Bureau of National statistics
Agency for Strategic planning and reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan
    Key indicators
    536 241
    As of January 1, 2025, the number of registered legal entities amounted to 536241 units, including 426096 operating legal entities.
    1 794 381
    The number of registered subjects of individual entrepreneurship amounted to 1794381, including 1705517 operating entities.
    2 262 392
    The number of registered small and medium-sized businesses amounted to 2262392 units, including 2071657 operating ones.
    Registered and operating entities by dimension and activity
    as of January 1, 2025
    By dimension Legal entities Subjects of individual entrepreneurship Branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities Subjects of small and medium business  
    registered operating registered operating registered operating registered operating  
     
     
    Total 536 241 426 096 1 794 381 1 705 517 31 368 22 447 2 262 392 2 071 657  
    Small 526 826 416 815 - - 30 248 21 339 2 259 185 2 068 522  
    Medium 6 919 6 818 - - 631 623 3 207 3 135  
    Large 2 496 2 463 - - 489 485 - -  
    Dynamics of subjects

    Annually, there is an increase in the number of registered legal entities by an average of 4.5%, so over the past ten years (2015-2024) their number has increased from 360287 to 536241 (by 175954 units or 48.8%). At the same time, it should be noted that the main growth occurs due to small legal entities, their number is steadily increasing every year by an average of 4.6%. Unlike small ones, the dynamics of medium and large legal entities is not stable. Over the past decade, against the background of the annual growth in the number of medium and large legal entities, in 2016, 2017 and 2019 their number was not significant, but decreased (by 1.3%, 1.4% and 3.1%, respectively).

    Dynamics of subjects
    By dimension 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
    Total 360 287 383 850 412 677 433 774 446 687 461 983 481 732 507 238 526 290 536 241
    Small 351 229 374 912 403 862 424 796 437 988 453 343 472 777 497 995 517 123 526 826
    Medium 6 572 6 502 6 432 6 490 6 297 6 235 6 494 6 685 6 689 6 919
    Large 2 486 2 436 2 383 2 488 2 402 2 405 2 461 2 558 2 478 2 496
    Registered and operating legal entities

    In December, compared to November 2024, there is a slight decrease in the number of registered legal entities (by 0.3%), compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, their number increased by 1.9%. At the same time, there is an increase in the number of operating legal entities - by 0.5%, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, their number increased by 1.2%. Since the beginning of the year, by type of economic activity, the largest number of registered legal entities remains in the industry «Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair», the share of which as of January 1, 2025. amounted to 27.3%. On the second place - "Construction" (13.3%), on the third - "Provision of other types of services" (10%). Together, the share of these three types of activities is 50.6% of all registered legal entities.

    As of January 1, 2025, the largest number of registered legal entities is in the cities of Almaty (151787 or 28.3%), Astana (103572 or 19.3%), and Shymkent (29457 or 5.5%). The smallest number of registered legal entities falls on the regions of Ulytau (2910 or 0.5%), Zhetisu (8322 or 1.6%) and Abay (8468 or 1.6%).

    Registered legal entities by type of activity and activity
    as of January 1, 2025

    By type of activity

    Total Of them
    operating including in the process of liquidation
    newly registered active temporarily inactive
    Total 536 241 426 096 50 066 221 784 154 246 4 344
    Agriculture, forestry and fisheries 21 104 18 133 1 570 9 210 7 353 110
    Mining and Quarrying 5 675 4 780 595 1 732 2 453 44
    Manufacturing industry 27 313 21 729 2 021 11 407 8 301 264
    Supply of electricity, gas, steam, hot water and air conditioning 1 917 1 626 157 762 707 10
    Water supply; sanitation, waste collection, treatment and disposal, pollution elimination activities 2 715 2 164 143 1 199 822 34
    Construction 71 139 53 653 4 978 20 995 27 680 1 111
    Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair 146 255 106 727 14 544 53 472 38 711 1 477
    Transport and warehousing 22 475 17 905 1 932 9 067 6 906 198
    Providing of accommodation and food services 10 719 8 516 1 174 4 652 2 690 41
    Information and communication 18 644 15 529 2 439 7 894 5 196 59
    Financial and insurance activities 7 792 5 618 678 2 800 2 140 119
    Real estate transactions 26 686 22 972 2 353 14 637 5 982 155
    Professional, scientific and technical activities 34 777 28 105 2 654 15 649 9 802 205
    Administrative and support services activities 25 243 21 215 1 977 12 321 6 917 128
    Public administration and defense; compulsory social security 9 686 9 436 193 9 088 155 28
    Education 30 743 28 531 1 813 21 693 5 025 122
    Healthcare and social services 11 708 10 623 1 038 6 949 2 636 37
    Arts, entertainment and recreation 7 928 6 585 804 3 650 2 131 35
    Provision of other types of services 53 721 42 248 9 003 14 606 18 639 167
    Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies 1 1 - 1 - -
    Registered legal entities by size and form of ownership
    as of January 1, 2025
    By dimension Total Including by forms and types of ownership
    state private total of them foreign
    with the participation of the state (without foreign participation) joint ventures (with foreign participation)
    Total 536 241 25 903 456 013 466 11 031 54 325
    Small 526 826 21 051 451 947 400 10 735 53 828
    Medium 6 919 3 655 2 965 32 188 299
    Large 2 496 1 197 1 101 34 108 198
    Registered and operating subjects of individual entrepreneurship (IE and JV)

