If you lived in Kazakhstan instead of Romania, you would:

Health

be 34.9% less likely to be obese

In Romania, 32.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kazakhstan, that number is 21.1% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live 1.9 years less

In Romania, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In Kazakhstan, that number is 75 years (70 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 44.1% less spent on your healthcare

Romania spends $2,614 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kazakhstan spends $1,460 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 51.8% more likely to die by suicide

Romania has a suicide rate of 9.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kazakhstan, it is 14.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 20.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Romania, 6.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kazakhstan, that number is 4.8% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 72.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Romania, 18.4% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Kazakhstan, however, that number is 5.0% as of 2024.

View global rankings →

make 34.8% less money

Romania has a GDP per capita of $22,538 as of 2025, while in Kazakhstan, the GDP per capita is $14,692 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 16.7% less likely to die during childbirth

In Romania, approximately 12.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kazakhstan, 10.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 2.6 times more children

In Romania, there are approximately 7.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kazakhstan, there are 19.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 23.3% more likely to die during infancy

In Romania, approximately 6.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Kazakhstan, on the other hand, 7.4 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 34.0% less on healthcare

Romania spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kazakhstan, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

spend 48.2% more on education

Romania spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Kazakhstan spends 4.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 2.3 times more likely to be murdered

Romania has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Kazakhstan, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

be 27.1% more likely to die in a road accident

In Romania, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kazakhstan, they kill 12.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

use 99.0% more electricity

Romania uses 2,585 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Kazakhstan uses 5,146 kWh as of 2023.

View global rankings →

find 57.2% less home broadband

Romania has 35.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kazakhstan has 15.3 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live with 4.5 times more strain on fresh water

Romania withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kazakhstan withdraws 35% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 47.8% more likely to die from air pollution

In Romania, air pollution causes 46.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kazakhstan, it causes 68.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 3.4 times more CO2

Romania emits 3.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kazakhstan emits 12.6 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Kazakhstan: At a glance

Kazakhstan is a sovereign country in Central Asia, with a total land area of approximately 2,699,700 sq km. Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated to the region by the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs back to Kazakhstan. These trends have allowed Kazakhs to become the titular majority again. This dramatic demographic shift has also undermined the previous religious diversity and made the country more than 70 percent Muslim. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states largely due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; managing Islamic revivalism; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness; developing a multiparty parliament and advancing political and social reform; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.
Read more

How big is Kazakhstan compared to Romania? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kazakhstan or Romania. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.