It has been less than 30 years since the founding of Kazakhstan, so why is its development level approaching that of developed countries?

In 2017, Kazakhstan’s total economic volume was US$139 billion, and its per capita GDP was approximately US$8,838, which is less than US$10,000.

According to international practice, the per capita GDP of developed countries and regions must reach at least 20,000 US dollars. According to this standard, Kazakhstan is still far from becoming a developed country, and it is not even a "quasi" developed country".

The international community generally believes that only a per capita GDP of more than 15,000 US dollars can be regarded as a "quasi-developed country", and when evaluating whether a country is a developed country, one cannot only look at the GDP, but also the country's industrial level and scientific and technological capabilities. For example, the Gulf countries that made their fortune purely by selling oil can only be regarded as "high-income countries" and cannot be called developed countries.

At present, the only country that can meet the conditions of "quasi-developed country" is Chile in South America.

Although Chile is also a resource-based country, with copper mining and processing being the mainstay of its economy, compared with countries such as Brunei, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates that rely solely on energy exports, Chile has a relatively well-established It has an industrial system and relatively developed higher education.

As of 2017, Chile’s per capita GDP has exceeded US$16,000, and it has already stepped into the threshold of developed countries. Outsiders predict that Chile is likely to become the first developed country in Latin America.

Compared with Chile, Kazakhstan is still far behind. Its per capita GDP is almost half of Chile’s, and its actual per capita annual income is only more than 3,000 US dollars, which is about more than 20,000 yuan. It's pretty good among developing countries.

However, although it does not meet the standards of developed countries, compared with other Soviet Union countries, Kazakhstan is already very good.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, all 15 of its 15 member countries declared independence. Today, except for the three Baltic countries that have become developed countries, only Russia's economy is stronger than Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has a vast territory and rich natural resources, especially oil and natural gas reserves. More importantly, Kazakhstan’s political scene has been very stable since independence. Former Kazakh President Nazarbaye Husband's governance is extremely steady.

At the beginning of independence in 1991, Kazakhstan also experienced social unrest and economic stagnation. At that time, 2 million people chose to leave the country, and former U.S. national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski predicted that the country would fall apart because of racial issues.

But Nazarbayev led the country through the difficulties. While maintaining traditional friendship with Russia, he also actively develops relations with China, the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union. Under his administration, Kazakhstan's society and foreign relations were very stable, which laid a good foundation for economic development.

Between 2001 and 2016, Kazakhstan’s average annual economic growth rate reached 6.8%, and Kazakhstan’s poverty rate also dropped from 55% in 2006 to 20% in 2015, while the middle class The proportion of class has increased from 10% to 25%. These are very impressive results.