The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) has published the results of a survey on public perception of the country’s development. The survey found that 72% of the respondents believe Kazakhstan is developing in the right direction.
The research titled To People about People: Public Perception of the Country’s Development Course was presented on May 3.
Almost half of the respondents note improvement in their financial situation over the past year, while 64% are optimistic about the upcoming year.
According to KazISS, the survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews in 17 regions and in Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent. Around 8,000 respondents over the age of 18 participated in the research.
“Those who adhere to the opposite view make up 19.6%. There is a correlation between the answers and the level of income – the higher the level of material prosperity, the more often the respondents tend to perceive the general direction of the country’s development as positive, while a decrease in the level of income leads to a more critical assessment,” said KazISS Deputy Director Alua Zholdybalina.
Kyzylorda (85.5%), Ulytau (79%), West Kazakhstan and Kostanai (77.3% each) were among the regions with the most positive assessment of the country’s development.
“Among all the political institutions, respondents trust the President the most – 84.2%. The highest level of confidence in the President is demonstrated in the regions of Ulytau (91.8%), Kyzylorda (91%), and Pavlodar (90.3%). The highest distrust of the President’s Office is found in the Akmola Region (19.8%), Zhetisu Region (17.0%), and Almaty (17%),” said Zholdybalina.
According to Yermek Toktarov, head of the strategic analysis department at KazISS, almost half of the respondents (47.2%) note the upward trend in their financial situation over the past year. More than one-third of the respondents did not observe any changes (37.8%), while the downturn in financial status was registered by 13.8% of the respondents. The rest had difficulty answering the question.
“The level of social optimism (expectation of a better life in the coming year) looks encouraging. In total, 63.8% expect a significant (35.6%) or moderate (28.2%) improvement in their family’s life in the coming year. 21.5% believe their situation will remain unchanged. Around 5.9% expect their situation to worsen, while 8.9% found it difficult to answer the question,” said Toktarov.
The results of the survey show 46.7% follow the news about the country regularly, while 43% follow the news rarely. Every tenth respondent (10%) is not interested in the news at all. The last group is mainly represented by citizens with a low level of income.