Kazakhstan

Summary
Kazakhstan has been highly dependent throughout the 2010s before managing a reduction in the early 2020s. Its DDI value averaged 0.88 from 2010 to 2019 and has dropped to 0.78 by 2023. From 2010 to 2023, reliance on platforms was slightly below the maximum, and on patents it was complete. Kazakhstan’s overall development is reflected in the trade dimensions. Dependence on ICT goods was mostly above 0.90 in the 2010s but dropped to 0.81 by 2023; in ICT services, it decreased analogously from an average of 0.67 to 0.47 by 2023. In digital trade, Kazakhstan stands out for its high bilateral dependency on both American (0.97) and Chinese (0.99) ICT goods.

Policies
The topic of digital dependence seems to be high on Kazakhstan’s agenda: The country officially declared 2026 to be the „Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence". While this is connected to the goal of introducing advanced technologies in all sectors of economy, Kazakhstan's government also approved a "Concept for the Development of Artificial Intelligence for 2024–2029". This strategy aims to construct data centres in the country and position Kazakhstan as a regional AI hub.