ASTANA (TCA) — The Government of Kazakhstan on April 18 reviewed the country’s socio-economic development results for the 1st quarter of 2017, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
According to the Ministry of National Economy, the negative external risks for the economy of Kazakhstan, which were especially acute in the first half of 2016, have been completely exhausted today. Kazakhstan’s economy has now adapted to the new external conditions and entered the trajectory of recovery growth.
According to preliminary data, the country’s GDP grew by 3% in the first quarter of 2017, while for the same period last year there was a slight decrease. The industry, construction, transport and trade were the drivers of economic growth.
There are positive results in the industry. It increased by 5.8% against its decline in the same period of 2016 by 0.8%.
In the 1st quarter, production increased by 5.6% against the decrease of 1.5% in the same period in 2016, due to the increase in oil production by 5.2%, iron ore by 11.4% and coal by 17.4%.
Processing industries showed significant growth rate in January-March. Growth in processing was 6.5%, achieved due to an increase in output in metallurgy by 7.1% and production of food products by 3.4%, in oil refining – by 17.2%, and mechanical engineering – by 1.8%.
Agricultural production grew 2.9%.
Construction continues to be a driver of economic growth. During the reporting period, the volume of construction work increased by 7.1%, commissioning of residential buildings increased by 25.3%.
Freight transportation by rail increased by 15.7% and amounted to 87 million tons in the 1st quarter.
