| By dimension | Legal entities | Subjects of individual entrepreneurship1) | Branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities | Subjects of small and medium business1) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| registered | operating | registered | operating | registered | operating | registered | operating | ||
| Total | 554 900 | 445 675 | 1 660 468 | 1 595 909 | 28 796 | 21 905 | 2 145 344 | 1 979 527 | |
| Small | 545 500 | 436 381 | - | - | 27 659 | 20 776 | 2 142 323 | 1 976 566 | |
| Medium | 6 852 | 6 770 | - | - | 645 | 641 | 3 021 | 2 961 | |
| Large | 2 548 | 2 524 | - | - | 492 | 488 | - | - | |
*The decrease in the indicator due to the transition of subjects of individual entrepreneurship to a special tax regime for the self-employed, introduced under the new Tax Code from January 1, 2026 (Article 718 of the Tax Code).
Annually, there is an increase in the number of registered legal entities by an average of 4,1%, so over the past ten years (2016-2025) their number has increased from 383850 to 549669 (by 165819 units or 43,2%). 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 4,1%. 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 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2023 their number was not significant, but decreased (by 1,4%, 3,1%, 0,7% and 0,8%, respectively).
| By dimension | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 383 850 | 412 677 | 433 774 | 446 687 | 461 983 | 481 732 | 507 238 | 526 290 | 536 241 | 549 669 | |
| Small | 374 912 | 403 862 | 424 796 | 437 988 | 453 343 | 472 777 | 497 995 | 517 123 | 526 826 | 540 095 | |
| Medium | 6 502 | 6 432 | 6 490 | 6 297 | 6 235 | 6 494 | 6 685 | 6 689 | 6 919 | 6 978 | |
| Large | 2 436 | 2 383 | 2 488 | 2 402 | 2 405 | 2 461 | 2 558 | 2 478 | 2 496 | 2 596 | |
In July, compared to June 2026, there is a slight increase in the number of registered legal entities (by 0,5%), compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, their number increased by 1,3%. At the same time, there is an increase in the number of operating legal entities - by 0,4%, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, their number increased by 4,3%. 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 August 1, 2026. amounted to 26,2%. On the second place – «Construction» (13,6%), on the third – «Provision of other types of services» (10%). Together, the share of these three types of activities is 49,8% of all registered legal entities.
As of August 1, 2026, the largest number of registered legal entities is in the cities of Almaty (166022 or 29,9%), Astana (104994 or 18,9%), and Shymkent (29341 or 5,3%). The smallest number of registered legal entities falls on the regions of Ulytau (2902 or 0,5%), Abay (8646 or 1,6%) and Zhetisu (8657 or 1,6%).
| By type of activity | Total | Of them | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| operating | including | in the process of liquidation | ||||
| newly registered | active | temporarily suspended activities | ||||
| Total | 554 900 | 445 675 | 58 096 | 191 665 | 195 914 | 3 479 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fisheries | 21 611 | 19 573 | 2 403 | 4 869 | 12 301 | 91 |
| Mining and Quarrying | 6 671 | 5 874 | 1 055 | 1 127 | 3 692 | 40 |
| Manufacturing industry | 28 837 | 23 737 | 1 979 | 9 771 | 11 987 | 201 |
| Supply of electricity, gas, steam, hot water and air conditioning | 1 904 | 1 652 | 151 | 501 | 1 000 | 13 |
| Water supply; sanitation, waste collection, treatment and disposal, pollution elimination activities | 2 780 | 2 285 | 158 | 869 | 1 258 | 33 |
| Construction | 75 382 | 59 581 | 7 882 | 16 718 | 34 981 | 901 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair | 145 640 | 106 730 | 16 143 | 44 193 | 46 394 | 1 151 |
| Transport and warehousing | 23 245 | 18 752 | 1 869 | 8 097 | 8 786 | 162 |
| Providing of accommodation and food services | 11 578 | 9 206 | 1 545 | 3 746 | 3 915 | 29 |
