Kazakhstan's population grows by 1.1% in Q3 2011

ASTANA. November 21. KAZINFORM Since Kazakhstan gained its independence twenty years ago, it has demonstrated economic and political progress that has had positive influence on the social and demographic development of the country.

As of October 1, according to the Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan, the population reached 16,615,000 people, an increase of 1.1%, or 173,100 people since the beginning of 2011. The growth is mainly attributed to natural increase, the press service of the Kazakh MFA said.

From January to September 2011 the population's natural increase amounted to 170,600 people while reaching 164,800 people over the same period in 2010. The overall rate of natural increase totalled 13.7 persons per every 1,000 persons.

According to the data for the first quarter of 2011, Kazakhstan's maternal mortality rate has declined by 63% and the infant mortality rate declined by 26% in comparison with the figures of 2007.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan saw a sharp decline in population growth due to a combination of reasons, including political uncertainty, social vulnerability, and emigration. As a result, the population shrank from 16.4 million to 14.9 million people.

Owing to economic and political reforms, initiated in the early years of independence, Kazakhstan has eventually managed to break the negative trend in its demography. A steady increase in population numbers started in 2002 and already in 2005-2010 average annual population growth rates were almost 10 times higher than in 1999-2005. In 2008, for example, the natural increase amounted to 204,200 people, while in 1999, it was only 70,200.

To achieve this, Kazakhstan introduced a number of policies to modify the demographic situation, increase population growth and reverse population decline - through measures to increase fertility, improve health services, reduce infant and maternal mortality and the mortality of the working age population, especially of women. In this vein, in 2005, the country adopted the Law On Public Welfare Payments for Families with Children, stipulating social benefits to be paid to the families upon the birth of a child from the state budget.

Thus, in the period of 2003-2005, there were 17-18 newborns per every 1,000 persons, while in the period of 2006 to 2009, this indicator grew from 20 to 22 babies. In January-September 2011, the Civil Registry Office of Kazakhstan recorded the birth of 280,400 babies, an increase of 2.2% over the same period in 2010, or 22.6 newborns per every 1,000 people.

Experts also note an increase in life expectancy from 66 years in 2007 to 68 years in 2010.

The released data on the population growth rates in Kazakhstan prove the viability of the ambitious target set for future birth rates to increase the country's population by 10 percent by year of 2020.