The Factor of Ethnicity in the Reproductive Behavior of Citizens of Kazakhstan

Significant changes have taken place in the demographic structure of the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan during the years of Independence from 1991 to 2023. The share of Kazakhs has increased significantly – from 40 to 70.7 percent, and the share of young people in the total population structure has also increased. Kazakhs as a key ethnic group in Kazakhstan have become decisive in the process of population reproduction. Until the 1990s, demographic development was determined mainly by the non-Kazakh population. At the same time, the ethnodemographic structure of Kazakhstan remains complex, representatives of more than 120 ethnic groups live in the country.

The purpose of this publication is to determine the degree of influence of the ethnicity factor on the birth rate in Kazakhstan. For this purpose, current scientific research on the peculiarities of reproduction of the population of Kazakhstan, as well as a set of other factors affecting the birth rate were studied. Statistical and comparative analysis of government data, a review of expert assessments on reproductive behavior of the population were used, and a comparison of statistical data from other countries was presented.

The novelty in the article is the systematization of the most relevant works on the topic published over the past few years, as well as the idea that a number of other factors affect the reproduction processes along with the ethnicity factor. In particular, the results of the article show that the birth rate is influenced by a set of conditions, including socio-economic status, religious attitudes and others. At the same time, ethnicity also acts as one of the main factors determining reproductive behavior. The modern trends of demographic development of Kazakhstan are analyzed, as well as the features of the current ethnodemographic development of Kazakhstan are described.