Overview
Kazakhstan’s per capita GDP reached $ 5,020 in 2007 as measured by purchasing power parity (Atlas Methodology), ranking it as the wealthiest central Asian former Soviet Republic, more prosperous than China and India. Annual foreign direct investment into Kazakhstan in 2006 was $10.6 billion according to the National Bank. Out of South East Europe and
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the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), only Russia and Romania attract more investment.
Although Kazakhstan’s president has been in power since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the most recent report from the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom rated the country as “moderately free” and ranked it 75 out of 157 countries, above neighboring Russia and China and just below the global average. Kazakhstan also scores high in fiscal and labor freedom rankings. Investment freedom and property rights still remain weak.
Foreign investment remains restricted in many sectors by protectionist barriers and bureaucratic incompetence. Government policy actively favors domestic businesses, and the weak rule of law still allows for significant corruption and deficient property rights.
Current Crisis
The current crisis has hit Kazakhstan with the same magnitude as it did the other former Soviet countries. The decline in commodity ...
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