) for 2024, Asia showed the fastest growth of any region. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan all improved their positions, each at its own pace, and each with its own model.
Kazakhstan: From eGov to a Platform State
Kazakhstan remains one of the region’s leaders in digital governance. In the 2024 EGDI ranking, the country rose to 24th place globally, ahead of a number of developed economies. Today, around 90% of more than 1,300 public services are available online, while the eGov.kz portal and eGov Mobile app offer access to a growing range of services.
The figures speak for themselves. According to Kazakhstan’s e-government portal, citizens received more than 25.7 million services through eGov.kz in 2025, while the eGov Mobile audience exceeded 11.7 million users. The “Digital Documents” section is especially popular: the app provides access to 39 types of documents, from identity cards to driver’s licenses and student IDs.
The expansion has continued. In 2025, Kazakhstan launched eGovBusiness, a single-window service for entrepreneurs that allows them to register companies, apply for subsidies, and check risks. The authorities have also moved to consolidate fragmented government apps into the unified eGov and Aitu platforms.
The next frontier is artificial intelligence. In 2025, Kazakhstan established the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. Through the National AI Platform, the country is developing sovereign infrastructure intended to support the use of generative AI in government and keep citizens’ data within national systems.
Uzbekistan: The Fastest Leap Forward
If Kazakhstan sets the regional benchmark, Uzbekistan has shown some of the fastest momentum. Over six years, the country climbed 24 positions in the EGDI ranking, from 87th place in 2018 to 63rd in 2024, and entered the category of countries with a “very high” level of e-government development for the first time.
At the center of this transformation is the unified portal my.gov.uz, through which citizens and businesses access public services. More than 760 services are available on the platform, while the mobile app offers more than 540. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 16 million services were provided through the system.
The direction is set by the Digital Uzbekistan 2030 strategy. As a result, more than 76% of public services have been digitalized. Another symbolic step was the abolition of requirements for citizens to provide more than 70 types of certificates and documents, which government agencies now request from each other independently. Digital IDs are also being gradually introduced: since July 2025, electronic versions of documents have been accepted at public service centers, although drivers are still required to carry original documents.
Kyrgyzstan: A Bet on the Estonian Model
Kyrgyzstan is building its digital state on a different foundation. At the core of the system is Tunduk, an interagency data exchange platform created with Estonian support and based on the open-source X-Road technology. Since its launch in 2018, hundreds of millions of data transactions between government agencies have passed through it.
From a government-to-government tool, Tunduk has gradually become a service for citizens. By August 2024, the platform offered 165 public services, and its mobile application had become a legally significant digital wallet for passports, driver’s licenses, and other documents. The number of free electronic signatures issued exceeded 2.45 million.
The Digital Code, adopted in 2025, provided institutional support for these reforms. The most visible changes have taken place in healthcare: electronic sick leave certificates, e-referrals, and digital disability certificates have become routine, while the “Right to Health” service in the Tunduk app covers more than 5.2 million citizens. In the EGDI ranking, Kyrgyzstan rose from 81st place in 2022 to 78th in 2024.
The Price of Speed
Behind the headline numbers, however, lie systemic challenges. The main one is digital inequality. U.N. experts note that worldwide, around 1.7 billion people still lack access to basic digital services, and Central Asia, with its vast rural and mountainous areas, is no exception. Even where internet penetration is high, access to the “state in a smartphone” can still be limited by poor connectivity, weak digital skills, affordability, and lack of support for people unable or unwilling to move fully online.
There is also the issue of engagement. Despite the scale of the my.gov.uz platform, only about 10% of small and medium-sized enterprises are registered on it, even though SMEs account for more than half of Uzbekistan’s GDP.
Governments themselves also acknowledge security risks. In Kazakhstan, the authorization procedure on the eGov.kz portal was tightened in October 2025, with identity verification by SMS code added in response to rising cases of fraud.
Finally, there remains the question of the limits of digital convenience. Access to services through an app does not eliminate the need for communications infrastructure, digital literacy, and human support for those who are not ready, or are unable, to move online.
Three Countries, Three Speeds, One Direction
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan have chosen different paths. Kazakhstan is pursuing technological leadership and AI, Uzbekistan has made a rapid catch-up leap, and Kyrgyzstan has relied on a proven open model. The direction, however, is the same for all three: a state that comes to the citizen, rather than the other way around.
A region until recently associated with bureaucracy and queues is becoming one of the world’s most dynamic laboratories of digital governance. The main test still lies ahead. These systems must become truly inclusive, reaching residents of capital cities with smartphones as well as farmers in mountain villages. That, rather than a place in international rankings, will be the true measure of success.
