Comments on: Statistical Truth

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:42:35 +0000

The figure of 110 for Kazakhstan’s retail turnover is the percent increase over the year before.

By: News Roundup - March 4, 2008 « Silk Road Intelligencer

News Roundup - March 4, 2008 « Silk Road Intelligencer — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:12:57 +0000

[…] Neweurasia.net: Statistical truth […]

By: Oldschool Boy

Oldschool Boy — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:27:04 +0000

First of all, GDP is not measured in percents. May be you meant GDP growth, not GDP? So, it is slower in Kazakhstan than in some other countries in the region, but it is even slower in the USA. The growth may be slower in some years and higher in others. However, in terms of GDP numbers per capita according to IMF, Kazakhstan’s GDP in 2007 ($6,314)among CIS countries was only lower than Russian ($8,612), but higher than in other CIS countries, excluding Baltic countries. Compare GDPs per capita of Belarus ($4,113), Ukraine ($2,830), Azerbaijan ($3,633), and Uzbekistan ($753). Similarly the countries are ranked according to their GDPs per capita at their purchasing power parity (PPP).
So, regardless the growth numbers for 2007, Kazakhstan still has comparatively larger economy than most of the region’s countries. The current slow down of the country’s economy shall help to reorganize it and boost in subsequesnt years.

By: Tajik Boy

Tajik Boy — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:43:10 +0000

Interesting data indeed. One of the ways to standardize the data is to divide the performance indicators by the population (to get the per capital distribution). This way you get a more meaningful performance indicators.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:14:09 +0000

Interestning figures Zhanna. Of course all statistical data has to be taken with a grain of salt - yet the figures you quote do show us that Kazakhstan is no longer the CIS’s top performer in terms of growth.

Usually, economic data from Uzbekistan has been riddled with inconsistencies and lack of statistical evidence, so I’d be careful with taking the figures at face value.

And if Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan score higher in industrial output growth, you need to put things into perspective, as both these countries are operating from a much lower base level and higher growth doesn’t mean all that much.

All in all, it’s interesting to see this data in the context of the recent “slow-down” speeches from Masimov and Nazarbayev: Kazakhstan will grow more slowly this year - and it’ll be interesting to see how the other CIS countries are coping with the global slowdown.

By: Global Voices Online » Kazakhstan: Statistical Truth

Global Voices Online » Kazakhstan: Statistical Truth — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:19:54 +0000

[…] Zhukova posts some statistical data on CIS countries’ economic indicators, which show that Kazakhstan is […]