Photo: Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz / Pexels
More than 356 thousand sole traders officially ceased operating in Kazakhstan between January and September 2026 (er10.kz). During the same period, 242.3 thousand new sole traders registered. Those who closed included entrepreneurs earning no income and those who switched to self-employed status.
What happened
In the first nine months of 2025, 223 thousand sole traders closed in Kazakhstan, compared with 277 thousand over the same period in 2024. The 2026 figure exceeded both totals.
According to the Ministry of National Economy, whose explanation the publication cited, 151.8 thousand of the sole traders who closed were inactive and earned no income. Another 73.9 thousand entrepreneurs switched to self-employed status.
The ministry also singled out 30.1 thousand sole traders who closed after switching to the general tax regime. It linked these closures to difficulties adapting to the new tax conditions.
What this means
There’s an important detail here: some of the sole traders who closed switched to self-employed status. That means sole trader closures in Kazakhstan cannot be taken as a direct measure of how many people have left business.
Alongside these closures, 242.3 thousand new sole traders registered between January and September. Registrations fell short of closures over the same period.
The Ministry of National Economy acknowledged the rise in closures and said the situation needed continued monitoring. For now, the nine-month figures point to several reasons: inactive sole traders cancelling their registrations, entrepreneurs switching to self-employed status and difficulties following a change in tax regime.
