How the living standards of Kazakhs and Ukrainians differ.
Kazakhstan attracted attention around the world with protests that began due to a sharp increase in gas prices. However, later they grew into larger-scale ones with demands to clear the power, reports Chronicle.info with reference to Channel 24.
What led to the problems that led to the mass protests in Kazakhstan, and how different living standards of Kazakhs and Ukrainians.
Living standards in Kazakhstan Salaries
The minimum wage & nbsp; in Kazakhstan is 60 thousand tenge. The corresponding amount was budgeted for 2022. This is approximately over & nbsp; UAH 3,780. & nbsp; In Ukraine, the minimum wage is almost twice as high and since December 1 of last year has been & nbsp; 6.5 thousand hryvnia .
But the average salary in Kazakhstan is slightly higher … According to official data, in November it amounted to 249,349 tenge, that is, 15,740 hryvnias . In the same period, the average pre-tax salary of Ukrainians was UAH 14,300 .
As in Ukraine, a subsistence minimum is calculated in Kazakhstan, on the basis of which a number of other payments are determined. Since 2022, the subsistence minimum in Kazakhstan is 36,018 tenge (about 2,270 hryvnias ), and in Ukraine a little higher — 2,393 hryvnias.
Pensions
The minimum pension in Kazakhstan is 6,302 tenge (approximately & nbsp; 2,900 hryvnias ). It is interesting that in Kazakhstan the minimum pension is higher than the subsistence level, while in Ukraine the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost their ability to work is equal to the minimum pension. Now it is & nbsp; 1,934 hryvnia . Pay attention! & Nbsp; At the same time in Kazakhstan there is a concept of the minimum size of the state basic pension payment, which is 19,450 tenge, or 1,220 hryvnias … These payments are received by people with less than 10 years of work experience.
And here is the difference between the average pensions Kazakhstan and Ukraine are quite significant. While Kazakhs at the end of the year received an average of 99,726 tenge, or almost 6,300 hryvnias, Ukrainian pensioners received an average of 3,915 hryvnias, the PFU reports.
Retirement
In Ukraine, men and women retire in the same way — at 60 , subject to the appropriate length of service. In Kazakhstan, men retire later — at 63 years old. And women still retire at 60 years and 6 months . But this age is also planned to be increased to 63 years by 2027.
Important! Late retirement in Kazakhstan is partially justified by life expectancy, as life expectancy there is almost 74 years, while in Ukraine it is 72.5 years. This is evidenced by the data from www.worldometers.info.
GDP per capita
Usually, GDP per capita is one of the indicators that well demonstrates the standard of living. In Kazakhstan for 2020, GDP per capita was $ 9,122 , and in Ukraine — $ 3,727 c, according to the World Bank. However, the fact that this indicator in Kazakhstan is three times higher than in Ukraine does not indicate the same better life. Kazakhstan is rich in the country's resources, but all the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small percentage of the population.
Kazakhstan's economy GDP
In 2020 Kazakhstan's nominal GDP was $ 171.08 billion , and in Ukraine — $ 155.5 billion, according to the World Bank. Therefore, the economy of Kazakhstan in this indicator is more powerful than the economy of Ukraine.
Pay attention! The main trade partners of Kazakhstan are China and Russia. The main export goods are oil (56.8%) and gas (5.84%), according to the OEC.
What is wrong with the economy of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has everything to become a very rich country with a high standard of living: huge deposits of oil, gas, uranium and other important resources and a favorable geographical position between Europe and Asia. Kazakhstan has long been considered one of the most successful countries of the former USSR in Central Asia. It developed faster than its neighbors and attracted foreign investment.
But the fruits of this resource wealth are collected mainly by people close to the authorities and a handful of oligarchs. After Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991, people close to the government privatized natural resources for themselves, on which they have grown rich all these years. According to the 2019 KPMG report, only 162 people in Kazakhstan own more than 50% of the country's total wealth . There are five Forbes billionaires in Kazakhstan. They all made money in the mining or banking sectors.
This decision-making system continues to serve the interests of a relatively small group of players, regardless of whether the interests of these individuals are taken into account directly or through their companies.
— write researchers Simon Commander and Ruta Prieskienite of the IZA Institute of Labor Economics.
Consequently, the standard of living in the country is at a rather low level, corruption is flourishing — Kazakhstan ranks 94th in the corruption perception index of Transparency International (Ukraine is in 117th place). Therefore, discontent among the population grew. And the doubling of gas prices overnight only became the spark that ignited the population already ready for this.
The World Bank has identified 4 priorities for Kazakhstan to move in the right direction: