Kazakhstan's economy turned downward in 1998 with a 2.5% decline in GDP growth due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in Russia.

A bright spot in 1999 was the recovery of international petroleum prices, which, combined with a well-timed tenge devaluation and a bumper grain harvest, pulled the economy out of recession.

[26] Kazakhstan secured the 3rd position in the Central and South Asia regional ranking of the 2018 Global Innovation Index (GII) released by World Intellectual Property Organization.

According to OCCRP, Vlast, and iStories, a significant increase in Kazakhstan's exports of cotton pulp and derivatives to the Russian Federation after February 24, 2022, was identified.

[28][29] In the 2014 Economic Freedom Index published by The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., Kazakhstan has gained 22 points over the past 17 years, which is noted by the authors as among the 20 best improvements recorded by any country.

[33] This chart shows trends in the gross domestic product of Kazakhstan at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund, with figures in millions of tenge.

[53] Kazakhstan is a leading producer of many mineral commodities, including salt, uranium, ferrochrome, titanium sponge, cadmium, potash, magnesium, rhenium, copper, bauxite, gallium and zinc.

This situation has fostered public dissent, notably from groups like #Нетутильсбору [no recycling fee], who argue that such policies unfairly prioritize industry support over the needs of regular citizens.

[71] GE Transportation acquired 50% stake in Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty in a joint venture with Kazakhstan's national railway company Temir Zholy.

[72] On 22 December 2014 the World Bank approved a US$88 million loan that would support Kazakhstan's efforts to facilitate commercially and socially viable innovation in technology.

Since September 2019, the program selects businesses and assists them with navigating bureaucracy and connecting to foreign markets the government deems a priority, including Germany, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and China.

Tokayev proposed that in order to support the manufacturing industry, foreign and domestic investors should be exempted from paying taxes and other mandatory payments for the first three years.

On fiscal matters, the President called for a coordination of financial and monetary policies, with the aim of achieving stable economic growth of 6-7 percent.

In the realm of transportation, President Tokayev outlined plans to establish Kazakhstan as a major transit hub in Eurasia, focusing on key routes like the Trans-Caspian and the international North-South Corridor.

Kazakhstan's top-10 FDI donors in 2022 included the Netherlands, the Unitesd States, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, South Korea, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Turkey.

[100] Kazakhstan introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of EAEU, OECD, Monaco, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore starting from 2017.

[105] Noteworthy that Kazakhstan's gross inflow of FDI increased 15.8 percent per year in 2018 and remained at the level of US$24 billion from 2019, even though world economies saw a decrease in investment during that time period.

Moreover, it has abundant reserves, amounting to 90% of Central Asia's total, of critical raw materials, which are essential for the deployment of technologies like wind turbines (with rare earth magnets), batteries (lithium and cobalt) and semiconductors (polysilicon).

[114] The first agreement that was concluded via the portal was between Kaz Solar 50 and the German company Solarnet Investment GmbH for a renewable energy project worth ₸5 billion.

[126] According to the Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, the implementation of a large-scale privatization plan will reduce the share of state participation in the economy down to 14 percent by 2025.

[128] According to Minister of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov, the plan excludes 200 critical social life support systems such as water, power, and heat facilities.

[130] In March 2023, Kazakhstan created the G4 City special economic zone in the Almaty Region, seeking to attract nearly 3.7 trillion tenge ($8.1 billion) of investments through 2048.

The new economic zone with an area of 30,000 hectares is expected to provide favorable conditions for attracting domestic and foreign investment to create an integrated G4 City, which will facilitate the development of the entire region.

[133] During that period the initiative will be focused on three major areas, notably agribusiness, machinery building and production of construction materials, and is to be further extended to other industries.

[133] In May 2015 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed to provide €41 million for technical cooperation projects, advisory support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to introduce a Women in Business program.

To expand SMEs’ access to finance, a number of programmes are in place in the country to provide concessional lending and microfinance, subsidised interest rates, loan guarantees and grants to start a business.

The programme implementation involves both central and local authorities, Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund, Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs and commercial banks.

[139] In May 2023, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said medium-sized businesses should become the engine of progress that drives Kazakhstan’s manufacturing growth with the launch of competitive products and a wide range of services.

[140] To enhance the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs, the government is introducing a regulation-from-scratch mechanism to drop 10,000 unwarranted requirements for businesses and automate processes in all areas of state control.

[142][clarification needed] In 2021, 14 products developed by Kazakh scientists began being exported to China, Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and the Czech Republic.