Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has made significant economic progress over recent decades. Health has risen on the policy agenda with a number of sector reforms introduced to modernise the system and improve the health of the population. This review uses globally recognised frameworks and indicators to evaluate Kazakhstan’s overall health system as well as its primary care and hospital sectors. Data provided by Kazakhstan is used to benchmark the various dimensions of performance with that of OECD countries. While the review points to notable successes, Kazakhstan continues to face challenges to improve the accessibility, equity, and efficiency of health services. To strengthen health system performance, the report points to key actions that Kazakhstan should consider prioritising in the coming years.

This review examines the reforms undertaken by the government of Kazakhstan in the area of public governance and evaluates their impact on the powers and responsibilities of subnational levels of government. It places particular emphasis on finding the right allocation of roles and responsibilities among different levels of government, and on using decentralisation as a means to increase self-reliance, civic participation, accountability, and enhanced capacity at the local level. The report also offers a number of recommendations for further strengthening the role of local executive bodies and democratising some aspects of local government.

This review examines the recent reforms undertaken by the government of Kazakhstan in the area of public governance and evaluates their impact on the effectiveness, strategic capacity and accountability of the state. The review places particular emphasis on strategic planning, policy and programme evaluation, risk management, devolution and functional reviews, privatisation and the oversight of state-owned enterprises – all areas in which the government has taken or considered significant initiatives. The report offers a number of recommendations for further progress towards an effective, strategic and accountable state.

The government of Kazakhstan has shown a strong commitment to enhancing transparency, accountability and participation in the policy-making process, and has taken important steps towards implementing open government. However, further efforts are need to ensure the success and long-term sustainability of Kazakhstan’s open government reforms. This review provides an overview of the cultural, economic, historical and political context for open government reforms. It examines ongoing efforts, identifies the remaining challenges and assesses the measures put in place by Kazakhstan’s authorities to address them in order to translate the reforms into tangible results. Finally, the report looks at the environment for effective citizen engagement and its potential to improve service delivery and policy making. It provides recommendations for concrete actions Kazakhstan can take to fully implement open government reforms.

This report discusses the main results of a project on how to reduce air pollution from urban public transport in Kazakhstan, by providing an analysis for designing a green public investment programme in this sector. This sector represents an opportunity for Kazakhstan to address key objectives in its environmental and climate-related policies as part of the country’s ambitions to transition to a green economic path of development. The investment programme is also designed to support the modernisation of the urban transport fleet in the country and stimulate the domestic market to shift to modern buses powered by clean fuels. The programme is foreseen to be implemented in two phases: the first covers the cities of Kostanay and Shymkent and the second, all major urban centres in Kazakhstan. These investments are expected to result in significant air improvement.

Kazakhstan has made important gains in gender equality over the past decade, but gaps still remain. This OECD Review of Gender Policy Delivery in Kazakhstan comes at a moment when Kazakhstan is developing a new Gender Equality and Family Policy up to 2030 which seeks to enable equality of rights, benefits, responsibilities, and opportunities for men and women in all areas of social life, and eliminate all forms of gender discrimination. This review examines the institutional, policy-making and accountability frameworks for advancing and sustaining gender equality and mainstreaming initiatives. It provides actionable policy recommendations based on international good practice and the highest standards of performance, with a view to supporting Kazakhstan’s new policy.

The Revenue Statistics in Asian Countries publication is jointly undertaken by the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the OECD Development Centre, with the co-operation of the Asian Development Bank and with the financial support of the European Union. It compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The model is the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well-established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending the OECD methodology to Asian countries enables comparisons about tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among Asian economies and between OECD and Asian economies.

The Revenue Statistics in Asian Countries publication is jointly undertaken by the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the OECD Development Centre, with the co-operation of the Asian Development Bank and with the financial support of the European Union. It compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The model is the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well-established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending the OECD methodology to Asian countries enables comparisons about tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among Asian economies and between OECD and Asian economies.