The Kazakhstan Study Abroad Market
In this Market Report on Kazakhstan, we examine the country’s socio-economic environment, higher education landscape, and outbound student mobility trends. As Central Asia’s largest economy, Kazakhstan has leveraged its natural resources, particularly oil and gas, to drive sustained economic development, attract foreign investment, and expand access to education. Rising incomes and a growing middle class continue to fuel demand for international study, especially for English-medium programs and globally recognized qualifications.
Education remains a strategic national priority. Public spending on education has increased steadily over the past decade, while higher education financing remains mixed, with a significant share funded privately by students and families. This has contributed to strong demand for international education among households able to invest in overseas study. Government policy supports this outward orientation, most notably through the Bolashak International Scholarship Program, which since its launch in 1993 has funded more than 10,000 Kazakh students to pursue undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies at leading universities abroad. The program continues to focus on priority disciplines aligned with national development goals.
Kazakhstan is now one of the largest outbound student markets in Central Asia. According to the most recent UNESCO-based estimates, over 90,000 Kazakh students are currently studying abroad, placing the country among the top global sending nations relative to population size. Key destination countries include Russia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and South Korea, reflecting a mix of geographic proximity, academic reputation, and language opportunities.
Strong outbound demand is further supported by systemic reforms within the domestic education sector. Over the past decade, Kazakhstan has significantly expanded English-language instruction across schools and universities, introduced curriculum reforms aligned with international standards, and invested in digital learning and school modernization. Senior secondary education increasingly includes English-medium instruction, strengthening students’ academic preparedness and competitiveness for overseas study at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Together, rising economic capacity, proactive government policy, and a strong societal emphasis on international education position Kazakhstan as a mature, high-volume, and strategically important recruitment market for universities worldwide.
Quick facts
Secondary education
Higher education
Upcoming Education Fairs in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan Education System
Kazakh higher education is taught in 3 languages: Kazakh, Russian and English. Kazakhstan has taken part in Lisbon conference and signed a Convention of Council of Europe – UNESCO on recognition of qualifications, regarding the higher education. In March of 2010, Kazakhstan signed the Bologna Process which was initiated by the European Commission.
Secondary education
Secondary education in Kazakhstan is conducted by general secondary schools, training schools, and lyceums that provide general secondary and initial vocational education, as well as by colleges providing secondary vocational education. There are in total 779 private and state-funded colleges in Kazakhstan that offer technical and intermediate vocational programs.
Admission to Higher Education
Until 2004, students were admitted to higher education based on their Certificate of completed general secondary education (Жалпы Oрта білім туралы аттестат/Аттестат об общем среднем образовании) and entrance examinations were set and administered individually by institutions. Since 2004, there has been compulsory Unified National Testing, or UNT. This national test serves as both:
- a final examination document;
- a higher education entrance examination.
Students sit the UNT for 5 subjects: Kazakh, Russian (depending on the language of instruction), mathematics, history of Kazakhstan, and an elective.
Source: Nuffic
Higher Education system
At present, there are universities, academies, and institutes, conservatoires, higher schools and higher colleges. There are three main levels: basic higher education that provides the fundamentals of the chosen field of study and leads to the award of the Bachelor degree; specialized higher education after which students are awarded the Specialist’s Diploma; and scientific-pedagogical higher education which leads to the Master’s Degree. Postgraduate education leads to the Kandidat Nauk (Candidate of Sciences) and the Doctor of Sciences. With the adoption of the Laws on Education and on Higher Education, a private sector has been established and several private institutions have been licensed.
Over the past few years, we have noticed a growing interest in Kazakhstan for postgraduate, business, and economic programs. In Almaty there is a growing demand for economics and MBA programs. In Astana (nowadays Nur Sultan) we see a strong interest in Law and Political Science programs. The fast paced economic and social developments in Kazakhstan have resulted in a pressing need for skilled labor. This is an important contributing factor to the popularization of overseas education, particularly in the English-speaking countries.
Bachelor programs
Bachelor programs take 4 years to complete. Degree awarded Bakalavr
Master
Master degree programs usually take 1 to 2 years to complete. Admission requirement: a Baklavr or Specialist Degree. Degree awarded: Magistr.
PhD
The doctoral degree (PhD) requires 3 – 4 years of study. Admission requirement: a Magistr degree.
Latest Kazakhstan Higher Education study abroad stats
At this point a total number of 91,860 students from Kazakhstan are studying abroad (for or as part of a degree in higher education) according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics. These are the most popular student abroad destinations among Kazakhstan students:
IB schools in Almaty and Astana
- Tien Shan International School – Almaty – http://www.tienshanschool.org
- QSI Almaty International School – Almaty – https://www.qsi.org/almaty
- Kazakhstan International School – Almaty – https://www.kisnet.org/
- Haileybury Almaty – Almaty – https://www.haileybury.kz/
- International School – Almaty – https://isoa.kz/
- International School Nur Sultan – Astana – http://isa.nis.edu.kz/
- Nazarbayev Intellectual School Nur Sultan – Astana – https://www.nisa.edu.kz/
- International College of Continuous Education – Astana – https://icce-kazakhstan.kz/