Almaty City Review

ALMATY HIGHLIGHTS

The economy of Almaty is very service sector-orientated, with 91% of its GVA coming from commerce, business services and public services. Being the centre of higher value-added sectors, Almaty also boasted a 108% higher productivity level compared to the rest of the country, in 2016. Commerce greatly benefits from the city's convenient geographic location and the availability of supportive infrastructure.

Higher productivity boosts income

Higher productivity in Almaty does translate into a higher annual level of per-household disposable income in the city, which surpassed the average for the rest of the country by 40% in 2016. This is partly impacted by the city's smaller household size and lower labour force participation rate compared with elsewhere in Kazakhstan.

Greater consumer spending

Along with higher disposable income, households in Almaty recorded 45% higher consumer spending per household (excluding housing and transportation) in 2016. Compared with the rest of Kazakhstan, the greatest difference in spending were in the education (65% greater spending in the city) and hotels and restaurants (+115%) categories.

Expensive housing and transportation

In 2016 expenditure on housing and transport was 47% greater in Almaty compared to the rest of the country. Of the two, transport demanded as much as 57% more expenses compared with the rest of the country. Despite Almaty having an advantage in disposable income, Almaty is regarded as a rather unaffordable city given the excessive housing and transportation costs.