The population of Kazakhstan is gradually increasing (by 1.3–1.5% per year). In the last 2 years, the growth rate has slightly decreased (by 0.1–0.2 pp). By the current year, the number has grown to 18.16 million people. (239 thousand). The most active growth is observed in megacities: in Astana by 6.1%, in the financial center, Almaty – by 2.9%.
The process of urbanization and agglomeration envisaged by the development programs is intensifying. The proportion of the urban population increased from 54.9% in 2012 to 57.2% in 2016 and 57.4% in 2017. The highest rate of urbanization was recorded in WKO and EKR: 0.8–0.9% per year. The share of the urban population increased in the regions to 51.5% and 61.1%, respectively.
The highest level of urbanization is in the Karaganda region (79.6% of the population lives in cities).