More than 500 villages may be abolished in Kazakhstan in the near future

From 2012 to 2022, the number of villages in the country decreased from 6.9 to 6.3 thousand units. The largest number of abolished villages falls on the northern regions of the country with high agricultural potential (269 villages were abolished). In the coming years, more than 500 small villages may be abolished in the country, World of NAN reports with reference to Economy.kz.

Basic living conditions are the main factor in rural migration, said Aitzhan Meirambayev, deputy director of the Quality of Life Center at the Institute for Economic Research. People leave villages in search of more comfortable living conditions. In 2022 alone, about 326,000 people left rural areas. Villages often lack water, necessary infrastructure, places for recreation, opportunities for development and work. As of today, residents of 1.4 thousand villages in the country do not have access to quality drinking water. And out of 6.3 thousand villages, only 27.1% (1.7 thousand villages) are connected to centralized gas supply.

There are problems related to the provision of educational and medical services. In rural areas, 2.7 thousand schools are understaffed, and many villages lack medical facilities.

Rural residents are mostly employed on their farms or work in low-paid jobs, which affects their well-being.

Modernization of agriculture also has an impact on the migration of rural residents. Automation and digitalization of the agro-industrial complex, as a rule, increases labor productivity. Accordingly, the agricultural sector needs fewer and fewer "laborers".

Another factor of rural population outflow to the cities is related to the change of people's consciousness. More and more rural residents want to give their children quality education and ensure a decent future. And rural youth for the purpose of self-realization choose cities to live in.

Currently, the state is trying to improve the condition of the village and is implementing the program "Auyl Amanaty", which helps rural residents to start their own business. The program provides soft loans at 2.5% for rural residents and leasing of agricultural equipment for cooperatives. It is too early to talk about the effectiveness of the project; time will tell how successful it will be.

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