Those who move to permanent residence in the capital are not afraid of a sharper rise in prices for consumption goods than in Almaty.
Astana is becoming more popular for internal migration than Almaty. In January-June of this year, 22.4 thousand more Kazakhstanis came to Astana for permanent residence more than to other regions. In total, during 6 months 45.2 thousand people moved to live in the capital, and almost 2 times less left the capital (22.9 thousand people).
The influx of new residents to Astana is much higher than usual rates - in previous years (since 2007), on average slightly more than 16 thousand people were coming to the capital each half year.
Against this background, the situation with migration to Almaty looks less positive as net immigration figures stand at the level of 12.5 thousand people.
The outflow of Kazakhstanis from Almaty to other regions this year is at the level of Astana, or 20.3 thousand people, but the influx of new residents is much lower, in January-June only 32.8 thousand people moved to the "southern capital".
The main motive for the change of residence within the republic is labour migration, and a sharp influx of people into Astana as a consequence of the expectations of Kazakhstanis of more substantial prospects for professional and salary growth in the capital.
However, statistics show the opposite - real incomes of Astana residents are declining, while in Almaty they are growing (although only modestly).
According to the latest data (Q1, 2017), the purchasing power of the residents of Astana decreased by 9% compared to the same period in 2016. In Almaty, real incomes by contrast increased by 2.1%.
In nominal terms, the income level in the capital is higher - 124.5 thousand tenge on average per month. In Almaty, the average monthly income is lower by 2.3%.
In 2016, the gap in the nominal incomes of Astana residents and Almaty residents in general was 10% and, probably, this fact has a certain effect on the flows of labour migration.
In terms of inflation, prices in the capital are growing faster than in Almaty, which ultimately counterweighs all the differences. Thus, in June of this year, prices in Almaty were 7.5% higher than in June 2016, while in Astana they grew by 9% on-year.
Reported by FinProm (Kazakhstan).
