Kazakhstan’s economy dependence on oil has declined, says Economy Minister

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Timur Suleimenov revealed to what extent the dependence of Kazakhstan's economy on oil and other minerals has declined, Kazinform correspondent reports.

"We have done a lot for the diversification of the economy over the past five years. Definitely, the direct result can be seen in statistics, macroeconomic data: it is a decrease in the share of the extractive industry in the structure of GDP. It reached approximately 19.5-20 percent five years ago. When it comes to the extraction of oil and solid minerals, for now, it is 11.5 to 12 percent. In other words, its share and the dependence of our economy on what goes on in these sectors, that is, the price of oil, the price of metals, have declined," Timur Suleimenov assured while answering the questions of the MPs at the plenary session of the Majilis (the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament).

However, the minister added that there are still certain issues related to the fact that the share of the manufacturing industry ranges around the same levels of 11.5 to 12 percent.

"Nevertheless, like many other economies, we are increasingly relying on the growth of the service economy. In the same period, our service economy grew by 5%. We saw a big increase in the field of transport and logistics. Earlier, it accounted for about 6 percent in the economy's structure, whereas now it is closer to 9 percent," added Timur Suleimenov.