| Information and communication | 20 451 | 16 722 | 2 577 | 7 285 | 6 860 | 45 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 8 362 | 6 381 | 1 502 | 2 141 | 2 738 | 104 |
| Real estate transactions | 27 689 | 24 012 | 2 417 | 13 680 | 7 915 | 107 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 36 488 | 29 718 | 3 270 | 13 838 | 12 610 | 152 |
| Administrative and support services activities | 26 128 | 21 468 | 1 937 | 10 891 | 8 640 | 110 |
| Public administration and defense; compulsory social security | 9 737 | 9 538 | 183 | 9 035 | 320 | 24 |
| Education | 31 969 | 29 512 | 1 527 | 21 718 | 6 267 | 123 |
| Healthcare and social services | 13 018 | 11 805 | 1 091 | 7 521 | 3 193 | 29 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 8 055 | 6 639 | 844 | 2 951 | 2 844 | 25 |
| Provision of other types of services | 55 354 | 42 490 | 9 563 | 12 714 | 20 213 | 139 |
| Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 | 554 900 | 25 913 | 462 899 | 531 | 11 124 | 66 088 |
| Small | 545 500 | 20 892 | 458 993 | 466 | 10 831 | 65 615 |
| Medium | 6 852 | 3 774 | 2 794 | 30 | 169 | 284 |
| Large | 2 548 | 1 247 | 1 112 | 35 | 124 | 189 |
In July, compared to June 2026, there is a slight increase in the number of registered individual entrepreneurs (by 0,2%), compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, their number decrease by 11,4%. At the same time, there is an increase in the number of operating subjects of individual entrepreneurship - by 0,2%, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, their number decreased by 10,5%. 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 August 1, 2026 was 38,6%. In second place is «Agriculture, forestry and fisheries» (14,8%), in third place is «Provision of other types of services» (14,1%). Together, the share of these three types of activities is 67,5% of all registered subjects of individual entrepreneurship.
| 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 | 1 660 468 | 1 595 909 | 1 588 200 | 1 524 431 | 72 268 | 71 478 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fisheries | 245 600 | 238 302 | 173 437 | 166 907 | 72 163 | 71 395 |
| Mining and Quarrying | 693 | 606 | 693 | 606 | - | - |
| Manufacturing industry | 82 118 | 78 603 | 82 098 | 78 584 | 20 | 19 |
| Supply of electricity, gas, steam, hot water and air conditioning | 517 | 480 | 517 | 480 | - | - |
| Water supply; sanitation, waste collection, treatment and disposal, pollution elimination activities | 2 309 | 2 238 | 2 308 | 2 237 | 1 | 1 |
| Construction | 67 756 | 64 977 | 67 754 | 64 976 | 2 | 1 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair | 640 897 | 614 691 | 640 875 | 614 674 | 22 | 17 |
| Transport and warehousing | 93 911 | 90 636 | 93 903 | 90 629 | 8 | 7 |
| Providing of accommodation and food services | 50 263 | 48 360 | 50 259 | 48 356 | 4 | 4 |
| Information and communication | 21 788 | 21 013 | 21 788 | 21 013 | - | - |
| Financial and insurance activities | 618 | 567 | 618 | 567 | - | - |
| Real estate transactions | 83 207 | 80 751 | 83 186 | 80 736 | 21 | 15 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 33 455 | 32 270 | 33 455 | 32 270 | - | - |
| Administrative and support services activities | 45 416 | 43 843 | 45 403 | 43 831 | 13 | 12 |
| Public administration and defense; compulsory social security | 78 | 77 | 78 | 77 | - | - |
| Education | 30 782 | 29 730 | 30 781 | 29 730 | 1 | - |
| Healthcare and social services | 9 566 | 9 204 | 9 566 | 9 204 | - | - |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 17 470 | 16 822 | 17 468 | 16 820 | 2 | 2 |
| Provision of other types of services | 233 975 | 222 691 | 233 964 | 222 686 | 11 | 5 |
| Activities of households employing domestic workers; activities of households producing goods and services for their own consumption | 49 | 48 | 49 | 48 | - | - |
* The decrease in the indicator due to the transition of subjects of individual entrepreneurship to a special tax regime for the self-employed, introduced under the new Tax Code from January 1, 2026 (Article 718 of the Tax Code).
