Kazakhstan marked Republic Day on Sunday, commemorating its 1990 Declaration of State Sovereignty and reflecting on more than three decades of state-building, economic transformation and international engagement.

 

Celebrated annually on October 25, Republic Day marks a key step towards independence, which Kazakhstan declared on December 16, 1991.

Kazakhstan marked Republic Day on Sunday, commemorating its 1990 Declaration of State Sovereignty and reflecting on more than three decades of state-building, economic transformation and international engagement. Celebrated annually on October 25, Republic Day marks a key step towards independence, which Kazakhstan declared on December 16, 1991.

Country celebrates state-building, economic growth and growing international role

 

By Mai Anati

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12:05 October 26, 2026

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AMMAN — Kazakhstan marked Republic Day on Sunday, commemorating its 1990 Declaration of State Sovereignty and reflecting on more than three decades of state-building, economic transformation and international engagement.

 

Celebrated annually on October 25, Republic Day marks a key step towards independence, which Kazakhstan declared on December 16, 1991. Since then, the country has established national institutions, developed an independent foreign policy and become Central Asia’s largest economy.

 

Kazakhstan joined the United Nations in March 1992 and introduced its national currency, the tenge, in November 1993. It has since built an international diplomatic presence, maintaining partnerships with Russia, China, the European Union, the United States and neighbouring Central Asian countries.

 

Nuclear disarmament remains a defining part of that record. Kazakhstan closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in 1991 and relinquished the nuclear arsenal inherited from the Soviet Union, with all nuclear warheads removed by 1995.

 

The country has also strengthened its role as a link between Asia and Europe. Its strategic location between China, Russia, Central Asia and the Caspian Sea supports regional trade, while investment in transport infrastructure is advancing the Middle Corridor, an alternative route connecting Asian and European markets.

 

Economic diversification is now a key priority. Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product reached $306 billion in 2025, with real growth of 6.5 per cent. Although oil, mining and uranium remain important, manufacturing contributed 12.8 per cent of GDP in 2025, surpassing mining and quarrying at 11.7 per cent.

 

The country is also investing in digital transformation. Around 90 per cent of public services were available online by the end of 2025, while IT service exports reached $1.142 billion.

 

Despite this progress, Kazakhstan faces challenges in reducing its reliance on natural resources, strengthening innovation and addressing environmental pressures, including water security and the legacy of the Aral Sea’s decline.

 

As the country marks Republic Day, its next phase of development centres on building a more diversified economy, expanding technological capacity and translating economic growth into improved living standards.

 

The anniversary recalls the declaration that laid the foundations for sovereignty while highlighting the priorities shaping Kazakhstan’s future.