Freedom rating is 5.5 

Their political rights received a 6, while their civil liberties received a 5, and their trending downward. “Kazakhstan received a downward trend arrow due to new legislation restricting public expression of religious belief and the right to form religious organizations.”(freedomhouse.org)

​

Their internet is partly free, but their press is not. They sued Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Livejournal in attempt to shut down oppositions.(rt.com) Most media outlets are state-owned, but Kazakhstani people are able to get foreign broadcasting.

​

There is a lot of government corruption in Kazakhstan. Their president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has been in control of Kazakhstan since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. Kazakhstan is not an electoral democracy and any opposing parties of Nazarbayev are seemingly non-existent. They actively repress all opposition. (telegraph.co.uk)

​

“A 2010 Human Rights Watch report detailed the exploitation of migrant workers and the use of child labor in the Kazakhstani tobacco industry.”(freedomhouse.org)



Economic Freedom has an overall score of 63.0

Their business freedom ranked 71.8, trade freedom was 78.2, fiscal freedom was 98.2, government spending was 84.5, monetary freedom was 72.2, investment freedom was 30, financial freedom was 50, property rights was 35, freedom from corruption was 27, and labour freedom received 88.4. I’d say that the reason Kazakhstan received such a low economic freedom score is because there is so much corruption. Economic-related components of the Rule of Law are really poor and their market is still predominantly state-owned despite plans of privatisation. The land is rich in fossil fuel, mineral, and metal reserves. Kazakhstan is only an observing government member of the World Trade Organization. Their main problem is corruption which undermines investment initiatives and economic prosperity.