    In December, compared to November 2024, there is a slight decrease in the number of registered individual entrepreneurs (by 0.3%), compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, their number increase by 4.4%. At the same time, there is an decrease in the number of operating subjects of individual entrepreneurship - by 0.1%, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, their number increased by 4.1%. Since the beginning of the year, by type of economic activity, the largest number of registered individual entrepreneurs remains in the industry «Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair», the share of which as of January 1, 2025 was 37.4 %. In second place is «Provision of other types of services» (16.3%), in third place is «Agriculture, forestry and fisheries» (14.8%). Together, the share of these three types of activities is 68.5% of all registered subjects of individual entrepreneurship.

    Registered and operating subjects of individual entrepreneurship by type of activity
    as of January 1, 2025
    By type of activity Total Including those operating:
    registered operating in the form of personal business in the form of a joint venture
    registered operating registered operating
      Total 1 794 381 1 705 517 1 721 786 1 635 393 72 595 70 124
    Agriculture, forestry and fisheries 265 556 252 755 193 052 182 699 72 504 70 056
    Mining and Quarrying 803 739 803 739 - -
    Manufacturing industry 94 105 89 708 94 096 89 700 9 8
    Supply of electricity, gas, steam, hot water and air conditioning 625 585 625 585 - -
    Water supply; sanitation, waste collection, treatment and disposal, pollution elimination activities 2 086 2 005 2 085 2 004 1 1
    Construction 57 730 54 107 57 728 54 105 2 2
    Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair 670 749 638 484 670 734 638 471 15 13
    Transport and warehousing 116 261 111 488 116 252 111 482 9 6
    Providing of accommodation and food services 46 047 43 242 46 043 43 238 4 4
    Information and communication 18 575 17 539 18 575 17 539 - -
    Financial and insurance activities 525 457 525 457 - -
    Real estate transactions 97 408 93 849 97 390 93 836 18 13
    Professional, scientific and technical activities 31 503 29 736 31 502 29 735 1 1
    Administrative and support services activities 41 391 39 451 41 380 39 440 11 11
    Public administration and defense; compulsory social security 117 112 117 112 - -
    Education 31 891 30 540 31 890 30 539 1 1
    Healthcare and social services 10 891 10 402 10 891 10 402 - -
    Arts, entertainment and recreation 15 427 14 536 15 426 14 535 1 1
    Provision of other types of services 292 691 275 782 292 672 275 775 19 7
    Registered and operating branches and branches of foreign legal entities

    As of January 1, 2025, the number of registered branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities amounted to 31368 units, including 22447 active ones. The largest number of registered branches and affiliates of foreign legal entities is in the cities of Almaty (3846 or 12.3%) and Astana (3649 or 11.6%), and in the Karaganda region (2141 or 6.8%). By types of economic activity, the largest number of registered branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities belong to the sectors «Provision of other types of services» (12864 or 41%), «Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair» (4260 or 13.6%) and «Professional, scientific and technical activities» (2195 or 7%).

    Registered and operating branches by size and form of ownership
    as of January 1, 2025
    By dimension Total Including by forms and types of ownership
    state private total of them foreign
    with the participation of the state (without foreign participation) joint ventures (with foreign participation)
    Total 27 357 2 585 23 571 174 677 1 201
    Small 26 278 2 332 22 788 151 645 1 158
    Medium 608 128 449 12 13 31
    Large 471 125 334 11 19 12
    Registered branches of foreign legal entities by size and activity
    as of January 1, 2025
    By dimension Total Of them
    operating including in the process of liquidation
    newly registered active temporarily inactive
    Total 4 011 2 323 340 868 1 115 81
    Small 3 970 2 284 339 830 1 115 80
    Medium 23 21 1 20 - 1
    Large 18 18 - 18 - -
    Registered and operating legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities with foreign and joint ownership

    As of January 1, 2025, the number of registered legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities with a foreign form of ownership increased by 6.6% compared to the corresponding date of the previous year. The number of registered legal entities and branches with joint ownership decreased by 1.8%.

    In terms of types of economic activity, the largest share of registered legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities with foreign and joint ownership falls on the sectors «Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair» – 36%, «Provision of other types of services» – 13.5%, «Construction» – 9.1%.

