The charts compare the Global Competitiveness Index of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in 2019, highlighting their overall scores and performance across four broad categories: enabling environment, human capital, markets, and innovation ecosystem.
Overall, Kazakhstan ranked significantly higher than Kyrgyzstan, standing 55th compared to 96th. Kazakhstan outperformed its neighbour in most categories, especially in infrastructure, markets, and innovation, while Kyrgyzstan showed relative strength only in education and skills.
In terms of the enabling environment, Kazakhstan consistently surpassed Kyrgyzstan. Its infrastructure and ICT adoption both scored 68, ranking 44th and 60th respectively, whereas Kyrgyzstan was far behind with 56 (103rd) and 59 (65th). Institutions remained a weak area for both countries, though Kazakhstan at 56 (64th) was somewhat stronger than Kyrgyzstan at 49 (93rd). Regarding human capital, Kyrgyzstan demonstrated an advantage in skills with a score of 75 compared to Kazakhstan’s 71. However, Kazakhstan performed considerably better in health, reaching 86 against Kyrgyzstan’s 73.
The most striking contrasts were found in the markets and innovation ecosystem. Kazakhstan achieved 62nd in product markets, 25th in labour markets, and 45th in market size, all much stronger than Kyrgyzstan’s 115th, 81st, and 125th respectively. Financial systems were weak in both countries, though Kazakhstan still maintained a lead (104th vs. 112th). Similarly, innovation capability was relatively poor overall, but Kazakhstan (32, ranked 95th) again outperformed Kyrgyzstan (26, 129th). Business dynamism also showed a similar trend, with Kazakhstan at 67 compared to Kyrgyzstan’s 59.