As of August 1, 2026, the number of registered branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities amounted to 28796 units, including 21905 active ones. The largest number of registered branches and affiliates of foreign legal entities is in the cities of Almaty (3751 or 13%) and Astana (3344 or 11,6%), and in the Turkistan region (1836 or 6,4%). 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» (12194 or 42,3%), «Wholesale and retail trade; car and motorcycle repair» (3543 or 12,3%) and «Professional, scientific and technical activities» (2075 or 7,2%).
| 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 | 25 022 | 2 599 | 21 304 | 98 | 578 | 1 119 |
| Small | 23 924 | 2 250 | 20 604 | 74 | 548 | 1 070 |
| Medium | 623 | 168 | 422 | 14 | 18 | 33 |
| Large | 475 | 181 | 278 | 10 | 12 | 16 |
| By dimension | Total | Of them | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| operating | including | in the process of liquidation | ||||
| newly registered | active | temporarily suspended activities | ||||
| Total | 3 774 | 2 141 | 381 | 833 | 927 | 64 |
| Small | 3 735 | 2 102 | 379 | 800 | 923 | 64 |
| Medium | 22 | 22 | 1 | 19 | 2 | - |
| Large | 17 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 2 | - |
As of August 1, 2026, the number of registered legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities with a foreign form of ownership increased by 14,2% compared to the corresponding date of the previous year. The number of registered legal entities and branches with joint ownership decreased by 0,9%.
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» – 34,4%, «Provision of other types of services» – 15,8%, «Construction» – 11,1%.
| Be country | Legal entities, branches and subsidiaries of foreign legal entities | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| with foreign ownership | with joint ownership | |||
| registered | operating | registered | operating | |
| Kazakhstan | 70 981 | 53 999 | 11 702 | 8 938 |
| Russia | 22 691 | 17 053 | 4 741 | 3 706 |
| Uzbekistan | 12 751 | 10 607 | 608 | 463 |
| China | 10 081 | 8 298 | 1 302 | 1 075 |
| Türkiye | 4 939 | 3 249 | 709 | 462 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 3 135 | 2 317 | 386 | 296 |
| Azerbaijan | 1 641 | 1 237 | 210 | 149 |
| Ukraine | 1 267 | 920 | 353 | 277 |
| Germany | 947 | 738 | 464 | 364 |
| Belarus | 923 | 723 | 176 | 141 |
| Republic of Korea | 873 | 561 | 154 | 98 |
** Top 10 countries by the largest number of registered legal entities, branches and branches of foreign legal entities.
As of August 1, 2026, the number of operating SMEs decreased by 8% compared to the corresponding date of the previous year. In the total number of operating SMEs, the share of individual entrepreneurs was 68,5%, legal entities of small business – 19,2%, peasant or farm enterprises – 12,1%, 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» – 36,4%, «Agriculture, forestry and fisheries» – 12,8%, «Provision of other types of services» – 12,5%.
| By region | Registered | Operating |
|---|---|---|
| Republic of Kazakhstan | 2 145 344 | 1 979 527 |
| Abay | 52 988 | 50 012 |
| Akmola | 61 087 | 57 828 |
| Aktobe | 83 055 | 77 562 |
| Almaty | 150 162 | 135 485 |
| Atyrau | 61 338 | 57 393 |
| Batys Kazakhstan | 57 346 | 52 648 |
| Zhambyl | 107 387 | 101 251 |
| Zhetysu | 61 283 | 58 658 |
| Karagandy | 103 093 | 94 743 |
| Kostanay | 62 933 | 59 427 |
| Kyzylorda | 61 564 | 59 380 |
| Mangystau | 74 280 | 70 759 |
| Pavlodar | 58 959 | 54 184 |
| Soltustik Kazakhstan | 35 954 | 32 864 |
| Turkistan | 203 020 | 200 195 |
| Ulytau | 17 204 | 16 348 |
| Shygys Kazakhstan | 62 255 | 57 176 |
| Astana city | 274 678 | 246 547 |
| Almaty city | 416 163 | 363 801 |
| Shymkent city | 140 595 | 133 266 |
* The decrease in the indicator due to the transition of subjects of individual entrepreneurship to a special tax regime for the self-employed, introduced under the new Tax Code from January 1, 2026 (Article 718 of the Tax Code).
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.
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:
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:
Legal entities with branches are taken into account taking into account the headcount of all its branches.