In March 2026, inflation in Kazakhstan slowed, but drug prices surged to a record high, reports Todayinfo news agency.
Medicines rose by 15.9% year-on-year in March, 4.9 percentage points above the overall inflation rate of 11%. This is the highest increase since early 2017, marking one of the most significant price spikes in the last 9-10 years.
The Committee for Medical and Pharmaceutical Control of the Ministry of Health stated in February that prices were falling under state regulation. However, official statistics show the opposite. Drug prices are rising at record rates, outpacing other categories. For comparison: food prices rose by 11.7%, non-food goods by 11.3%, and paid services by 10% in March.
Regional differences are significant. In 9 out of 20 regions, price growth is critical. The highest increase was recorded in Shymkent (25%), followed by West Kazakhstan (22.4%) and Akmola (22.1%) regions. The top five also include Zhetysu (21.7%) and Aktobe (20.4%) regions.
The lowest growth was observed in Pavlodar (5.5%), Mangystau (7.3%), and Kostanay (8.4%) regions.
Reasons include import dependence, currency fluctuations, rising logistics and raw material costs. However, given the tenge's strengthening against the dollar, other factors likely played a role: weak competition, a high number of intermediaries, logistics costs, and oversight failures by regulatory bodies. Corruption factors cannot be ruled out.
According to the Bureau of National Statistics, among 33 drug types, the highest price increases were for activated charcoal (66.5%) and acetylsalicylic acid (52.2%). These three drugs lead price growth among all goods and services.
The situation hits household budgets hard: these drugs are among the top 10 most purchased in Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, real wages fell by 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
