Family Budget - The Times Of Central Asia

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Economy

Kazakhstanis Spend 57% of Their Household Budgets on Food

Despite reported growth in certain macroeconomic indicators, the financial situation of Kazakhstani households continues to deteriorate, according to analysts at Finprom.kz, who note a sharp increase in the share of food expenditures, now accounting for more than half of total consumer spending. In the third quarter of 2025, food expenditures reached 57.2% of overall household consumer spending, the highest level since 2021. A higher figure was recorded only in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the share stood at approximately 58%. For comparison, in developed countries, food spending typically accounts for 10-15% of household budgets. In international practice, a level above 50% is generally regarded as an indicator of significant pressure on household incomes. Regionally, the burden is even more pronounced. The highest share of food expenditures between June and September 2025 was recorded in the Zhetysu region, at 65.8%. In the Turkestan region, the figure was 65.3%, and in the Almaty region, 62.2%. These regions are largely agriculturally oriented and have less diversified economies. The rising share of food expenditures is considered a key socio-economic indicator. An increase in this share reduces the resources available for education, healthcare, housing, and long-term savings or investment. The gap between urban and rural areas persists. In the third quarter of 2025, food spending accounted for 58.7% of total expenditures in rural areas, compared to 56.5% in urban areas. In absolute terms, urban food expenditures increased by 15.5% year-on-year, while rural expenditures rose by 11%. In cities, the largest increases were recorded in spending on meat and meat products (22.3%), fruit (18.6%), vegetables (16.8%), and oils and fats (16.4%). In rural areas, growth was more moderate, and spending on some categories, such as sugar and confectionery, declined. Differences are also evident in dietary structure. Rural residents spend more on bread and cereals, about $176 compared to $139 among urban residents, while urban households allocate more to dairy products, at $118 versus $93 in rural areas. The increase in the food burden has already been accompanied by a reduction in non-food spending. In urban areas, the share of non-food expenditures fell from 26% to 22.2%, and in absolute terms from $492 to $450. The sharpest declines were observed in spending on automotive goods and fuel, telecommunications, household appliances, home repairs, and interior renovation. At the same time, spending on medicines increased.

Household debt

Household Debt Persists Despite Lending Slowdown in Kazakhstan

At the start of 2026, Kazakhstan’s financial indicators appear promising: the population is borrowing less, and banks are increasing financing to businesses. Yet behind this macroeconomic optimism lies a more complex picture. The debt burden on citizens has not disappeared; it has simply changed form. While less visible in financial reports, household debt is becoming increasingly evident in everyday family budgets. Two Realities, One Economy Madina Abylkasymova, chair of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, reported to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev that consumer lending has slowed, while business lending has begun to grow steadily for the first time in three years. Data from the National Bank confirm this trend. In 2024, lending to individuals increased by 23.5%. By the end of 2025, growth had slowed to 17.7%. Business lending, meanwhile, accelerated from 17.9% to 19%. From a macroeconomic perspective, the regulator has met its interim objective: banks are channeling more resources into the productive economy. However, an analysis of second-tier banks’ portfolios suggests that a fundamental imbalance persists. Excluding development institutions and the quasi-public sector, end-of-year data show household debt to commercial banks at $55.1 billion, compared with business debt of 15.4 trillion tenge, or approximately $34.2 billion. The resulting $22.2 billion gap points to a structural issue: individuals remain the primary source of income for major private banks, including Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, and Bank CenterCredit (BCC), while the real sector continues to be underfinanced by market-based institutions. Shift to Installment Plans In 2025, under pressure from regulators, banks tightened lending standards for consumer loans. Traditional cash loan issuance slowed significantly. Despite this, total household debt continued to grow. According to the National Bank, the consumer loan portfolio expanded by KZT 2 trillion in the first half of 2025, reaching $55.1 billion by year’s end. This growth was driven not by large loans but by installment plans and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. The number of loan contracts is rising much faster than the number of borrowers, a classic sign of demand fragmentation. Instead of a single large loan, citizens are taking out multiple small loans for food, clothing, and everyday necessities. This reflects declining purchasing power. Inflation reached 12.3% by the end of the year, with food prices rising 13.5%. At the same time, official data shows real incomes fell by 2%. Installment plans, once used primarily to purchase durable goods, are increasingly being used to “make ends meet.” Statistically, this appears as a reduction in average loan size and risk exposure. In reality, it points to growing debt dependency among households. Why the Bankruptcy Law Has Fallen Short The 2023 law on restoring personal solvency and bankruptcy was designed to address over-indebtedness structurally. But by early 2026, it was clear the system was functioning unevenly. Data from 2025 reveals the scale of rejections. Of more than 270,000 submitted applications, only about 34,000, just 12%, were approved. Approximately 87% of applicants received official denials. The main reason lies in strict eligibility criteria. For out-of-court...

Family Budget

Kazakhstanis Spend Over Half Their Family Budget on Food

Over the past two decades, food expenditures have claimed an increasingly large share of Kazakh family budgets. According to analysts at Finprom.kz, food accounted for 55.4% of total consumer spending in 2024, nearly 10 percentage points higher than in 2004, when the figure stood at 45.7%. The rise has been gradual, with a peak of 58% during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, followed by a slight decline. The Growing Burden of Food Costs This trend signals concern about living standards. Under UN benchmarks using the Engel coefficient, households that spend over 50% of their income on food are considered to have a very low standard of living The burden varies significantly across Kazakhstan’s regions. In the capital, Astana, where average incomes are higher, food accounts for 49.4% of consumer spending. In contrast, the economically vulnerable Turkestan region reports a figure of 62.6%. High levels are also recorded in the Almaty (62.1%), Zhambyl (61.8%), and Zhetysu (60.9%) regions. This regional disparity is not new. In 2004, residents of the capital and central regions also spent less on food than those in the country’s western and southern areas. Back then, Atyrau, Mangistau, and Almaty regions led in food expenditure shares. Rising Food Budgets Driven by Consumption, Not Cuts Despite the heavier budget allocation toward food, Kazakhstanis are not cutting back. On the contrary, consumption has grown in several food categories. Compared to 2004, annual per capita meat consumption has doubled to 82.6 kg. Consumption of fish and seafood has risen by 79.5% to 14.2 kg, and sweets by 51.4% to 43.1 kg. Only two categories saw declines: fruit consumption dropped by 41%, and potato consumption by 8.5%. These changes suggest that the rising share of food expenditures is driven more by shifts in dietary preferences and expanded consumption than by inflation alone. Food Spending as a Barometer of Prosperity Kazakhstan ranks near the bottom globally for food expenditure efficiency. According to 2023 estimates by Euromonitor International, the country placed 99th out of 105, with food accounting for 49.4% of total consumer spending. In comparison, food spending made up 46.5% in Uzbekistan, 36.9% in Turkmenistan, and just 29% in Russia. In high-income countries, the figures are significantly lower: 6.7% in the United States, 8.4% in Singapore, and 8.7% in the United Kingdom. These disparities reflect not only income differences but also broader variations in economic structures and the effectiveness of social policies. A Symptom of Structural Strain The trend in Kazakhstan highlights a broader economic challenge. While food consumption has increased, the rising proportion of household budgets spent on food signals a systemic issue: wages and social benefits are not keeping pace with rising costs and evolving consumer expectations. As long as more than half of family budgets are directed toward food, substantial growth in other sectors of consumer spending remains out of reach.