Only 16% of Kazakhstanis consider themselves healthy. A unique study on the health of Kazakhstanis was conducted by the TALAP Center for Applied Research. In Almaty, people move less and sleep less, in Astana, they are more stressed and eat fast food, in Shymkent, there is a greater emphasis on fruits and vegetables, but only 7.3% of Kazakhstanis regularly visit a doctor for preventive examinations.
According to the national statistics bureau, the number of registered individual entrepreneurs (IE) in the country decreased by 2.4% in a month, while the number of entrepreneurs grew by 8.5% throughout 2023. The "Voice of the People" editorial team decided to explore how the decline in individual entrepreneurship is related to the introduction of universal income declaration. Could this mean that entrepreneurs will move to the shadow business or close their projects?
The economic community of Kazakhstan is awaiting the results of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the National Bank, which will take place tomorrow. During the meeting, the experts of the financial regulator will decide on the "rules of the game" that all banks must follow in the near future - they will set the base rate.
The Middle East has been in a state of hybrid wars for three months now. Analysts worldwide express serious concerns that the escalated conflict between Israel and HAMAS, against the tense situation on the border of Israel and Lebanon, as well as due to the provocations of the Houthis in Yemen and the Red Sea, could spread throughout the region. However, the world economy and geopolitics are very cynical things; while some countries are at war, others may improve their material situation.
The growth of the mortgage portfolio in 2023 has halved.
In the past year of 2023, a number of important laws were adopted in Kazakhstan. Some of them have already come into force. Thus, from today, the country has begun to conduct fingerprint registration of citizens. However, this procedure is voluntary for Kazakhstanis, while foreigners and stateless persons over the age of 16 will have to submit their fingerprints whether they want to or not.
The fourth material concludes TALAP’s first series of publications on strategic foresight. While the previous documents presented the global context, the development of the approach and the results of the pilot measurement, this infographic captures the architecture of the method itself: how expert materials are transformed into a structured basis for decision-making.
The next stage was a practical test of the developed approach using materials from the first quarter of 2026. TALAP processed more than 300 publications, posts and comments by economic experts in order to test the full cycle of the Expert Signal Radar.
After studying international practice, TALAP began developing its own approach to strategic foresight in Kazakhstan. Its main purpose is to connect expert observations, facts from the economic agenda and possible consequences of change into a single analytical framework.
Global governance practice is gradually moving away from a model in which decisions are made only after a crisis has already become visible. Governments, international organizations and major companies are increasingly focusing on the early identification of change, testing decisions against different scenarios and preparing courses of action before a situation reaches a critical stage.
The Center for Applied Research "TALAP" presented the findings of a series of strategic discussions and research. Experts warn: without rules and measurements, the implementation of AI in schools could exacerbate inequality and reduce the quality of basic skills.
Digital tenge will be used to pay for at least 100 large projects in Kazakhstan. We are talking about projects funded from the budget and the National Fund. This became known during a government meeting. Experts admit that, on the one hand, such a currency will help control government spending. On the other hand, there are risks of data leakage. When are they planning to fully implement the currency? And how much do we need it?
