Moving to Saudi Arabia from Kazakhstan
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Kazakhstan to Saudi Arabia — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Kazakhstan to Saudi Arabia, you would find that Saudi Arabia is 37.3% more expensive than Kazakhstan overall. A KZT34,000,000 salary in Kazakhstan would need to be roughly SAR386,000 in Saudi Arabia to maintain the same lifestyle, and you’d need to navigate life in Arabic. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Riyadh averages 92°F vs 46°F in Astana, making it significantly warmer.
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How your spending power changes when you relocate from Kazakhstan to Saudi Arabia.
What does your salary buy?
KZT34,000,000 → SAR386,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Saudi Arabia
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 25.2% less
Groceries
pay 23.2% more
Transportation
pay 49.5% more
Housing
pay 63.7% more
Childcare
pay 61.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.1 times more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Saudi Arabia cost about 25% more than cities in Kazakhstan.
Compare cities head-to-head
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Key Indicator Comparison
How Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
per 100,000 people per year
per 100,000 people per year
Kazakhstan generally does better on safety, though Saudi Arabia leads in homicide rate.
How's the healthcare?
annual government + private spending per person
affects wait times and access to care
WHO index from 0–100 measuring essential service access
share of adults with obesity
per 100,000 people — a proxy for mental health support
Kazakhstan generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Saudi Arabia leads in suicide rate.
What about the environment?
deaths attributable to air pollution per 100k people
tonnes of CO₂ emitted per person per year
Kazakhstan performs better than Saudi Arabia across all environment metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
fixed broadband subscriptions — key for remote work
higher means greater strain on freshwater supply
annual consumption — reflects grid capacity
share of households with internet
Saudi Arabia generally does better on infrastructure, though Kazakhstan leads in water stress level.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
the highest marginal rate on personal income
Saudi Arabia performs significantly better than Kazakhstan across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
deaths per 1,000 live births — lower is better
government spending on education as % of GDP
percentage of adults who can read and write
Kazakhstan generally does better on family life, though Saudi Arabia leads in life expectancy.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), Tax Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2016), Department of Zakat and Income Tax (2016), The World Factbook (2018). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Astana | Riyadh |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 15°/-4°F (-10°/-20°C) | 75°/50°F (24°/10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 65°/41°F (18°/5°C) | 101°/72°F (38°/22°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 74°/50°F (23°/10°C) | 109°/77°F (43°/25°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 30°/13°F (-1°/-11°C) | 84°/56°F (29°/13°C) |
View all months
| Month | Astana | Riyadh |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9°/-8°F (-12.6°/-22.0°C) | 68°/44°F (20.1°/6.9°C) |
| Feb | 12°/-7°F (-11.3°/-21.8°C) | 74°/49°F (23.3°/9.3°C) |
| Mar | 23°/4°F (-5.0°/-15.6°C) | 82°/56°F (27.7°/13.2°C) |
| Apr | 49°/28°F (9.3°/-2.4°C) | 92°/65°F (33.3°/18.4°C) |
| May | 67°/42°F (19.6°/5.8°C) | 103°/74°F (39.4°/23.4°C) |
| Jun | 78°/52°F (25.3°/11.2°C) | 109°/78°F (42.6°/25.3°C) |
| Jul | 81°/56°F (27.0°/13.4°C) | 111°/80°F (43.7°/26.4°C) |
| Aug | 76°/52°F (24.3°/10.9°C) | 111°/79°F (43.7°/26.3°C) |
| Sep | 65°/41°F (18.6°/5.1°C) | 105°/73°F (40.6°/22.9°C) |
| Oct | 47°/28°F (8.5°/-2.1°C) | 96°/65°F (35.5°/18.2°C) |
| Nov | 27°/12°F (-3.0°/-11.2°C) | 83°/56°F (28.1°/13.3°C) |
| Dec | 15°/-2°F (-9.7°/-18.9°C) | 72°/47°F (22.1°/8.4°C) |
Data:
Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan,
National Center for Meteorology
Visitor Visa Requirements
Short-stay tourist visa rules between Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. To live, work, or study long-term in Saudi Arabia, you'll need a separate residence or work visa — check Saudi Arabia's immigration authority.
Kazakhstan passport holder visiting Saudi Arabia
Visa on Arrival
Saudi Arabia passport holder visiting Kazakhstan
Visa FreeData: Henley Passport Index. Check with the destination country's embassy for the most current requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Saudi Arabia than Kazakhstan?
Day-to-day costs in Saudi Arabia run about 37% higher than Kazakhstan on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Saudi Arabia?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a KZT34,000,000 comparable salary, that's around SAR96,500 in Saudi Arabia for everyday spending, before flights, shipping, a rental deposit, and visa fees.
Can I work remotely from Saudi Arabia?
With 44.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Saudi Arabia can support video calls in major cities. The hard part is paperwork — visa category, employer policy on overseas staff, and tax residency in Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.
Is Saudi Arabia safe for expats?
Kazakhstan generally does better on safety, though Saudi Arabia leads in homicide rate. The homicide rate in Saudi Arabia is 0.9 per 100,000 people, compared to 2.5 in Kazakhstan.
How is healthcare in Saudi Arabia compared to Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Saudi Arabia leads in suicide rate. There are 34.1 doctors per 10,000 people in Saudi Arabia, compared to 37.5 in Kazakhstan. Saudi Arabia scores 74 on the WHO universal health coverage index (Kazakhstan: 80).
What's the weather like in Saudi Arabia compared to Kazakhstan?
The average high temperature in Riyadh is 92°F, compared to 46°F in Astana. Riyadh receives around 4.4 in of rainfall per year, while Astana gets 12.5 in.
What language do they speak in Saudi Arabia?
The official language in Saudi Arabia is Arabic. In Kazakhstan, the official languages are Kazakh and Russian.