    Registered and operating legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities with foreign and joint ownership by country *
    as of January 1, 2025
    Be country Legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities
    with foreign ownership with joint ownership
    registered operating registered operating
    Republic of Kazakhstan 59 537 44 995 11 708 8 723
    Russia 23 289 18 861 4 934 3 849
    Uzbekistan 5 731 4 407 624 464
    China 5 280 3 676 947 725
    Türkiye 5 260 3 538 755 480
    Kyrgyzstan 3 162 2 202 390 304
    Azerbaijan 1 518 1 162 210 151
    Ukraine 1 325 985 391 301
    Germany 942 739 505 368
    Belarus 916 773 187 145
    Republic of Korea 888 603 162 107

    * Top 10 countries by the largest number of registered legal entities, branches and branches of foreign legal entities

    Registered and operating small and medium-sized businesses

    As of January 1, 2025, the number of operating SMEs increased by 3.5% compared to the corresponding date of the previous year. In the total number of SMEs, the share of individual entrepreneurs was 67.3%, legal entities of small business – 20.5%, peasant or farm enterprises – 12%, legal entities of medium business – 0.1%.

    In terms of types of economic activity, the largest share of registered small and medium-sized businesses falls on the sectors «Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair» – 35.6%; «Provision of other types of services» – 14,2%. «Agriculture, forestry and fisheries» – 13,6%.

    Registered and operating small and medium-sized businesses
    as of January 1, 2025
    By region Registered Operating
    Republic of Kazakhstan 2 262 392 2 071 657
    Abay 58 511 54 157
    Akmola 64 177 59 196
    Aktobe 92 420 85 725
    Almaty 151 138 142 846
    Atyrau 68 324 63 180
    Batys Kazakhstan 62 417 58 073
    Zhambyl 117 439 103 880
    Zhetysu 64 376 60 419
    Karagandy 110 920 101 596
    Kostanay 69 884 65 909
    Kyzylorda 68 336 65 258
    Mangystau 83 307 76 571
    Pavlodar 62 450 56 412
    Soltustik Kazakhstan 38 577 35 437
    Turkistan 216 185 208 732
    Ulytau 19 422 18 327
    Shygys Kazakhstan 69 738 62 757
    Astana city 279 854 248 284
    Almaty city 417 039 367 784
    Shymkent city 147 878 137 114
    Glossary

    Individual entrepreneurship - an independent, initiative activity of citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, kandas, aimed at obtaining net income, based on the property of individuals themselves and carried out on behalf of individuals, at their risk and under their property responsibility. Individual entrepreneurship is carried out in the form of personal or joint entrepreneurship.

    Personal entrepreneurship - carried out by one individual independently on the basis of property belonging to him by the right of ownership, as well as by virtue of another right that allows the use and (or) disposal of property.

    Joint entrepreneurship - carried out by a group of individuals (individual entrepreneurs) on the basis of property belonging to them on the basis of common ownership, as well as by virtue of another right that allows joint use and (or) disposal of property.

    Categories of business entities - depending on the average annual number of employees and average annual income, business entities are classified into the following categories: "subjects of small" business, including micro-entrepreneurship entities; subjects of medium business; subjects of large business. For the purposes of state statistics, only the criterion of the average annual number of employees is used.

    Principal type of activity - a type of activity, the added value of which exceeds the added value of any other type of activity carried out by an economic entity;

    Secondary type of activity - a type of activity, in addition to the main one, which is carried out with the aim of producing products (goods and services) for third parties.

    Methodological explanations

    All presented indicators are based on the Statistical Business Register, which contains information on legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities, as well as individual entrepreneurs that have been registered or re-registered with the registration authorities.

    The proposed tables show the number of registered and operating legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, as well as small and medium-sized businesses by size, by form of ownership, by region and type of activity.

    The types of activities are presented in accordance with the current General Classifier of Types of Economic Activities (GCTEA). Entities carrying out several types of activities are accounted for by the main type that provides the greatest increase in value added.

    Operating entities in the Statistical Business Register include:

    • entities currently engaged in economic activity, ie. active;
    • newly registered and not yet engaged in economic activity;
    • entities that temporarily suspended their activities.

    In accordance with the "Classifier of the dimension of legal entities, branches and representative offices, as well as individual entrepreneurship entities by the number of employees", 3 classes of entities are provided for in dimension, depending on the average annual number of employees:

    • small (up to 100 people);
    • medium (from 101 to 250 people);
    • large (over 250 people).

    Legal entities with branches are taken into account taking into account the headcount of all its branches.


    Release responsible:
    Department of Statistical Registers and Classifications
    Department Director:
    E. Bekberdiev
    Теl. +7 7172 74-90-58
    Executor:
    D. Toleugali
    Теl. +7 7172 74-97-95
    E-mail: d.toleugali @aspire.gov.kz
    Address:
    010000, Astana
    Mangilik el avenue, 8
    House of Ministries, entrance 4